I wasn’t quite sure what to expect walking into the auditorium at Mohave High School for what was dubbed “An Evening with Tony Orlando.” After all, a 600 seat venue at a public school in Bullhead City is not exactly where I imagine entertainers dream about performing when they grow up.
Ever since Tony Orlando started coming to Laughlin to play Harrah’s years ago, I’ve heard nothing but great things about him. He puts on a great show. He’s a great entertainer. He’s a patriot. He’s a genuinely nice guy.
I knew a little bit about Tony’s tie to veterans, and his song “Tie a Yellow Ribbon ‘Round the Ole Oak Tree.” I also knew he was friends with Bullhead City Mayor, Jack Hakim. Still, I was a little surprised to learn he was coming to Bullhead City to lend his support (and his voice) to the Arizona Veterans Memorial Flame Fund and Vietnam Veterans of America Mohave County. That was before I witnessed how passionate the guy is about veterans.
He did a handful of songs, but wove them together with captivating stories about his life, his career, and his time spent honoring veterans dating back to 1973 and his hit “yellow ribbon.”
The song that opens with “I’m coming home, I’ve done my time” wasn’t a hit yet when Bob Hope called and asked him to perform it in front of 70,000 people gathering at the Cotton Bowl to welcome home prisoners of war from Vietnam, but it would be. And more.
“You never know what you’re meant to do,” he said Saturday night as he explained how performing for those POWs changing his course forever. Tony has been welcoming our soldiers home by song for more than 30 years, and the yellow ribbon has become the symbol of choice to show support for our troops.
To hear Tony Orlando talk about the importance of understanding and appreciating the sacrifices our veterans have made for our country, it’s clear that he has seen a lot since that career-changing day in 1973. And done a lot, too. Google him and the word “veteran” and you’ll find page after page of his performances honoring them. So when he asked veterans at the show on Saturday to stand and be recognized, and asked us to thank them, it wasn’t a performance. It was genuine.
It turns out Tony Orlando and Mayor Hakim go back a long, long way. Back in the day, some forty odd years ago, Tony was a sixteen year old kid in New York when Jack Hakim helped launch his career:
Who would’ve guessed?
As the show came to a close, after an encore and several standing ovations, Mayor Hakim came on stage to thank Tony and presented him with a Key to the City:
As I said, i wasn’t sure what to expect going in, but it was a great time.
After the show, Tony went up to Firehouse Coffee Company where he chatted with locals, posed for pictures, shared stories, and signed autographs before calling it a night, but not before he spent time with every single person in the room. The guy is a class act, and a true friend to Bullhead City and veterans across the country.
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