Foster gives props to ‘Queen of Disco’
Disco legend Donna Summer “changed the face of pop culture forever” with a sound that brought a sexy new vibe to nightclubs, music giant David Foster said.
“There is no doubt that music would sound different today if she had never graced us with her talent,” said Foster, a 16-time Grammy-winning producer and songwriter .
“The Queen of Disco” died Thursday after a battle with cancer . She was 63.
She performed in Las Vegas in the star-studded “David Foster & Friends” concert in October.
Foster, in a statement Friday, said Summer was “a super-diva and true superstar who never compromised when it came to her career or her family. She always did it with class, dignity, grace and zero attitude.”
Foster has served for years as music director of the Andre Agassi Grand Slam for Children.
NEWTON DEFENDER
One of Wayne Newton’s partners in the stalled Casa de Shenandoah project has turned against her ex-boyfriend and business associate in the legal battle.
Geneva Clark is an equal partner with Texas businessman Steve Kennedy, who filed a lawsuit against Newton on Thursday.
Clark lambasted Kennedy in a statement and took issue with his claim that he owns 10 percent of the 52-acre Graceland-like project.
Clark and Kennedy have a “very minimal” percentage in the deal, “the least amount of ownership,” Newton’s publicist Tricia McCrone said.
McCrone said Clark and Kennedy ended their romantic relationship “for a long time,” but continued to work together.
Clark, in a statement issued Thursday, said she was a creative director of the Wayne Newton Museum and Tours of the Casa de Shenandoah.
“Although (Kennedy) is my 50% business partner in CSD Management, he and I are on opposite sides of the spectrum when it comes to how our company should be conducted.
“Steve Kennedy does NOT own 10% of CSD, LLC. He is NOT a Texas billionaire, he is wrongly accusing the Newtons and mismanaging his role of leadership.”
She called his lawsuit “ridiculous.”
Kennedy’s attorney Charles McCrea Jr. said Kennedy spent more than $30 million on the project, which began in 2010, before Newton stopped cooperating.
Newton and his wife, Kathleen, characterized Kennedy’s legal action as “a salacious, meritless attempt to deflect the Newtons’ forthcoming lawsuit.”
The Newtons, in their statement, said, “At the beginning of 2011, the Newtons and Sacred Land LLC became aware of and began to complain of numerous breaches of contract and mismanagement by Steve Kennedy and CSD, LLC.”
SIGHTINGS
Carrie Underwood and her husband, former NHL player Mike Fisher, with two bodyguards at MGM Grand on Friday. They are in town for the Billboard Music Awards on Sunday. … Erik Estrada of “CHiPs,” at the Knight Rider Festival downtown on Friday. … British soccer star Wayne Rooney, spotted on a Las Vegas getaway last week. The Manchester United striker is suspended for the first two games of the 2012 European Championship for kicking Montenegro’s Miodrag Dzudovic.
THE PUNCH LINE
“JPMorgan lost $3 billion in their first quarter and today they lost yet another $1 billion. Turns out they bet on the Lakers.” – Jay Leno
Norm Clarke can be reached at 702-383-0244 or norm@reviewjournal.com. Find additional sightings and more online at www.normclarke.com. Follow Norm on Twitter @Norm_Clarke.