At several times close to joining George Hamilton in the select group of persons more famous for their celebrity status than for any active artistic creation, Wayne Newton recorded for the 1960s album market and scored several hits during that time, but has become most renowned for his connections to Las Vegas, where he commanded up to $1 million per month at his peak and invested heavily into the city’s real estate. Newton’s first three singles charted well, led by 1963’s Top 20 hit “Danke Schoen” (a staple of Newton’s act for the rest of his life). The beginning of the ’70s saw Newton with the biggest hit of his life, the number four “Daddy Don’t You Walk So Fast.” Newton also began focusing more and more on his Las Vegas show after his voice began to lower. Remaking his image into a slick Mr. Entertainment instead of the wide-eyed innocent of his “Danke Schoen” days, Newton became the king of Las Vegas by the 1980s; he won the Entertainer of the Year award more than any other performer, set a record as the highest-paid nightclub performer in history, bought the Aladdin casino, and managed enough spare time to win an international award for his most active hobby, the breeding of Arabian stallions. Newton has been cameo featured in several films, including The Adventures of Ford Fairlane and Vegas Vacation.
