Country, Doo Wop reverberates in Lecanto

Karen Kennedy-Hall
Correspondent

Special to the Chronicle

Carol Kline and her husband, George, better known as “Love Bucket,” will perform at 2 p.m. Saturday at Curtis Peterson Auditorium.

Special to the Chronicle

Lola & the Saints will perform at 3 p.m. Sunday at Curtis Peterson Auditorium.

Kick off Super Bowl XLVI weekend with a fun “twofer” — two concerts, two different musical genres, supporting two local charities — and still have time to catch the big game on your big-screen TV.

Both concerts are at the Curtis Peterson Auditorium on Educational Path in Lecanto.

Start on Saturday at 2 p.m. with the Carol Kline Country Diamonds Show featuring all the country favorites of yesterday.

Then on Sunday at 3 p.m., relive the 1950s and ’60s with the Doo Wop sounds of Lola and the Saints as the five vocalists harmonize and move to the music of the era.

Back for a second appearance in the area, Kline and her husband of 31 years, George, better known as “Love Bucket” to audiences, bring the country songs of Patsy Cline, Tammy Wynette, Dolly Parton, Reba McIntyre, Kenny Rogers, Jim Reeves and more.

The audience will hear tunes such as “Just a Closer Walk,” “Til I can Make It On My Own,” “You and Me,” “Islands in the Stream” and “Hello Walls.” Husband Love Bucket sings “He’ll Have to Go,” a favorite by the deep voice of Jim Reeves.

“People say he sounds like Jim Reeves but that’s just his voice,” said Kline in a recent telephone interview from her Sebring home.

Kline said the 90-minute show has some banter between the couple who wears fancy western clothes.

“He’s my straight man,” she said with a chuckle. “We try to put in some good humor, some teasing. We have a good basic, left brain-right brain teasing back and forth. People enjoy that.”

The couple brings their entertainment shows to the Midwest, including Branson, Mo., in the summer and Florida’s West Coast in the winter, traveling in their recreational vehicle.

“We are warm, friendly, loving people and that comes across very clearly and that’s part of the draw,” Kline said. “We’ve been very blessed because our relationship has been encouraging to a lot of people.”

She said the show is mostly give and take.

“It’s very humbling that we can touch people’s hearts and the old songs are very special to people.”

The concert benefits the Central Ridge Boys and Girls Club of Beverly Hills.

Gerry Jones of Citrus Hills sits on the club’s advisory council and booked the entertainers.

“It’s a very popular show. She’s a good entertainer,” said Jones.

She hopes to raise between $2,000 and $4,000 for the club, which offers after-school and summer programs for children ages 6 to 18.

“I think it’s going to be a great time,” Jones said. “The cost is affordable and what better thing could you do with your time than help the Boys and Girls Club?”

Then on Sunday, the doors open at 2 p.m. for the 3 p.m. performance by Lola and the Saints. The five vocalists perform two one-hour shows, featuring the music of Little Anthony, The Ronettes, The Marcels, The Skyliners, The Cleftones and more.

“We all sing leads and sing various background parts to the harmony,” said Jim McGreevey, a baritone who has been with the group for seven years.

The group performs a lot of medleys from the songs of the 1950s and ’60s, with “a little bit of Motown,” he said.

“Most of the songs are recognizable,” said the Pine Ridge resident. “We try to touch as many people as we can.”

Some of the featured songs include “Blue Moon” by the Marcels, and “So Young” by the Students.

“Lola does a nice version of ‘I’m So Hurt’ by Timi Yuro,” McGreevey said of the group’s leader, Lola Foy.

The group also sings “Forever in Love,” an original song from their latest CD.

And what Do Wop group would be complete without the moves?

“We incorporate a lot of choreography,” McGreevey said. “We have steps to the different songs.”

None of the vocalists, including Tom Foy, Tony Torre and Jerry Long, are strangers to the music profession, as all sang with famous groups throughout their careers.

The show features “songs people know and grew up with,” McGreevey said. “It’s a lot of medleys, a splash of Motown, coupled with choreography. I think it makes for a very entertaining show.”

Pat Lancaster of Inverness hopes the show raises at least $10,000 this year for the nonprofit, Take Stock in Children, of which she is program coordinator.

Last year’s concert was such a success they wanted to have them back again.

“It’s our biggest fundraiser of the year,” she said of the concert tagged “Dollars for Scholars.”
“All the money raised will be used to purchase scholarships for new students coming into the program.”