Bill Fulton keyboardist – “Connie Stevens Gulf Shores, AL 2/15/05”
Bill Fulton Connie Stevens keyboardist Gulf Shores documents Bill Fulton’s performance with singer, actress, and entertainer Connie Stevens in Gulf Shores, Alabama, on February 15, 2005. Fulton played keyboards for the live engagement as part of a series of performances with Stevens that took him from Alabama and Florida to several major performing arts venues in Southern California.
Bill Fulton on Keyboards with Connie Stevens
Bill Fulton performed as keyboardist with Connie Stevens for the February 15, 2005 engagement in Gulf Shores. The performance was part of Fulton’s professional work as a live pianist and keyboardist. His experience as a composer, arranger, and orchestrator also provided a broad musical background for performing the varied repertoire in Stevens’ stage show.
Supporting an established entertainer requires versatility and close interaction with the rest of the ensemble. The musicians must follow the musical direction of the production while supporting the featured artist. In addition, they need to move comfortably between musical styles and respond to the natural changes that occur during a live performance.
Connie Stevens’ Las Vegas-Style Stage Show
Contemporary reporting provides an interesting picture of the production Stevens was presenting during this period. A September 2004 newspaper preview described Stevens bringing her Las Vegas-style show to the Crighton Theatre in Conroe, Texas. The production featured an all-star orchestra, Stevens’ own rhythm section, and backup singers.
The show covered an unusually broad range of music. Contemporary descriptions included classic hits, big-band standards, blues, pop, rock, Latin, and country. That musical variety required the accompanying musicians to move easily between styles while maintaining the polished presentation associated with Stevens’ long career as a concert and Las Vegas entertainer.
Music Performed in Gulf Shores
The Gulf Shores performance featured material from Connie Stevens’ recording career alongside classic popular songs and standards. As keyboardist for the performance, Fulton recalls playing selections that included:
- “Where or When”
- “Sixteen Reasons”
- “The Glory of Love”
- “Dancing in the Dark”
These songs reflect the musical variety of Stevens’ live production. “Sixteen Reasons” was one of her signature recordings, while the standards drew from the classic American popular-song tradition. The arrangements allowed the show to combine Stevens’ own musical history with repertoire familiar to generations of audiences.
This is a partial list based on Fulton’s firsthand recollection of performing the Gulf Shores engagement. Additional titles may be added as further set-list information becomes available.
Bill Fulton Performing with Connie Stevens in 2005
The Gulf Shores engagement was one stop in a documented series of Connie Stevens performances for which Fulton played keyboards and piano in 2005. During February, the schedule moved from Alabama to Florida and then across the country to Southern California. Fulton later performed with Stevens again at the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts in April.
- February 15, 2005 – Gulf Shores, Alabama
Fulton performed on keyboards with Connie Stevens in Gulf Shores. - February 19, 2005 – Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, Florida
Fulton performed on piano and keyboards with Stevens at Florida Atlantic University, four days after the Gulf Shores engagement. - February 22, 2005 – Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater, Florida
Fulton performed with Stevens at Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater. - February 25, 2005 – McCallum Theatre, Palm Desert, California
Fulton performed with Stevens at the McCallum Theatre as the series of engagements continued in Southern California. - February 27, 2005 – Fred Kavli Theatre, Thousand Oaks, California
Fulton performed with Stevens at the Fred Kavli Theatre in Thousand Oaks. - April 24, 2005 – Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts, Cerritos, California
Fulton again performed with Connie Stevens at the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts.
From Alabama to Florida and California
The February schedule illustrates the pace of professional live performance. Within less than two weeks, Fulton performed with the Connie Stevens production in Alabama, Florida, and California. The engagements included several established performing arts venues and required the musicians to maintain the show while traveling across the country.
The February 19 engagement at Florida Atlantic University followed Gulf Shores by only four days. Fulton then performed at Ruth Eckerd Hall on February 22 before the schedule moved west for performances at the McCallum Theatre on February 25 and the Fred Kavli Theatre on February 27.
See the related entry documenting Bill Fulton performing with Connie Stevens at Florida Atlantic University.
Nearly two months later, Fulton returned to the Connie Stevens production for the April 24 engagement at the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts. Together, these six documented dates provide a snapshot of Fulton’s work with Stevens during 2005.
Connie Stevens: Singer, Actress and Entertainer
By 2005, Connie Stevens had enjoyed a remarkably varied career spanning music, television, film, and live entertainment. She became widely known for playing Cricket Blake on the ABC television series Hawaiian Eye. She also appeared opposite George Burns in Wendy and Me and built an extensive film and television career.
Her recording career produced hits including “Sixteen Reasons” and “Kookie, Kookie (Lend Me Your Comb).” However, Stevens was much more than a recording artist. Live performance remained an important part of her career, including many years as a Las Vegas headliner.
Her stage production reflected that extensive experience. Classic popular songs and her own hits appeared alongside big-band, blues, rock, Latin, pop, and country material. An orchestra, rhythm section, and backup singers supported the show.
Performing for Presidents and U.S. Troops
Stevens also developed a long history of entertaining members of the United States military. She toured with Bob Hope and performed for American troops at military bases and hospitals, including appearances connected with Korea, Vietnam, and the Persian Gulf.
She also performed for four U.S. presidents at the White House and Kennedy Center. Her work in recording, television, film, Las Vegas, concert performance, and military entertainment illustrates the unusually broad scope of her career.
Connie Stevens Beyond Entertainment
Stevens also became an entrepreneur. She created the Forever Spring cosmetics business, adding another dimension to a career already spanning several areas of entertainment. Her daughters, Joely and Tricia, later continued that family legacy through Fisher Stevens Beauty.
More about Connie Stevens and her daughters’ continuation of that legacy can be found on the Connie Stevens page at Fisher Stevens Beauty.
Documenting a Live Performance Career
The February 15 Gulf Shores appearance was a live concert engagement rather than a commercial recording. Nevertheless, performances such as these form an important part of a professional musician’s history. They document the artists, musicians, venues, repertoire, and travel behind a working career in live entertainment.
In this case, surviving performance records combined with Fulton’s firsthand recollections provide unusually detailed historical context. Fulton performed with Stevens in Gulf Shores, Boca Raton, Clearwater, Palm Desert, Thousand Oaks, and Cerritos during 2005.
Fulton also remembers performing “Where or When,” “Sixteen Reasons,” “The Glory of Love,” and “Dancing in the Dark” as part of the Gulf Shores show. Those firsthand details help preserve information about the actual music performed rather than simply documenting the date and location of the engagement.
Together, the performance dates, contemporary accounts, and Fulton’s recollections provide a snapshot of Connie Stevens’ live production in 2005 and Fulton’s role as a pianist and keyboardist performing with her.
Gulf Shores Performance Details
- Featured artist: Connie Stevens
- Keyboardist: Bill Fulton
- Location: Gulf Shores, Alabama
- Date: February 15, 2005
- Role: Keyboardist
- Performance type: Live concert engagement
Explore additional recordings, sessions, concerts, and performance credits in the Bill Fulton discography.
Year: 2005Role: keyboardist
Album: Connie Stevens Gulf Shores, AL 2/15/05
Title: all titles
Artist: Connie Stevens
Release label: N/A
Purchase links:
