March 2026 issue of InMaricopa Magazine InMaricopa.com InMaricopa is Maricopa's premier local news source InMaricopa is your go-to source for hyper-local news and information about Maricopa, Arizona. Stay informed with the latest community updates, events, and stories that matter to our city. InMaricopa is the only dedicated news outlet focusing exclusively on the city of Maricopa, ensuring residents are always in the know.
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InMaricopa.com | March 2026
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CONTENTS
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28
LEADING OFF Editor’s letter 6 Contributors 6 HISTORY This month in history 8 Remembering Maricopa’s first birthday 10 GOVERNMENT Permits 12 Private fire group files liens on homeowners 14 SENIORS Doo-wop legend finds home in Province 22 COMMUNITY Looking at Lambos 26 BUSINESS What makes Maricopa’s barn party hotspot so special? 28 An entrepreneur grows her one-stop beauty shop 30 Restaurant inspections 32 Mapping business news 34 HEALTH & WELLNESS A new approach to sexual wellness 36 EDUCATION CAC can offer Pinal County’s first 4-year degree program 38
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HOME Pepper planting season starts now 40 Why good rental applications go wrong 41 Extreme home sales 42 Don’t panic about the recent foreclosure uptick. Here’s why 46
THINGS TO DO Calendar 55 TRENDING A look at what’s hot on InMaricopa.com 63 PARTING SHOT Saguaro cactus blossoms 64
ON THE COVER Monica D. Spencer photographs Carlos Hernandez and Amber Wignall enjoying a drink at Duke’s Roadhouse on Feb. 17.
InMaricopa.com | March 2026
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FROM THE EDITOR
I It’s happening here NOT LONG AFTER AMANDA ATLER OPENED Mandy’s Wine Bar in 2024, my fiancée and I sat across from each other there on our first date. It was new then. Upscale, Mediterranean, a first of its kind for Maricopa. We were just getting to know each other. The place had no history for us yet. On Jan. 29, our son was born. Two weeks later, on Valentine’s board president Patti Coutré, someone I serve alongside on the Be Awesome Youth Coalition board and a friend to so many in this community. We talked, laughed, we admired the baby. And it hit me. That has largely been my experience since I bought my Maricopa home and took the reins of this newsroom three years ago. Familiar faces reappear. Places around town that once meant nothing suddenly carry weight. Restaurants become landmarks. (Duke’s Roadhouse, which opened in 2025, is another perfect example. That’s how it ended up on this month’s cover!) It happened here. In Maricopa. The place where my firstborn will grow up. How cool is that? A lot of us can relate. David Iversen’s little one just turned 1. Many of you saw her photo Day, we went back to Mandy’s. Same warm lighting. Same hum of conversation. This time, I walked in as a dad. I was greeted by Maricopa Unified School District governing
Publisher SCOTT BARTLE
Advertising Director VINCENT MANFREDI
appear in our June 2025 edition. Maybe I’ll do the same thing; I haven’t decided yet. But I have new appreciation for why those moments matter. This month’s issue is full of
Editorial Director ELIAS WEISS
Operations Director TIFFANY WELCH
moments that matter. David writes about the unusual, sometimes hilarious stories unfolding in Maricopa’s real estate market. Tom Schuman introduces us to Bobby Wade, whose decades-long music career now finds a new chapter here in Province. Monica D. Spencer spotlights Duke’s and Silk Press Xpress, two businesses investing in
Advertising ERIKA PARAMO BRITTANY RUSSELL MICHELLE SORENSEN Writers ANGELA ASKEY KRISTINA DONNAY WENDE GEHRT DAVID IVERSEN DAYV MORGAN TOM SCHUMAN
the community. And we dive deep into a complex fire coverage dispute that reminds us that growth is not always simple. But life isn’t simple, and Maricopa — for those lucky enough to live here — is where life happens.
KAYDENCE SHIPMAN MONICA D. SPENCER SHERMAN AND EUPHEMIA WEEKES
Photographers DAVID IVERSEN MONICA D. SPENCER
ELIAS WEISS EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Elias@inMaricopa.com
Designer CARL BEZUIDENHOUT
MISSION Inform readers/viewers. Enrich advertisers.
Send your reactions with a photo of yourself at the QR code to be published in a future edition of InMaricopa magazine.
BELIEFS We believe in: • An informed citizenry. • Holding ourselves and others accountable. • The success of deserving businesses.
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VALUES
• Integrity • Accountability
• Open, honest, real-time communication • Prosperity for clients, community, company
Volume 21, Issue 3 InMaricopa 44400 W. Honeycutt Road, Suite 101 Maricopa, AZ 85138
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Published advertisements are not an endorsement of products or advertising claims by InMaricopa . No part of this magazine may be reproduced by any means without the prior written permission of InMaricopa . Copyright 2025.
KRISTINA DONNAY Dr. Kristina starts an honest conversation about men’s and women’s sexual health.
KAYDENCE SHIPMAN Intern Kaydence contributes business, history and real estate briefs.
ANGELA ASKEY Angela details Central
Arizona College’s first ever bachelor’s degree program.
InMaricopa.com | March 2026
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HISTORY
Compassionate Care. Exceptional Services.
THIS MONTH IN HISTORY For these and other historical stories, visit InMaricopa.com.
5 years ago Hundreds of residents gathered for the grand opening of Maricopa’s $10.6 million, 27,000-square-foot Library & Cultural Center at White- and-Parker and Bowlin Roads. The celebration featured performances, guided tours, crafts and a Friends of the Maricopa Library book sale. In the years since, the building has doubled as one of the city’s most visible public meeting venues, including all-day municipal leadership planning sessions, transportation open houses and InMaricopa ’s candidate forums and debates.
10 years ago
15 years ago
20 years ago
A domestic dispute in the Alterra neighborhood ended in a murder- suicide. Tony Shakir, 38, shot and killed Randy Phillips, 49, at a Windrose Drive home after Phillips attempted to intervene in a dispute between Shakir and his ex-wife. Officers responded in the early evening and after a five- hour standoff, state police SWAT teams entered the home and found Shakir dead in the garage from a self-inflicted gunshot. Phillips was found in the family room.
A grand jury dropped attempted murder charges against Maricopa resident Kassandra Toruga but indicted her on reckless burning and aggravated assault after police said she confessed to planning to kill her pregnant friend and take the baby. The child was later born safely. Fifteen years on, that mother is Angelique Robledo, now raising a teen in Maricopa. InMaricopa revisited her story — and her triumph — in the magazine’s August 2025 edition.
InMaricopa.com hosted the second annual Salsa Festival, helping cement the event as one of the city’s early signature gatherings. The festival went on to become an annual spring tradition, held each year for more than a decade. In 2014, it moved to Copper Sky Regional Park to coincide with the grand opening of the city’s flagship recreation complex. The event was canceled in 2020 due to the pandemic and never returned.
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InMaricopa.com | March 2026
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HISTORY
Residents sample chili during a celebration marking the first anniversary of Maricopa’s incorporation, carrying bags printed with the city’s original black “M” logo and “Incorporated 2003” seal.
Building the core in ‘04 On a warm October afternoon in 2004, with new stucco homes rising beyond the fairways of Rancho El Dorado, state and local leaders gathered at The Duke to mark a milestone. The city’s first Founder’s Day celebration was held there in honor of the first anniversary of incorporation. Maricopa officially became a city on Oct. 15, 2003, and by the time residents assembled at the golf course clubhouse a year later, the pace of change was already visible in every direction. In the photograph from that day, Alan Stephens, then co-chief of staff for Gov. Janet Napolitano, stands at a podium bearing The Duke’s logo. A U.S. Marine Corps flag rests beside him. Across a manmade
lake and freshly shaped greens, new homes climb out of the desert, framing the moment in real time: farms and ranches giving way to subdivisions. Stephens delivered a proclamation from the governor, congratulating Maricopa on its first year as an incorporated city. “Maricopa has a tradition of raising families with respect, honor and pride,” he said, praising residents for transforming agricultural land into neighborhoods while striving to preserve community values. “You are doing development the right way.” Among the city’s early accomplishments touted that day: negotiation for a proposed 20-acre park, which would later become Pacana Park, and preparation of the city’s general plan, aimed at guiding explosive growth.
InMaricopa.com | March 2026
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March 2026 | InMaricopa.com
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GOVERNMENT
Rancho El Dorado. Lennar to construct 9 homes in Anderson Farms. Pulte Homes to construct 6 homes in El Rancho Santa Rosa.
Apartments . Stonegate
Investment on-site improvement permit for Someburros . The contractor is Alexander Building Company. Holdings Maricopa Leased Housing Associates at-risk foundation and building permits for Stonegate Apartments at 18260 N. Alan Stephens Parkway. The contractor is LSH Construction. IH Maricopa Apartments Owner II solar permit for Stonegate Apartments , valued at $344,328. Cobblestone Fiesta tenant improvement permit for The Taco Spot at 44600 W. Smith- Enke Road, Suite 101. The contractor is Instate Construction. Walmart interior alteration permit for speaker installation, valued at $48,158. RESIDENTIAL Century Communities to construct 1 home in Rancho Mirage. Century Communities to construct 4 homes in the Lakes at Rancho El Dorado. D.R. Horton to construct 15 homes in Sorrento, 8 in Elena Trails and 4 in Moonlight. Gehan Homes to construct 6 homes in
BRIEF
Permits Jan. 11-Feb. 10 COMMERCIAL
6 RESIDENTIAL SOLAR 7 RESIDENTIAL SWIMMING POOLS 53 SINGLE-FAMILY HOMES 7 RESIDENTIAL ALTERATIONS 1 TEMPORARY SIGN
East Family Investments certificate of occupancy for Aura Esthetics Studio at 44400 W. Honeycutt Road. Pinal County shade structure permit for Heritage Park at 44200 W. Maricopa-Casa Grande Highway. The contractor is Shade N Net of Arizona. Maricopa Leased Housing Associates new construction permits for a clubhouse at Saddleback Village Apartments , valued at $357,367. Maricopa Leased Housing Associates multi- family at-risk foundation permits for 121 units at Saddleback Village Apartments . The contractor is LSH Construction. Maricopa Leased Housing Associates 80 multiplex permits at Saddleback Village
W kly EVENTS MONDAYS - Bingo TUESDAYS - Line Dance Lessons WEDNESDAYS - Country Swing Lessons Cornhole League THURSDAYS - Ladies Night SATURDAYS & SUNDAYS - Brunch SUNDAYS - Karaoke
19395 N. John Wayne Pkwy • (520) 213-8005
InMaricopa.com | March 2026
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GOVERNMENT
emergency response. It does not set staffing levels, service standards, response protocols or Insurance Services Office ratings. Those operational responsibilities, the association said, rest entirely with the City of Maricopa under a fire services agreement. Under that same development framework, SMFA said a 2.5-acre parcel of land has already been conveyed to the city for a future fire station intended to serve the area. Planning, construction, staffing and operation of that facility fall solely under city authority, according to the statement. The association described its own responsibilities as administrative and financial — collecting assessments required by recorded property covenants and using those funds to pay for contracted fire protection services. Fire service in SMFA’s territory is currently provided by the City of Maricopa under contract. The association collects mandatory quarterly assessments from homeowners and uses that revenue to pay the city for coverage. The arrangement exists because fire service in unincorporated Pinal County is not funded through property taxes. When the agreement was approved by the Maricopa City Council in 2022, city officials emphasized participation was voluntary and driven by landowners and developers, not imposed by the city. Developers were required to identify a fire provider to secure plat approvals and acceptable Insurance Services Office ratings, a prerequisite for construction and insurance coverage. Without such an arrangement, some developments could not progress. At the time, SMFA’s president told city leaders the association owned no fire trucks and employed no firefighters, and that contracting with the City of Maricopa was the only viable option to provide coverage “on day one.” City officials stressed that the agreement would not burden Maricopa taxpayers. Homeowners would pay an annual fee of roughly $400 per lot, with additional impact fees collected to fund future capital costs. Residents inside city limits are paying about $682 per household in 2026, according to the city’s budget and building permits. The coverage south of the limits, however, is limited. In some parts of the service area, response times stretch 15 to 20 minutes. Insurance Services Office ratings reach a “10,” the worst possible score, indicating minimal effective fire protection. But as the letter makes clear, payment is not optional.
‘Payment is not optional’ How a private fire association uses liens to enforce coverage STORY AND PHOTOS BY BY DAVID IVERSEN
T
it functions as a private assessment authority created by developers to fund fire protection in unincorporated areas outside Maricopa’s city limits. In a written statement provided by a lawyer, the South Maricopa Fire Association said its role is far narrower than many residents assume. The association described itself as a private entity created through recorded covenants to coordinate and fund fire protection for specific properties in unincorporated Pinal County. SMFA said it does not operate a fire department, employ firefighters or control
Miss a payment, and the association may place a lien on the home. “The payment is not optional,” the letter warned. “The assessment is secured by an automatic lien against your home.” Public records show that warning was not rhetorical. In total, 24 liens were recorded in 2024. Last year, that number nearly tripled to 67. The South Maricopa Fire Association is not a fire department in the traditional sense. It owns no fire stations, employs no firefighters and operates no equipment. Instead,
HE LETTERS ARRIVED IN EVERY Hidden Valley mailbox one Monday in December. Each was addressed simply:
“Dear Homeowner.” Out in the growing developments south of Maricopa, an association many residents had never heard of was asserting its authority. The South Maricopa Fire Association said it was writing to clear up a “misunderstanding” about mandatory membership and assessments. Every homeowner within its boundaries, the letter stated, must pay $100 per quarter for fire service.
Where Com u ity Gathers
Undeveloped land stretches across Hidden Valley, where homeowners are required to pay quarterly fire service assessments through the South Maricopa Fire Association.
41600 W. Smith-Enke Road, Suite 120 (next to Adobe Blinds and More) 520-728-4248 MandysWineBar.com
InMaricopa.com | March 2026
March 2026 | InMaricopa.com
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GOVERNMENT
A stopgap that never stopped The arrangement was not meant to be permanent. Under pre-annexation agreements approved in the early 2000s, subdivisions in Hidden Valley and Thunderbird Farms are slated to be annexed into the city once they reach 51% occupancy. At that point, municipal services, including fire protection, will transition from private arrangements to city responsibility. That threshold remains largely unmet. Of more than a dozen approved developments in the area, only Amarillo Creek is currently populated. Most remain dormant or in early construction stages. Until annexation occurs, the areas remain unincorporated, outside Maricopa’s tax base and dependent on private mechanisms like SMFA to fund fire protection. The gap creates a limbo. Residents pay the city for contracted fire service, but without the infrastructure, staffing or response times typically associated with being inside city limits. Annexation promises better coverage, but it arrives only when enough homes are occupied to trigger it, not when emergency needs arise. Between May 2024 and November 2025, SMFA recorded at least 91 assessment liens against homes, according to filings with the Pinal County Recorder’s Office. Old approvals, new pressure SMFA was incorporated in 2005, during Maricopa’s first housing boom. Developers,
New homes starting in the $300’s
Find your community here
Power lines cut across a future residential subdivision site in Hidden Valley, part of the area governed by mandatory fire service covenants.
Between 2007 and 2010, development stalled, fire stations were never built and annexation agreements expired. What remained were the covenants and the obligation to pay. Two decades later, those same subdivisions are reactivating under approvals granted under a starkly different context. Local governments
racing ahead of infrastructure, embedded a private fire association into deed restrictions for homes on the city’s outskirts. Membership was mandatory. Assessments ran with the land. The structure was intended as a temporary bridge until annexation brought municipal service. Then the housing market collapsed.
SOUTH MARICOPA FIRE ASSOCIATION LIENS – 2024-2025
D.R. Horton is an Equal Housing Opportunity Builder. DRH Properties, Inc., Broker. Home and community information, pricing, plans, elevations, included features, options, terms, availability, amenities, and co-broke, are subject to change and prior sale at any time without notice or obligation. Drawings, pictures, photographs, video, square footages, colors, features, and sizes are for illustration purposes only and will vary from the homes as built. Square footage dimensions are approximate and vary by elevation. If Buyer is working with a licensed real estate agent or broker, the agent or broker must accompany and register buyer on first visit to the community. See sales agent for complete details and pricing, including a list of available homes. Prices vary by community. D.R. Horton reserves the right to cancel or change all offers without prior notice. Prices shown are base home prices and do not include closing cost and fees, lot premium, modifications to plans and custom features which may substantially affect final cost of the home. Furnishings and decorative items not included with home purchase. Construction by DRH Phoenix East Construction, Inc., License #ROC 064532-B. Contact us for Maricopa specific homebuyer incentives. 480-780-2171 or PhoenixInfo@drhorton.com
Source: Pinal County Records Office
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YOUR TRUSTED
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have little leverage to renegotiate terms. The only public agency positioned to absorb those areas is the Thunderbird Fire District, a voter-approved special taxing district that serves Thunderbird Farms. District leaders have argued that as dormant projects come back online, residents could petition to join the district and receive tax- funded fire protection instead of relying on a private assessment structure. But because the original subdivision approvals predate current service realities, the district cannot unilaterally expand; property owners must initiate the change. “These developments were approved 20 years ago,” Thunderbird Fire District member Carol Shrock told an audience at the Thunderbird Farms Fire Hall late last year. “If they build exactly what they were entitled to back then, there’s not much we can do.” Fire protection, however, cannot wait. The December letter rejected claims of double billing, arguing that because fire service in unincorporated Pinal County is not funded through property taxes, the private assessment replaces what would otherwise be a public tax. But unlike a tax, the assessment is enforced privately, through liens and, ultimately, foreclosure authority. As development resumed, SMFA also moved to protect its service territory. Thunderbird Fire officials say SMFA sent the district multiple cease-and-desist letters over several years, warning it to stop responding to calls or pursuing boundary expansion into developments governed by SMFA’s covenants. SMFA has acknowledged sending the letters, saying they were necessary to preserve the private agreements that fund fire protection in those subdivisions. Taxes and territory The dispute reflects two competing funding models. SMFA collects mandatory private assessments tied to deed restrictions — just like a homeowner’s association — and contracts with the City of Maricopa for service. The Thunderbird Fire District, by contrast, is funded through property taxes. No court ruling ever resolved the boundary question. No regulator intervened. Residents could petition to join the district, but no expansion has been approved. Thus, the competing service models remained in place. Asked to explain the association’s current posture, SMFA declined. Acting
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as an intermediary for the board, Vicki Sears, senior vice president of Regional Community Management for Associated Asset Management, said the board reviewed the topics and chose not to comment. “The ‘dispute’ was four years ago so not recent at all,” Sears wrote in an email. In subsequent messages, she reiterated the board would offer “no comment at this time,” and directed questions about fire service to the City of Maricopa. The city referred questions back to Sears. She declined to identify board members or make them available for comment, writing, “the board is the one that made this decision.” The board’s members are not identified online or in mailed communications provided to InMaricopa by Amarillo Creek residents. In its written response, SMFA said its authority is established through recorded covenants that run with the land and are disclosed at purchase. The board said it acts in accordance with those documents and applicable law, and declined to answer additional policy questions, citing its limited administrative role. What changed, even as the board declined to speak, was enforcement. As payments lagged and development returned, SMFA increasingly turned its authority inward, using liens to secure revenue from homeowners. If the association did not contract for service, 911 calls would be routed to the nearest available department under mutual aid, but no agency would be specifically funded or legally obligated to provide dedicated fire protection to those subdivisions. At stake is not just who responds to emergencies, but who controls the revenue stream and the mechanisms that keep it intact. The December letter insists the association remains necessary “until such time as the City of Maricopa is able to provide fire service.” A future city fire station depends on development fees reaching roughly $2.2 million, a funding benchmark that is likely to trail the occupancy threshold for annexation. In the meantime, as homes are occupied and payments come due, SMFA is recording liens that convert missed quarterly assessments into secured debt attached to the property — an enforcement power flexed by a board that won’t identify its members.
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“I told you that you would have a church. I just didn’t know it would be in a casino.” Adopted hometown In 1964, Wade headed to Cleveland and took a job as a baggage handler for Greyhound. It was steady work. But the music would not stay in the background for long. He had already recorded a song titled You Don’t Understand Me. While performing live on the Big Five Show, a local version of American Bandstand, he sang along with the recording. Mid-song, the record began to skip. Wade didn’t flinch. He imitated the stammer and finished the performance. Syd Friedman, a promoter and booking agent, saw the show that night. He looked Wade up in the Yellow Pages and reached out. When they finally met, Friedman said, “I’ve been looking for you. I saw you on TV. You’re a funny guy.” That led to a two-week stint as a master of ceremonies, comedian and singer at the French Quarters, a Cleveland burlesque club. Down the street sat the Theatrical Grill, a reported hangout for local gangsters. The leader of a jazz trio performing there offered Wade a second job, replacing a departing singer.
Bobby Wade stands beside framed records and photographs chronicling his decades-long music career.
Smooth sounds Little Anthony and the Imperials’ Bobby Wade waltzes down memory lane
and her family were in Oberlin, Ohio, roughly 30 miles south of Cleveland. The 85-mile gap between them disappeared in 1958. “Her parents moved to Meadville, across the street from Pomona Park, which is where we all would hang out. My cousin said, ‘You’ve got to meet this new family that moved in.’ She was 12 and I was 14. We’ve been together since that moment.” Family has always been woven into Wade’s story. As a teenager, he and his friends got some early coaching from his Aunt Mabel. When the group needed a name, they took her suggestion: The Orientals. Only later did anyone pause to consider the irony of that moniker for an all-Black ensemble. Years later, Wade’s grandmother made the trip to Las Vegas to see him perform at the Tropicana Hotel. It was the same grandmother who, long before the bright lights and showrooms, had told him he would one day have his own church. The lively show closed with This Little Light of Mine. That night, famed blind piano player George Shearing proclaimed, “This young man, this group, has made me see the light.” Afterward, Wade spoke with his grandmother about Shearing’s comment. She didn’t miss a beat.
BY TOM SCHUMAN
U
Imperials and Bobby Wade’s Emperors, along with a variety of entertainment roles in Las Vegas and beyond. When he stepped onto the stage in January for a special performance at a community mic night in Province — his home in Maricopa since 2021 — it marked his first time in the spotlight in nearly a quarter of a century. That night was just one of many stories Wade enthusiastically shared recently. Through the ups and downs of his many years in show business, he added, “God has always taken care of us.” Family affair “Us” for Wade begins with his wife, Ruth. The couple will celebrate their 65th wedding anniversary this year, though their story stretches back even further. In the late 1950s, Wade and his family lived in Meadville, Pa., about 40 miles south of Erie in the northwestern corner of the state. Ruth
NLIKE MANY PEOPLE, BOBBY Wade never struggled to find the right occupation. He knew at an early age — 5 to be exact — what
he would be doing with his career. Then he went out and did it for the next five-plus decades. Growing up in the Bronx in New York, Wade said his parents worked different shifts. For a short time each day, he had the house to himself, and music filled the space. “The radio was always on. I listened to Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Nat King Cole. I knew then what I wanted to do,” he said. Two years later, a trip to the famed Apollo Theater sealed it. Watching a popular entertainer of the day take the stage, Wade told himself, “I can do that. That was my inspiration to become a performer.” He went on to enjoy rhythm and blues and doo-wop stardom as part of Little Anthony and the Imperials. Later came Bobby Wade’s
Bobby Wade and his wife, Ruth, will celebrate 65 years of marriage this year.
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Wade’s career included a No. 1 hit — in England. Who’s Gonna Love Me was recorded in 1978 for Power Exchange Records in London. “We went to Los Angeles, to Marvin Gaye’s studio, and spent three weeks recording the album. Later, we were on stage in Hawaii, and a hula dancer handed me a telegram that said, ‘Congratulations, your song has hit the charts in the U.K. at No. 20.’” Wade said more telegrams followed, announcing No. 5 and ultimately No. 1. “They wanted us to come to London. We had a week left in Hawaii, but they told us to go,” he continued. “We flew from Honolulu to Las Vegas, then to San Francisco and London. We stayed there a couple of months, doing shows all over the country.” Along the way, Wade and his group also opened for reggae legend Bob Marley on his first U.S. tour. Back home When Wade left Las Vegas, he decided he was done. “I wasn’t going to leave Caesar’s Palace and go to Joe’s Bar,” he said. In 2005, Bobby and Ruth moved to the Seattle area to be closer to their grandchildren. Today, they have seven grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. So, what brought him back to the stage in Province after such a long absence? After the first open mic night in 2024, his daughter DiAnna floated an idea: “We should have sung Unforgettable.” “She didn’t really think we would have another show,” Wade explained. “She was too shy to be on stage, so she had a microphone at the table where she was sitting. People were wondering where her voice was coming from. When I got mixed up with the words, DiAnna came up on stage. She was my hero that night.” It wasn’t the first time someone had stepped in mid-song. Years earlier, while performing with noted actress and singer Connie Francis, an onstage mishap knocked over her music. Wade stayed with her, helping carry the performance to the finish. Family, he said, has always been behind him. “DiAnna said that her dad always ‘took a leap of faith’ in his career decisions. And Miss Ruth always had my back. She never said you can’t do this or you can’t do that.” Bobby Wade did it all. And, in the words of one of his early influences, Frank Sinatra, he did it his way.
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Clockwise: Framed publicity photos and memorabilia from Bobby Wade’s career with Little Anthony and the Imperials line a wall in his Province home. | Bobby Wade takes the stage in Province for his first live performance in nearly a quarter century. | Bobby Wade performs with his daughter, DiAnna, during the recent community mic night.
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the Flamingo, Wade was spotted by Clarence Collins, one of the founders of Little Anthony and the Imperials in the 1950s. Career climb Little Anthony and the Imperials, behind its lead singer Jerome “Little Anthony” Gourdine, shot to instant fame in 1958 with their first single, Tears on My Pillow. A string of hits followed in the mid-‘60s, along with two appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show, the premier talent showcase of the era. Wade’s first performances with the group were set for Lake Tahoe in December 1971. “I woke up the next morning and saw this big lake and the snow-capped mountains,” Wade remembered. “I called Ruth and said we’re moving.” Not long after, the family relocated from Ohio to Las Vegas. Three years later, Little Anthony left the group to pursue a solo career again. When Wade was asked whether he wanted to keep the group together, his answer was clear. He wanted to run the business. His brother Billy became the leader of the group’s band. They rehearsed for months before Wade secured two weeks of open dates at the Sahara in Las Vegas. There was that familiar timeframe again.
For months, Wade worked both rooms. During breaks at the French Quarters, he would head down the street and perform at the Grill. The original two-week booking turned into three years. Progress accelerated when Wade walked into Way Out Records in Cleveland with a copy of You Don’t Understand Me. Owner Lester Johnson asked if he had more material. “There were a few songs I had been writing,” Wade recalled. “They put me with two singer- songwriters to work the songs up and two weeks later we were in the studio recording them.” Flame in My Heart was recorded on the Big Jim label, a salute to legendary Cleveland Browns running back Jim Brown and subsidiary of Way Out Records. Four Walls and One Window was also produced, with Can’t You Hear Me Calling You serving as the B side for both releases. The records did not generate major sales, but another opportunity arrived on Christmas Eve 1970 when the leader of a group called New Direction saw Wade perform. “He came to see me after the show and said, ‘We’re going to Vegas and open at the Flamingo in February. Would you like to join the group?’” Another two-week job stretched into nearly a year on the road, with stops in Montreal, Puerto Rico and Florida. During a return to
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Hobbies: Baking, movies, arts & cra s with the kids and party planning Pet peeve: Loud chewing Dream vacation: Greece Like most about Maricopa: Small town feel. Meeting my neighbors and seeing them at the many community events. Like least about Maricopa: Lack of grocery options, but I am very hopeful about this changing one day. FAVORITE … Charity: The Jed Foundation Book: “I’m Glad my Mom Died ”- Jeane e McCurdy Movie: Harry Po er series
Actor: Jon Bernthal Song : Querido Abuelo -Becky G
Musician : Demi Lovato Team: San Diego (LA) Chargers & Los Padres Athlete : Phillip Rivers & Tony Gwynn Food: Chilaquiles Drink: Iced Tea/Matcha Meal: Pot roast with potatoes Getaway : Always love a beach trip Quote: “In three words I can sum up everything I have learned about life: It goes on.” -Mike Fros
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“After the first night,” Wade exclaimed, “they came and asked, ‘How many more weeks do you want?’” Collins, Wade and Harold Jenkins toured as the Imperials and later as Bobby Wade’s Imperials. In the early 1990s, several original members of Little Anthony and the Imperials reunited. Wade gave up the name, and his group became Bobby Wade’s Emperors. The new name was partly a nod to the lounge at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, where they served as the house band for nearly a decade.
Hometown: San Diego, Ca. Reside in: ? Maricopan since: 2021 Family: Husband Victor, 2 bonus daughters Kareena and Jessie and a very big and full extended family
Pets: 5 Huskys Ayton, Nova, Booker, Kendall, Coco 2 cats Amaya, Buldak 2 sh Cars: We are a Honda Nissan family. We have our famous 2023 Titan with the SKADUSH license plate (Kung fu Panda)
Learn more about Erika at InMaricopa.com/Ge ing-to-Know.
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