Darcus after dark: Daughter-in-law of BBQ baron Ollie Gates is a star in her own right | Opinion
When it comes to star power, some people just have what is known as the “it factor.” This quality is hard to define but those that possess this unique trait are usually charismatic and talented beyond measure.
Darcus Speed Gates of Kansas City is one of those people. And it didn’t take me long to figure out why the award-winning singer and longtime nightclub performer at hotels along the Las Vegas strip is held in such high regard.
Halfway through an hourlong sit-down I had with her at Gates Bar-B-Q, 1221 Brooklyn Ave. in Kansas City — locals call it The Pit — I couldn’t help but notice her aura.
She captured my attention immediately as she recounted her younger days growing up here before moving to Los Angeles at 15, and later to Las Vegas to pursue music. At 18, she was signed to RCA Records. She added that her late mother was an opera singer and an influential musical figure in her life.
Overdue recognition
This fall, Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman proclaimed Sept. 29 as Darcus Speed Gates Day. Gates said the Sin City celebration was attended by legendary singer Smokey Robinson, members of the funk group Kool & The Gang and other famous musicians whom Gates has performed with in the past.
It wasn’t lost on her that the proclamation she received in Las Vegas was on the same day as her mother’s birthday.
“That was nothing but God,” she said. “No one out there knew that was my mother’s birthday.”
Last month, Jackson County Executive Frank White also presented her with a proclamation. Gates would like to see Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas honor her at a City Council meeting before the end of the year. And he should.
Any official recognition from her hometown “is long overdue,” Gates’ brother, Charles Johnson, said.
“She’s earned it,” he said.
Johnson is general manager of Gates Bar-B-Q. He said during the COVID-19 pandemic, he and Gates developed Darcus After Dark, an online weekly music showcase that was later opened to the public and held at the restaurant’s location at 12th and Brooklyn. In a 2023 profile, The Star’s David Hudnall described the Friday night shows as “a mixed plate of barbecue and late-night jazz.”
“For the last two years, it has been attracting a mature East Side crowd hungry for ribs with a side of rhythm,” Hudnall wrote.
Gates is the daughter-in-law of barbecue baron Ollie Gates. Decades ago, she met future husband George Gates in Las Vegas while he was a student at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. George is chief operating officer of Gates Bar-B-Q.
Darcus recalled that George asked her out three times before they actually went on a date. She said her future husband stood her up every single time. Once they finally connected, they’ve been together since, Darcus said. That was about 40 years ago.
After 30 years performing in Las Vegas — George remained in Kansas City through the years to run the family business — Darcus said she moved back to Kansas City permanently about 15 years ago. When I asked her what prompted the move, she said: “My husband.”
I smiled at the matter-of-fact response.
Telling her story
“You are a great storyteller,” I said in between bites of short end ribs, baked beans and onion rings. I added a strawberry soda and water to quench my thirst.
Darcus thanked me and added, “I wrote a book.”
The book is called “Everybody’s Got an Uncle Gibby. Don’t You?” Darcus described the work, available on Amazon, as a collection of true stories about a close family member. One reviewer wrote: “The most hilarious book ever read. Can’t wait for the second edition. Need to make a movie out of this.”
Literary aspirations aside, Darcus is best known for singing. She won a 2023 regional Emmy award for her performance on “People Get Ready,” a charitable song that benefited St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. The song featured Stevie Wonder, CeCe Peniston and 27 other singers.
If you ask me, the award symbolizes what it didn’t take me long to soon realize: Kansas City, we have a star born and raised in our own backyard.
