Partying Down for Wynonna

The Scene: Tuesday night’s party at the West Hollywood nightclub, the Gate, for Wynonna. The occasion was Wynonna’s becoming (to quote the press release) “The first female in country music to achieve triple platinum with a studio album.” Her two-night stint at the Greek Theatre this weekend drew both great crowds and great reviews.

Name Change: Since going solo, the former Wynonna Judd has adopted the proud Hollywood tradition of using only a single name--just like Prince, Cher and Lassie.

Who Was There: Singers Natalie Cole and Lyle Lovett (who was Julia-less for the evening); actors Dean Cain and William Shockley; MCA Records chief Al Teller; Curb Records chief Mike Curb; and MCA Records/Nashville chief Bruce Hinton. Wynonna arrived with mother Naomi Judd and sister Ashley Judd, causing mass photographic panic. (“Look at them,” marveled one woman. “There is no hair in Hollywood that can equal that.”)

Bad Manners: One generic young actor pulled a Sean Penn maneuver, rushing through the paparazzi like he hadn’t expected to see photographers at a Hollywood party. It would have been more effective if anyone really knew who he was.

Dress Code: Strictly L.A. urban cowboy--90% urban and 10% cowboy, with more backward baseball caps than Stetsons. Wynonna wore a black velvet gown with red velvet flowers tucked into her bodice.

Overheard: Early in the evening, before the celebrities arrived, photographers were beginning to get itchy shutter fingers. One of them, beginning to panic, was heard to demand, “Is that Lori Davis, from the hair-care infomercial?”

Judd Family Trivia: According to mother Naomi, 20 years ago the family used to live just a few blocks from the nightclub, on Larrabee.

Glitches: The hors d’oeuvres were good, but plenty of people were heard complaining about the lack of a real buffet. Was MCA really being cheap? Or are record company guests just a pack of ungrateful moochers?