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Viva Las Vegas (song)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| “Viva Las Vegas” | |
|---|---|
| |
| Single by Elvis Presley | |
| B-side | “What’d I Say“ |
| Released | April 28, 1964 |
| Recorded | July 10, 1963 |
| Studio | Radio Recorders, Hollywood, California |
| Genre | Rock and rollpop |
| Length | 2:24 |
| Label | RCA |
| Songwriter(s) | Doc Pomus, Mort Shuman |
| Elvis Presley singles chronology | |
| “Kissin’ Cousins” / “It Hurts Me“ (1964)”Viva Las Vegas” / “What’d I Say“ (1964)”Such a Night” / “Never Ending“ (1964) | |
“Viva Las Vegas” is a 1964 song recorded by Elvis Presley written by Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman for his film of the same name, which along with the song was set for general release the year after. Although Elvis Presley never performed the song live, it has since become popular and often performed by others. The RIAA certified the single disc “Viva Las Vegas/What’d I Say” gold on March 27, 1992, having sold 500,000 copies in the United States.
History
The song was recorded on July 10, 1963. Released as a single in 1964 with the B-side “What’d I Say” from the same film, “Viva Las Vegas” charted separately from its B-side, reaching No. 29 on the Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart. The Elvis version of “What’d I Say” peaked at No. 21, the two sides having equivalent appeal in the marketplace.
“Viva Las Vegas” reached No. 17 on the UK Singles Chart, improving to No. 15 after a reissue in 2007. The single reached No. 20 on the Record World chart in the U.S. and No. 14 in Canada. The song was published by Elvis Presley Music, Inc.
In the years since, the song has become popular. In 2002, the city of Las Vegas requested Elvis Presley Enterprises, the company that handles Elvis-related music rights, to allow it to be the official song of the city. Negotiations stalled over the price. EPE had not controlled the copyright to the song since 1993, at which time it became the property of the families of the songwriters Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman.
Use in other media
The song has been adopted as the victory theme for the National Hockey League (NHL)’s Vegas Golden Knights when they win games at T-Mobile Arena.
Elvis Presley’s original version
| Chart (1964) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia | 4 |
| Belgium | 12 |
| Canada (CHUM) Hit Parade | 14 |
| Denmark | 3 |
| Germany | 21 |
| Ireland (IRMA) | 8 |
| Italy | 8 |
| New Zealand (Lever Hit Parade) | 4 |
| Norway | 6 |
| Spain | 16 |
| Sweden | 5 |
| UK Singles Chart | 17 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 | 29 |
| US Cash Box Top 100 | 16 |
| US Record World | 20 |
| Chart (2007) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Singles Chart | 15 |
Cover versions
- Punk band Dead Kennedys recorded a version of “Viva Las Vegas” on their debut album Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables (1980). The song had been a part of their live set almost since the band’s inception. Their version strips the musical arrangement down to guitar, bass and drums, and uses a slightly faster tempo, yet maintains the song’s melodic structure. It also features satirical lyric changes by lead singer Jello Biafra in the second and third verses, referencing a gambler using speed and cocaine in order not to “sleep a minute away”. This version can also be found in Terry Gilliam‘s film adaptation of Hunter S. Thompson‘s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998).
- Ann-Margret, who appeared in the original film, recorded a version of the song for the 2000 film The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas (itself a reference to the original song and film) under the title “Viva Rock Vegas”. Keeping with The Flintstones‘ stone age theme, she was credited as “Ann-Margrock”.
- The song is featured in the film The Big Lebowski (1998). Shawn Colvin performs it as a folk ballad during the closing credits. A rock version in the film is credited to a band called Big Johnson, and is styled after the ZZ Top version. The Colvin version was recorded originally for the Rhino/Forward release, Til the Night is Gone: A Tribute to Songwriter Doc Pomus (1995), and is also featured prominently in Episode 11 of Twin Peaks.
- The Scooby-Doo movie Scooby-Doo! and the Monster of Mexico (2003) featured a variation of the song entitled “Viva Mexico”, done in a Latin beat.
- The song is a part of Bruce Springsteen‘s live act, and was included in The Last Temptation of Elvis, a commemorative album of renditions by singers, and rock groups, of songs made famous by Presley. Springsteen’s studio version of “Viva Las Vegas” was also included in the soundtrack of the film Honeymoon in Vegas (1992), and in his compilation The Essential Bruce Springsteen (2003).
- The Thrills performed “Viva Las Vegas” with James Burton at Elvis’ induction to the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2004. The song was recorded live and later released as a B-side to The Irish Keep Gate-crashing.
- The Dread Zeppelin version of “Viva Las Vegas” was used as the theme to the Travel Channel reality series American Casino.
- The song was recorded for a Viagra commercial with lyrics changed to “Viva Viagra”.
- The song served as the theme tune for NBC’s short-lived animation series Father of the Pride.
- Allison Crowe and Richard Cheese perform a duet of “Viva Las Vegas” that plays throughout the title sequence of Army of the Dead.
ZZ Top version
| “Viva Las Vegas” | |
|---|---|
| Single by ZZ Top | |
| from the album Greatest Hits | |
| B-side | “2000 Blues” |
| Released | 1992 |
| Length | 4:47 |
| Label | Warner Bros. |
| Songwriter(s) | Doc Pomus, Mort Shuman |
| ZZ Top singles chronology | |
| “Burger Man” (1991)”Viva Las Vegas“ (1992)”Pincushion“ (1994) | |
ZZ Top recorded a version of “Viva Las Vegas” as one of two new tracks on their Greatest Hits album (1992). “Viva Las Vegas” was released as a single and reached the Top 10 in both the UK (No. 10) and Ireland (No. 8).
This version appeared in a 1993 episode of Beavis and Butt-head
and the 1998 film The Big Lebowski. They used some sound elements from Michael Jackson‘s “Jam” in the track.
Charts
ZZ Top cover
| Chart (1992) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA) | 28 |
| Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40) | 21 |
| Germany (Official German Charts) | 34 |
| Ireland (IRMA) | 8 |
| Netherlands (Single Top 100) | 27 |
| New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ) | 17 |
| Sweden (Sverigetopplistan) | 7 |
| Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade) | 20 |
| UK Singles Chart | 10 |
| US Billboard Album Rock Tracks | 16 |
- The Killers – Viva Las Vega
- Ed Philips and the Memphis Patrol – Viva Las Vegas
- Marc Martel – Viva Las Vegas
- Lovesick Duo – Viva Las Vegas
- DJ BoBo – Viva Las Vegas
- Bugs Bunny Clip #03 – Viva Las Vegas
- The Grascals – Viva Las Vegas
Viva Las Vegas (Film)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Viva Las Vegas | |
|---|---|
| Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | George Sidney |
| Written by | Sally Benson |
| Produced by | Jack Cummings George Sidney |
| Starring | Elvis Presley Ann-Margret Cesare Danova William Demarest Nicky Blair |
| Cinematography | Joseph F. Biroc |
| Edited by | John McSweeney, Jr. |
| Music by | George E. Stoll |
| Production company | Jack Cummings Productions |
| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
| Release date | May 20, 1964 (United States) |
| Running time | 85 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $1 million |
| Box office | $9.4 million |
Viva Las Vegas is a 1964 American rock and roll musical film, with auto racing thrown in, directed by George Sidney, choreographed by David Winters, and starring Elvis Presley, Ann-Margret, Cesare Danova, William Demarest. Set in Las Vegas, Nevada, the films tells about two competing race car drivers who also compete for the same girl.
The film’s theme song “Viva Las Vegas” did well on the year’s record sales and has since become a theme song for the titular city.
The film is regarded by Elvis fans and film critics as one of Presley’s best films, and it is noted for the real-life on-screen chemistry between Presley and Ann-Margret.
Viva Las Vegas was a hit at film theaters, as it was No. 14 on the Variety entertainment trade magazine’s year end box office list of the top-grossing films of 1964.
Plot
Lucky Jackson (Elvis) goes to Las Vegas, Nevada to participate in the city’s first annual Grand Prix Race. However, his race car, an Elva Mark VI, is in need of a new engine to compete in the event.
Lucky raises the necessary money in Las Vegas, but he loses it when he is shoved into the pool by the hotel’s young swimming instructor, Rusty Martin (Ann-Margret). Lucky then has to work as a waiter at the hotel to replace the lost money to pay his hotel bill, as well as enter the hotel’s talent contest in hopes of winning a cash prize sizable enough to pay for his car’s engine.
During all this time, Lucky attempts to win the affections of Rusty. His main competition arrives in the form of Count Elmo Mancini (Cesare Danova) and his Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta. Mancini attempts to win both the Grand Prix and the affections of Rusty. Rusty soon falls in love with Lucky, and immediately tries to change him into what she wants.
Cast
- Elvis Presley as Lucky Jackson
- Ann-Margret as Rusty Martin
- Cesare Danova as Count Elmo Mancini
- William Demarest as Mr. Martin (Rusty’s father)
- Nicky Blair as Shorty Fansworth
- Jack Carter as Himself
- Teri Garr as Showgirl
- The Jubilee Four as Themselves
- George Cisar as Manager of Swingers (uncredited)
- Robert Aiken as Driver (uncredited)
- Red West as Son of Lone Star State (uncredited)
Production
George Sidney later said “that was one of those cases where we had no script and we had a commitment. Originally it was something about an Arabian or something… But we turned it around and we wrote the script in about eleven days… We changed the whole thing and decided to do it in Las Vegas.”
In March 1963, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer president Robert O’Brien announced Viva Las Vegas would be one of 20 films made at the studio the following year. By May, Ann-Margret signed to co-star. She was paid $15,000 a week over ten weeks. Viva Las Vegas was filmed during the summer of 1963, before production of Presley’s film Kissin’ Cousins, but was released after Kissin’ Cousins in the summer of 1964.
In Great Britain, both the film and its soundtrack were sold as Love in Las Vegas, since there was another, different film called Viva Las Vegas that was being shown in British cinemas at the same time that Presley’s was released.
The chemistry between the two stars was genuine during filming. Presley and Ann-Margret began an affair, and this received considerable attention from film and music gossip columnists. This reportedly led to a showdown with Presley’s worried girlfriend Priscilla Beaulieu. (Elvis and Priscilla married in 1967.) In her 1985 book Elvis and Me, Priscilla Presley describes the difficulties that she experienced when the gossip columnists erroneously “announced” that Ann-Margret and Presley had become engaged to be married.
In her memoirs, Ann-Margret refers to Elvis Presley as her “soulmate” and stated: “We felt there was a need in ‘The Industry’ for a female Elvis Presley.”
In addition, the filming of Viva Las Vegas reportedly produced unusually heated exchanges between the director, film veteran George Sidney, and Presley’s manager, Colonel Tom Parker, who was not credited as a “Technical Advisor” in the film’s credits.
The arguments reportedly concerned the amount of time and effort allotted by the cinematographer, Joseph Biroc, to the song and dance numbers that featured Ann-Margret, ostensibly on the orders of the director. These scenes include views of Ann-Margret’s dancing taken from many different camera angles, the use of multiple cameras for each scene, and several retakes of each of her song-and-dance scenes.
David Winters, the film’s choreographer, was recommended for the job by Ann-Margret, who was his dance student at the time. This was Winters’s first job as a choreographer. The film presents a set of ten musical song-and-dance scenes.
Because the film went over budget, Parker would slash budgets for all remaining films in Presley’s career.
Little Church of the West, the oldest wedding chapel in Las Vegas, is the location used in the closing scene.
The scene where Presley sings “Viva Las Vegas” is performed in one single unedited shot, the only known example of such a technique in Presley’s film career.
The film also includes a scene (Lucky and the Count looking for Rusty) with the showgirls of the Folies Bergere at The Tropicana Hotel Las Vegas.
Reception
Box office
The film grossed $9,442,967 at the box office, earning $5 million in U.S. theatrical rentals.
Critical
For his role in Viva Las Vegas, Elvis Presley received a third place prize 1965 Laurel Award for best male performance in a musical film. Viva Las Vegas was also the 1965 Laurel runner-up in the category of the best musical of 1964. Ann-Margret was praised for her on screen chemistry with Elvis, as she nearly stole the film from him.
Some critics in 1964 were lukewarm about Viva Las Vegas, such as one for The New York Times, who wrote: “Viva Las Vegas, the new Elvis Presley vehicle, is about as pleasant and unimportant as a banana split.” However, many others deduced the reasons why many members of the North American public liked the movie so much. Variety stated in its review: “Beyond several flashy musical numbers, a glamorous locale, and one electrifying auto race sequence, the production is a pretty trite and ‘heavyhanded’ affair”. Critical reaction notwithstanding, Viva Las Vegas has become one of Elvis Presley’s most popular and iconic films.
Contemporary reception for the film has been positive. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 87% based on 30 reviews. The site’s critics consensus reads, “Ann-Margret keeps Elvis on his toes and together they elevate Viva Las Vegas into a naughty and rockin’ mild delight.” Filmink argued Ann-Margret “had so much energy and pep that she had blown her previous three male co-stars off screen, but Elvis could match her. He was the best on-screen partner she ever had, and she was his. It’s the most purely entertaining Elvis movie ever, a complete delight and it’s unbelievable they were never teamed again.”
The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists:
- 2004: AFI’s 100 Years…100 Songs:
- “Viva Las Vegas” – Nominated
- 2006: AFI’s Greatest Movie Musicals – Nominated
Home media
Warner Home Video, August 1, 2000.
This DVD release contains the movie in two formats on a flipper disc. One side contains the movie in the Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 (4:3), the other side is in Widescreen (Letterbox). The soundtrack is presented in mono. Viva Las Vegas Deluxe Edition, Warner Home Video, August 7, 2007.
- Commentary by Steve Pond, rock journalist and author of Elvis in Hollywood
- Restored and Digitally Remastered in a 16×9 master, enhanced for widescreen televisions. Color/16×9 Anamorphic transfer 2.4:1
- New featurette Kingdom: Elvis in Vegas
- Remastered soundtrack in Dolby Digital 5.1 from original production elements and original mono theatrical soundtrack.
This film is the first of only two Elvis movies (the other being Jailhouse Rock) to be officially released onto every home media format distributed in the U.S. (Beta, VHS, CED Disc, Laserdisc, DVD, HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc)
In popular culture
- The iconic classic racer anime character Gō Mifune (aka Speed Racer), and his racer image, complete with neckerchief and black pompadour, was directly based on Elvis’s character in this movie.
- In the 1998 movie The Big Lebowski, the song “Viva Las Vegas” is playing as the Big Lebowski’s wife, Bunny, returns home.
- The 2000 film The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas is a play on the title of Viva Las Vegas. Ann-Margret also appears in this film, in which she performs a version of “Viva Las Vegas”, retitled “Viva Rock Vegas”. As part of The Flintstones’ Stone Age theme, she was credited as “Ann-Margrock”.
- In Angel, the fourth season episode “The House Always Wins” highlights the song when Angel, Gunn and Fred drive to Vegas to visit (and eventually rescue) their friend Lorne, who is an unwilling performer in a mystical lounge act.
- Elvis, a 2005 TV miniseries about the life of Elvis Presley, depicts the supposed Elvis/Ann-Margret affair during the filming of Viva Las Vegas.
- The suit Elvis Presley wears in the movie is depicted in Fallout: New Vegas (2010), worn by an Elvis impersonator who goes by the moniker “The King”.
- Viva, also known as Viva Las Vegas, is an AIDS Services of Austin fundraiser that traditionally features faux gambling. In 2009, the event began featuring a fashion show, labeled by Austin American-Statesman social columnist Michael Barnes as the “Best Austin fashion show ever.”
Soundtrack
Viva Las Vegas (EP)
| Viva Las Vegas | |
|---|---|
| |
| EP (soundtrack) by Elvis Presley | |
| Released | May 1964 |
| Recorded | July 9–11, 1963 |
| Studio | Radio Recorders (Hollywood) |
| Genre | Pop |
| Length | 10:31 31:31 (2010 Re-release) |
| Label | RCA Victor |
| Producer | George Stoll |
| Elvis Presley chronology | |
| Kissin’ Cousins (1964)Viva Las Vegas (1964)Roustabout (1964) | |
Viva Las Vegas is an EP by American singer Elvis Presley, containing four songs from the 1964 motion picture, Viva Las Vegas. It was released by RCA Victor in May 1964 to coincide with the film’s premiere. The soundtrack EP made the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 92, the lowest-charting release of Presley’s career to this point. RCA had not released a Presley EP single in two years; given the format’s decreasing popularity in the United States and the disappointing chart performance of Viva Las Vegas, the company would only issue two more for the remainder of Presley’s career.
Recording and release history
Recording sessions took place on July 9, 10 and 11, 1963, at Radio Recorders in Hollywood, California. By then, film and soundtrack obligations were starting to back up on each other, and six weeks after the aborted “lost album” sessions of May 1963, the stable of Presley songwriters was required to come up with another dozen songs for yet another new picture. Song quality took a back seat to the need for quantity, and Presley’s filming schedule made it difficult for song publishers to live up to obligations. Memphis Mafia pal Red West had written a “Ray Charles-styled” number, but so little good material had surfaced that an extra session was scheduled on August 30 for an actual Ray Charles song to be recorded, “What’d I Say“.
Fifteen songs were recorded of which eleven were used in the film. For debated reasons, the idea of a full-length soundtrack long-playing album was not considered, which has attracted much criticism from various accounts, including Elvis: The Illustrated Record. Instead, to coincide with the film’s release, RCA chose four songs for a Viva Las Vegas EP. In addition, the title song, along with “What’d I Say”, were released as a single, catalogue 47-8360 on April 28. The strength of both sides caused it to split the difference on the chart, with “What’d I Say” peaking at disappointing No. 21 and “Viva Las Vegas” faring even worse at No. 29.
The remaining songs from the film were released sporadically over the ensuing decades. The Neapolitan song, “Santa Lucia“, was placed on the compilation, Elvis for Everyone, in 1965. Later, “Night Life” and “Do the Vega” (neither of which were used in the film) and a medley of “The Yellow Rose of Texas“/”The Eyes of Texas” were released on the RCA Camden release, Elvis Sings Flaming Star, in 1969.
Presley recorded three duets with co-star Ann-Margret for the film; only one, “The Lady Loves Me”, was used in the movie and it would not be officially issued by RCA until the posthumous collection, Elvis: A Legendary Performer Volume 4 in 1983. Of the other two, “You’re the Boss” debuted on Elvis Sings Leiber & Stoller in 1991., while a duet version of the ballad “Today, Tomorrow and Forever” (sung by Elvis alone in the film), was first released as the title track of a four-CD box set issued by RCA in 2002.
One track, a rhythm and blues dance number called “The Climb”, performed by George MacFadden of the Jubilee Four backed by the Jordanaires and an uncredited Presley, would not be officially released until 2018 (see “Reissues”, below).
Ann-Margret recorded two solo numbers for the film, neither of which were released for years, either, with “My Rival” first appearing on the 1984 Australian album The Many Moods of Ann-Margret on Raven Records (with the label noting “by arrangement with RCA Records), and “Appreciation” first officially appearing in 1996 on the Rhino Records compilation, Bachelor in Paradise: Cocktail Classics from M-G-M Films.
Released during Beatlemania and the beginning of the British invasion, North American box office receipts of $9,442,967 were markedly higher than The Beatles‘ first motion picture, A Hard Day’s Night, which was released two months later worldwide, earning $1,626,784 in worldwide receipts.
Reissues
In 1993, Viva Las Vegas was released as part of the RCA ‘Double Features’ remastered collection. This edition had all the twelve songs and 11 of the Roustabout soundtrack.
In 2003 the complete soundtrack was reissued on the Follow That Dream collectors label in a special edition that contained the original album tracks along with a selection of alternate takes.
In January 2010, as part of the 75th anniversary of Presley’s birth, Sony Music finally released an official almost-complete soundtrack album which included all twelve songs recorded for the film. The front cover of the CD insert reproduces the images used for the original EP release, and also adds the words “…AND MORE” as part of the text. The release was not a complete soundtrack, as it omitted the film version of “C’mon Everybody” (which featured whistling as well as backing vocals by Ann-Margret), the duet version of “Today, Tomorrow and Forever” and “The Climb” featuring Presley on backing vocals. It also excludes the songs with Ann-Margret on lead vocals, “My Rival” and “Appreciation”.
The original film version of “Whhttps://youtu.be/q7yjPVp0qfc?si=G9NMDnJWiiB3TXNtat’d I Say” also featured backing vocals by Ann-Margret and has yet to be officially released.
In August 2018 the Follow That Dream label released The Viva Las Vegas Sessions as a Special 3–CD Deluxe Edition, which made the film version of “C’mon Everybody” and “The Climb” officially available for the first time. According to the track listing, a version of “The Climb” was recorded for record release.
Track listing
Original Release Side One
| No. | Title | Writer(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | “If You Think I Don’t Need You” (recorded 1963-07-09) | Red West, Joe Cooper |
| 2. | “I Need Somebody to Lean On” (recorded 1963-07-10) | Doc Pomus, Mort Shuman |
|---|
Original Release Side Two
| No. | Title | Writer(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | “C’mon Everybody” (recorded 1963-07-09) | Joy Byers |
| 2. | “Today, Tomorrow and Forever” (recorded 1963-07-11) | Bill Giant, Bernie Baum, Florence Kaye |
|---|
2010 expanded reissue
| No. | Title | Writer(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | “Viva Las Vegas“ | Doc Pomus, Mort Shuman |
| 3. | “If You Think I Don’t Need You” | Red West, Joe Cooper |
|---|
| 4. | “I Need Somebody to Lean On” | Doc Pomus, Mort Shuman |
|---|
| 7. | “Night Life” | Bill Giant, Bernie Baum, Florence Kaye |
|---|
| 8. | “Santa Lucia“ | Traditional |
|---|
| 9. | “Do the Vega” | Bill Giant, Bernie Baum, Florence Kaye |
|---|
| 11. | “The Yellow Rose of Texas” / “The Eyes of Texas“ | Fred Wise, Randy Starr, John Sinclair |
|---|
| 12. | “The Lady Loves Me” (with Ann-Margret) | Sid Tepper, Roy C. Bennett |
|---|
Personnel
- Elvis Presley – vocals
- The Jordanaires – background vocals
- Ann-Margret – vocals on “The Lady Loves Me” and “You’re the Boss”
- George McFadden – lead vocals on “The Climb”
- Oliver Mitchell – trumpet
- James Zito – trumpet
- Herb Taylor – trombone
- Randall Miller – trombone
- Boots Randolph – saxophone
- William Green – saxophone
- Scotty Moore – electric guitar
- Tiny Timbrell – electric guitar
- Billy Strange – electric guitar
- Glen Campbell – electric guitar on “What’d I Say”
- Alton Hendrickson – electric guitar on “What’d I Say”
- Dudley Brooks – piano
- Floyd Cramer – piano
- Calvin Jackson – piano, organ
- Bob Moore – double bass
- Ray Siegel – double bass on “What’d I Say”
- D. J. Fontana – drums
- Buddy Harman – drums
- Frank Carlson – drums
- Hal Blaine – drums
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