Recordings of Viva Las Vegas

I've got a soft spot in my heart for the title track to Elvis Presley's movie, Viva Las Vegas, which was shot in 1963 and released the next year. Viva Las Vegas was released as a B-side to the single What'd I Say, but rose to #29 on the charts in the USA. Despite this, the first album which contained this track wasn't released until 1970. Viva Las Vegas was originally written by Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman. Over the years, a number of other artists have covered this tune, some of whom are listed below.

For each version of the song that I've heard, I've listed the artist, the album it appeared on, its duration, the label that produced it, and the year in which it was released. I've also provided a mini-review of that rendition. These are listed in chronical order by release date, and not in order of my preference.

  1. Elvis Presley, Viva Las Vegas/Roustabout, 2:21, BMG Music, 1964
    The original, recorded by The King for the movie of the same name. A classic.
  2. Dead Kennedys, Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables, 2:37, Alternative Tentacles Records, 1980
    A very good version recorded fairly true to Elvis' original, except for some DK license with the lyrics and a bit faster. Jello Biafra's distinctive voice works well here. Probably my favorite cover of the song.
  3. Nina Hagen, Punk Wedding, 2:49, Amok Records, 1988
    German "Post Punk" artist Nina Hagen did a pretty good version of the song on this out of print album.
  4. Residents, The King and Eye, 3:09, Enigma Records, 1989
    Now this is truly weird. Non-ambient spoken word over ambient instruments.
  5. Bruce Springsteen, Last Temptation of Elvis (Compilation), 3:11, MNE, 1990
    Bruce and the E Street Band recorded this song in 1977, but never released it. He recorded it again in 1989 (with different musicians) for use on the Last Temptation of Elvis charity CD. This version was used in the movie Honeymoon in Vegas. It also appears on The Essential Bruce Sprintgsteen.
  6. Larry Victor, Our Time Will Soon Go By, 2:34, Original Cast Recordings, 1993
    Live lounge music with conga percussion. Not bad but not great vocals over a very mediocre recording.
  7. ZZ Top, Greatest Hits, 4:49, Warner Brothers, 1992
    This is pretty good, heavy on the synth/keyboard stuff that places it pretty precisely in ZZ Top's timeline. If you don't know it's ZZ Top, you probably won't figure it out from the song.
  8. Dread Zeppelin, No Quarter Pounder, 3:35, Birdcage Records, 1995
    For those who don't know, Dread Zeppelin is a reggae Led Zeppelin cover band with an Elvis impersonator as a front man. I think they're very amusing, but only for about 5 minutes. This is a pretty cool version, though. One of my favorites. Includes voice samples from the movie, The Amazing Colossal Man.
  9. Shawn Colvin, Till the Night is Gone, 4:52, Rhino Records, 1995
    A slow, dream-like rendition. This version is one of two that is used in the movie, The Big Lebowski, although its sound track sadly contains neither.
  10. Sensitive New Age Cowpersons, This CD Will Change Your Life, 2:57, self?, 1995
    These folks are a recently disbanded Australian banjo band with a sense of humor. That works for me, I guess. This version is strange in that it's up-tempo with an emphasis on the up-beat.
  11. Blues Brothers & Friends, Live From the House of Blues, 3:58, House of Blues Records, 1997.
    Who would have thought that the Blues Brothers would miss the musical talent of John Belushi? From this recording it's clear that they do.
  12. Wayne Newton, Viva Las Vegas! (Various Artists), 2:34, PolyGram Records, 1997
    What could be more Las Vegas than Mr. Las Vegas singing Viva Las Vegas? I like the unusual guitar and Hammond lead-in. I've heard Wayne's voice better, and I've heard it worse, although he closes the song well. Hey, it's Wayne Newton. That should tell you just about everything you need to know about this version.
  13. Hell City Hell Philharmonic, Hell City Hell, 5:25, Diablo Musica, 1998
    Fairly uninspired speed-metal version with a distorted harmonica. The Nine Inch Elvis version is much better thought out and executed. It's not bad, though.
  14. Gipsy Vagabonds, Vive La Vide, 3:02, BMG, 1998
    Traditional south-of-the-border version done in Spanish but recorded in Europe. Unless that excites you, there's no reason to check this one out.
  15. Mr. Pink, Red White and Pink, 2:11, Six Degrees, 1998
    Sounds like a pretty straightforward lounge act. Decent enough, but not worth seeking out.
  16. Lynette Morgan & Her Tennessee Rhythm Riders, Little Red Wagon, 2:55, Studio 28 Records, 1999
    This is a self-styled "Hot dance hillbilly & western swing" band that hails from London, England. This is not my cup of tea.
  17. The Legendary Raw Deal, Southern Boys, 4:00, Raucous Records, 1999
    Another British pseudo-country band. It makes me think a person couldn't walk into a London pub without hearing some Johnny Cash/Stray Cats wannabe blasting Elvis tunes. I don't think this version is that interesting, nor that well recorded.
  18. Hannah Elisabeth, The Sixties Show, 2:48, Bareback Rider Records, 1999
    A recreation of the '60s (actually early '70s) lounge sound, perhaps riding the Austin Powers nostalgia wave. In my opinion, given the genre and the song, I think it takes itself just a little too seriously.
  19. Nine Inch Elvis, Nine Inch Elvis, 4:44, Invisible Records, 2000
    An industrial cover of the tune by members of industrial bands Nitzer Ebb and Skrew on an album of industrial Elvis tunes. I like it.
  20. Billy Swan, Like Elvis Used to Do, 2:17, Phantom Records, 2000
    An a capella version, which makes it especially short, but fairly well done. Although, it's nothing like how Elvis used to do.
  21. Jailbirds, Viva Las Vegas, 2:56, Tombstone, 2000
    A German rockabilly band. Not bad, but not great.
  22. Swing Cats, A Special Tribute to Elvis, 2:58, Cleopatra Records, 2000
    Surf/punk (more surf) instrumental version featuring Johnny Ramone on lead guitar.
  23. Ann Margaret, Viva Rock Vegas Soundtrack, 3:11, Hip-o Records, 2000
    Actually "Viva Rock Vegas" for the movie of the same name. Filled with silly Hannah-Barbara sound effects, but the fact that it's Ann Margaret singing lends credibility. Not great, but not nearly as bad as I had feared.
  24. Venetian Snares + Speedranch, Making Orange Things, 3:22, Planet Mu Recordings, 2001
    An industrial primarily instrumental [ahem] version of this classic tune. I'll say this for it, it's original. However, that doesn't mean it's worth listening to it. One can pick out riffs based on the original, but it's only barely recognizeable.
  25. Great Pretenders, Point of View, 2:20, Great Pretenders, 2002
    A very true-to-the-original version by a four piece cover band. I would say it's very much in the Las Vegas lounge style.
  26. Paul Ansel's Number Nine, Sweet Inspirations, 2:34, Coolsville Records, 2002
    Country version on an album of rare Elvis songs. Respectable, but unspectacular.
  27. King Junior, Tribute to the King, 3:38, Risque Recordings, 2003
    King Junior does a pretty credible Elvis homage. The Elvis hits on this album have been "updated" in a dance club style. Some of the work on this album is interesting. His version of Viva Las Vegas isn't all that strong.
  28. Kelly Wright, No Secret Anymore, 3:21, self, 2003
    A lounge version for the beat generation, complete with bongos and finger snaps. I'm uninspired.
  29. Lisa Dames, If These Walls Could Talk, 2:56, Waffle Ranch Records, 2004
    Yet another country version of this song. The vocals aren't bad, if unremarkable. The arrangement and backing instruments leave me cold, though.
  30. Royal Crown Review, Greetings From Hollywood, 3:27, Royal Crown Records, 2004
    The Royal Crown Review is sort of an updated big band/swing band combo. They're pretty tight, and this arrangement of Viva Las Vegas is pretty well conceived and executed.
  31. The Grascals, The Grascals, 3:12, Rounder Records, 2004
    A bluegrass version by Dolly Parton's sometime backing band including a guest appearance form Ms. Parton herself. It's about what one would expect from a competant bluegrass band.
  32. The Thrills (Featuring James Burton), The Irish Keep Gate-crashing, 3:13, Virgin Records, 2004
    I don't know much about these guys except that they have a really crappy web site. These folks feature some rock elements and some country elements in a live recording. It's not bad but not especially inspired.
  33. Citigrass, Serpent in the Grass, 2:26, Borderline Music, 2004
    More bluegrass, only this time I'm unsure as to whether this is a self-parody or not. If you have to have a bluegrass version of Viva Las Vegas, I'd stick with the Grascals version. If you don't have to have a bluegrass version, you're probably better off.
  34. La Frontera, La Frontera, 2:53, Universal Music Spain, S.L., 2004
    A Spanish band does another version in Spanish. Similar to the original, except with much more reverb. If you're only going to listen to one version in spanish, I'd stick with the version by the Gispy Vegabonds. It makes me laugh more.
  35. Washington Dead Cats, Treat Me Bad, 2:36, Revel Yell Music, 2005
    The best I can categorize this is French rockabilly punk with horns (both for musical and defensive purposes, as far as I can tell). It's actually sort of cool, although I suppose I'm a sucker for a decent horn section.
  36. Lee Rocker, Burnin' Love--The Best of..., 2:49, Upright Records, 2005
    As I understand it, Lee Rocker was the bass player for the rockabilly band, the Stray Cats, and this version is true to his style. Very faithful to the Elvis version, and well recorded, but there's nothing new here.
  37. Cornell Hurd Band, Texas By Night, 2:44, Behemoth Records, 2006
    A country/rockabilly version with a decent horn section. I'm not impressed with the lead vocals, but the backing band and arrangement are all right.
  38. Plastilina Mosh, Tasty + b Sides, 2:43, EMI, 2006
    Another strange version from Mexico, but sung in English. What is the Spanish speeking world's fascination with this song? Traditional instrumentation with heavily distorted vocals. It doesn't work for me.

The lyrics to the original version as sung by Elvis are as follows. Note, many of the folks who have covered this song either change them up or, sometimes, just get them wrong. 

Viva Las Vegas
words and music by Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman

Bright light city gonna set my soul, gonna set my soul on fire.
Gotta whole lotta money that's ready to burn, so get those stakes up higher.
There's a thousand pretty women waiting out there.
They're all living the devil-may-care,
and I'm just a devil with love to spare, so
Viva Las Vegas
Viva Las Vegas

How I wish that there were more than the 24 hours in the day.
But even if there were 40 more, I wouldn't sleep a minute away.
Oh, there's blackjack and poker and the roulette wheel.
A fortune won and lost on every deal
All you need's a strong heart and a nerve of steel.
Viva Las Vegas
Viva Las Vegas

Viva Las Vegas with your neon flashing,
and your one-armed bandits crashing
all those hopes down the drain.
Viva Las Vegas turning day into night time,
turning night into daytime.
If you see it once, you'll never be the same again.

I'm gonna keep on running, gonna have me some fun, if it costs me my very last dime.
If I wind up broke well I'll always remember I had a swinging time.
I'm gonna give it everything I got
Lady luck please let the dice stay hot.
Let me shoot a seven with every shot.
Viva Las Vegas
Viva Las Vegas 
Viva Las Vegas 
Viva, Viva Las Vegas

If you know of any others, please email me at npc@jetcafe.org.

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