Elvis Presley’s Good Luck Charm
Elvis first performed in Las Vegas in 1956,he was just 21. Booked in the Venus Room and billed as the “Atomic Powered Singer”, he pwrformed at the New Frontier hotel.
While he was popular with teens around the country at the time, Elvis was not the typical Las Vegas Strip entertainer of the 50’s. Elvis’ shows were met with a cool reception.
A reviewer for the Las Vegas Sun newspaper, Bill Willard, wrote about Elvis Presley’s performance, “For the teen-agers, the long, tall Memphis lad is a whiz; for the average Vegas spender or showgoer, a bore. His musical sound with a combo of three is uncouth, matching to a great extent the lyric content of his nonsensical songs.”
Willard may have captured the dismay of that older Vegas audiences the 50’s had with the young upstart at that time, but Las Vegas resident Ed Jameson caught a vision of the future. Elvis would have an impact on Vegas.
Penning a rebuttal to Willard’s review, Jameson wrote, “He is not a Rock ‘n’ Roller nor is he a cowboy singer. He is something new coming over the horizon all by himself and he deserves his ever-growing audience. Nobody should miss him. Parents would do well to take their children to hear him. It would be a good way to get to know and understand your own kids.”
Elvis ended his two-week run unable to capture a foot hold in Las Vegas. This first try didn’t end his relationship with Vegas. He wouldn’t return to a Las Vegas stage for another 13 years. In 1963 he spent several weeks in town to film the hit movie “Viva Las Vegas”, which co-starred Ann-Margret.
The movie was a huge success, costing only a million to make and earning $5 million. It also spawned what many consider Sin City’s theme song, “Viva Las Vegas”. It layed the future Las Vegas fame and growth!
“Viva Las Vegas”, featured a Vegas wedding between Elvis and his co-star Ann-Margret. Four years later Elvis’ real-life love story played out in Las Vegas. On May 1, 1967, at age of 32, he married Priscilla Anne Beaulieu, 21, at Milton Prell’s Aladdin Hotel.They were wed in a quiet eight-minute ceremony in Prell’s suite.
