Bloomberg Businessweek - USA (2019-07-22)

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The summerof’69permanentlyalteredthelandscapeof

popularmusic.A certainconcertwassounprecedented,

so unforgettable,thatit wouldserveasa touchstoneforan

entiregeneration.

No,notWoodstock.Elvis.InLasVegas.

Atleastthat’swhatTimecontributorRichardZoglinargues

inElvisinVegas:HowtheKingReinventedtheLasVegasShow

(Simon&Schuster,$28).Inthebook,theauthorretraces

theeventsthattransformedElvisintoa sequin-jumpsuited

hunka-hunkaburninglove.Zoglin writesthatthe sheer

spectacular-nessoftheperformanceinfluencedthemostsuc-

cessfulactstofollow,whetherCelineDionorBlueManGroup,

CirqueduSoleilorLadyGaga.

Elviswasnotcoolin’69.“Youhavetoremem-

ber howthecounterculturehatedhim,”rock

criticRichardGoldsteinisquotedassaying.

“He wasdoingmusicweconsideredplastic.”

Elvishadspentthe’60swoodenlystarringin

formulaicHollywoodmusicals,buta televised

“comebackspecial”inDecember 1968 suggested

a still-relevantsingerlurkedinside.

AndhefeltathomeinVegas.Elvishadbeen

infatuatedwiththeplacesincehisfirstperfor-

mancethereinApril1956,justasHeartbreak

HotelhitNo.1, andhereturnedoftenjustfor

fun. ForElvis’sfirstliveperformanceina decade,

his manager,“Colonel”TomParker,madearrange-

mentswiththenewInternationalHotel,Vegas’slargest,

whichhada 2,000-seatshowroom.Elviswouldbepaida

then-record$125,000a week—morethan$850,000today.

Rock’n’rollwasnotcoolinVegas.It mighthavedom-

inatedradio,buttheStrip’sbiggestactsremained

FrankSinatra,whoearned$100,000a weekat

CaesarsPalace,andDeanMartin,atthe

samerate,attheRiviera.“Evenasthe’60s

revolutionwaschallengingoldtaboos,” PHOTO

ILLUSTRATION

BY

BEN

GILES;

PHOTOS:

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CRITIC BloombergPursuits July 22, 2019

Zoglinwrites,“Vegaswasstillconservative.Itsmostly

middle-agedMiddleAmericanaudiencesdidn’twantto be

provoked.Theywantedreassuringentertainment.”Inretro-

spectit wasn’tthatmuchofa gamble.By’69,Sinatra’spower

wasebbing,andElviswasthechangethatVegashadbeen

waitingfor.Hedidtwoshowseachnightforfourweeksand

playedhis’50shits,includingMysteryTrain,Don’tBeCruel,

andBlueSuedeShoes.

EvenbyVegasstandards,theshowwasover-the-top:

almost 60 musiciansonstage,includinga fullorchestra,

twobackupsinginggroups,anda rhythmband.Elviswore

a jumpsuitdesignedbyBillBelewtoshowoffhisbeloved

karatekicks.VegasregularTomJonestaughthimthetrick

ofwipinghisfacewitha handkerchief,thenthrowingit into

thecrowd.Peoplegotseriouslyshookup.Theshowsetan

all-timerecordforattendance,drawing101,500people,and

everyperformancesoldout.

PeterGuralnickcovereda lotofthisgroundinhisland-

marktwo-partbiography,LastTraintoMemphisandCareless

Love, andZoglincherry-pickssomeofGuralnick’schoicest

quotes.Myfavorite:“HelovedVegasforonereasonabove

all:timewasmeaninglesshere,therewerenoobligations. It

wasa placewhereyoucouldloseyourself,a placeyoucould

indulgeyoureveryfantasy.”

Therealachievementofthebookthenis howZoglintraces

theevolutionofVegasitself,fromitsincorporationin1905 as

a stopoverforrailroadpassengersheadingwest,totheseis-

micchangesin 1931 whengamblingwaslegalizedandcon-

structionontheHooverDambegan,introducinganitinerant

workforcelookingtoblowoffsteam.Zoglinrecountstherise

oftheFlamingoin1946,fundedlargelybymobsterBugsy

Siegel;thecompetitionbetweentheSaharaandtheSands

hotels,bothbuiltin 1952 whenthecitywasalreadyaverag-

ingalmost 8 milliontouristsa year;anditscorporatetrans-

formationafterHowardHughesandKirkKerkorianbegan

erectingmassivetemplesinthedesertdust.

Atthebook’scorearetheshows.Zoglindelvesintothe

RatPack’sboozy“broads-and-dagos”routine.Forallthe

crudeantics,theirloungeactswereintimateaffairsaimed at

a sophisticatedaudienceandhighrollers.

Elvischangedthatcalculus.His“bombasticstage

showscametosymbolizethegaudiness,

fakery,andmiddlebrowbadtaste”that

stillclingtothecity,writesZoglin.Astheexcesses

tooktheirtoll,thiscareerresurrectionturned

outtobea temporaryone.Throughhiswell-

chronicleddrugabuse,Elvisdid 636 shows

oversevenyears,everyonea sellout—

but withthe diminishingreturnsof

anaddict.

Asweknownow,thehousealways

wins.“Imakethesame[money] as

otherentertainerswhoworkinVegas,”

JackBennyoncejoked.“Theonlydiffer-

enceis thatI takeminehome.” <BW>

Presley in Vegas shouldn’t

have worked. But it did,

and it changed both forever

By James Gaddy

How Elvis

Found His

Kingdom