Movie Music Monday – Viva Las Vegas

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Today we go back to 1964 for what many consider to be one of Elvis Presley’s best films – Viva Las Vegas. Why? Because his co-star in the movie, the beautiful Ann Margaret celebrated her 83rd birthday yesterday.

The chemistry between Elvis and Ann Margaret that you see on screen is real. They began an affair that got a lot of press by gossip columnists and the movie industry. This led to a showdown between Ann and Pricilla Beaulieu, Elvis’ girlfriend. Years later, in her autobiography, Ann called Elvis her “soulmate.”

15 songs were recorded for the soundtrack of the film, but only 11 were used. A full LP soundtrack was never released. Instead, to coincide with the film’s release, RCA chose four songs for a Viva Las Vegas EP.

The song Viva Las Vegas was released as a single in 1964 with What’d I Say as the B-side. This actually hurt the record’s chart performance. The title song was written by Doc Primus and Mort Shuman. The song went to #29 on the Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart (What’d I Say did slightly better by going to #21). It has been covered by a few different artists (I love the ZZ Top version), but Elvis’ version remains my favorite.

Dim the lights and cue the theme song ….

Published by nostalgicitalian

I'm just a guy who likes the classics. I love Old Time Radio Shows. I love Classic TV. I love Classic Movies. I love songs from the "Great American Songbook". I dig songs from the first decade of Rock and Roll. Don't get me wrong, I am not opposed to newer things. My musical taste ranges from Classical to Classic Rock and Country to Rap. I love a good book and am always looking for something to read. I tend to lean toward historical fiction, biographies, mysteries, and more. I have always believed that our past (and the things we've experienced in it) make us who we are today. That being said, after reading through some old My Space blogs (yeah, that's about how long it's been since I blogged regularly), I decided that I should once again write. Welcome to my blog. I hope you find it interesting, thought provoking, and entertaining in some way. CONTACT ME AT - nostalgicitalian@yahoo.com

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9 thoughts on “Movie Music Monday – Viva Las Vegas”

  1. Elvis should have hitched on to Ann, she was a much better fit for him. Ann has always given me the “hubba-hubba’s” even in Grumpier Old Men. I had forgotten about him playing the double necked Gibson, must have inspired Jimmy Paige to give it a go.

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  4. I didn’t realize how attractive Ann M was, but I do remember seeing her depicted and the tension between Elvis and Priscilla when they were making the move because of her. A good song, one of Elvis’ movie bests I would say, and yes, I like the ZZ Top version too.

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