Elvis’ Vegas Years - Part 3

The multiple shows and engagements forced him to switch things up from time to time. On the road show, an audience might get only one chance to hear "Hound Dog". Many Vegas fans had been there and done that. The fact that Elvis depended heavily on the material of other artists was not necessarily a concession to the Vegas audience but to the lack of good original material that plagued Elvis even in the studio.

The problems for Elvis in Vegas were the problems he faced anywhere else. These included an uncritical hit loving audience and boredom. (In addition his own depression.) The problem was not that he played Vegas but that he played too often just as he was on the road, at least domestically, far too often in the '70s.

Also I would argue that touring and performing so constantly kept Elvis from having enough down time to really listen to music again. In almost every studio session in the 1960s Elvis brought songs to the studio he was determined to record. This rarely happened in the 1970s. He might stumble on something like the Sun days but he rarely came into the studio with his own portfolio.

Elvis was not an artist who thrived on routine. Although he allowed himself to fall (or be pushed) into the same patterns, he thrived on novelty and challenge. Touring Europe would have been great because it would have been something different.

Thanks for this series of articles by Harley Payette from www.elvisinfonet.com

Andy Stankovich

Elvis The Voice

www.ElvisTheVoice.com

One of the world's great Elvis Presley tribute artists