Las Vegas is the global epicentre of slots, card games, and sell-out shows that bring the highest levels of entertainment. When people need a break from blackjack, they are spoiled for choice in Vegas. Some of the world’s biggest acts, past and present, have had a Las Vegas residency that has brought the house down and built it back up again.
The decades of Vegas entertainment have had some immense highs, but these three kings of the strip have reached peaks that other performers can only dream of. Here are the top three Las Vegas performers of all time, and what makes their Vegas years so memorable and iconic.
Frank Sinatra
Old blue eyes and the Las Vegas strip go hand in hand. It can be hard to think of one without thinking of the other. Sinatra’s association with Vegas started in the 1950s, and continued to perform in many of its clubs and casinos throughout his career. He also starred in lots of films that used Vegas as a backdrop.
He began a short but legendary residency at Caesar’s Palace in 1982, and many in the music industry felt that it was a sign he was passed his best and entering an early, semi-retirement. How wrong they were. His Palace performances revitalized his career and showed everyone in the business that you should never bet against Sinatra. Casino goers were spoilt by his silky crooning, and it brought a touch of class to Las Vegas that the Sin City had been lacking since the heydays of the 50s and 60s.
If he were alive today, he would probably still be performing, though the game has changed a lot since then. People spend more time playing online than they do in physical casinos, and Frank would be performing online too. Check out this guide to live dealers at online casinos and online slots from Online Casino Review. They search for the best online casinos and welcome offers to help you get more bang for your buck when playing online. If you want to be a part of it and have it ‘my way’, you should check out their expert reviews first before visiting an online casino.
Elvis Presley
Viva Las Vegas residencies. The king of rock and roll set hearts on fire with his amazing Las Vegas performances, many of which you can watch online. The casinos had been hiring musicians for entertainment for a long time, but Elvis elevated residencies to a higher level that many are still trying to emulate today. His white jump–suited performances of some of his greatest hits live on in the memories of those who were lucky enough to watch one of the all-time greats perform at his peak.
Similarly to Sinatra, it can be hard to think of Vegas without thinking of Elvis. Just like Frank Sinatra, he had starred in a lot of films that used Vegas as a location or part of the plot, so taking up a residency there made a huge amount of sense. Echoing Sinatra again, many people felt the king was past his peak when he debuted his show at the International and Las Vegas Hilton in 1969, but it turned out the king was still an ace. His 636 consecutive shows drew crowds from across the world, including many of the celebrities of the day. He was there for seven years, selling out every show.
His final performance was in December 1976, and he passed away the following August. The king was dead, but he lives long in the recordings of these performances, especially the video of him singing Suspicious Minds in 1970 with a host of celebrities in the audience. His raucous performances on stage were mirrored by his antics off it. He was well known in Vegas for enjoying everything the city had to offer and living his life there to the absolute maximum. Not only was he the king of rock and roll, but he was also the king of Sin City too.
Barry Manilow
His name is Barry. He is a showman. With a piano on the stage and a face that shows no age. Mister Manilow has been entertaining audiences in Vegas throughout most of his career, and you can still find him there today, giving huge crowds top-tier renditions of his greatest hits. His ability to fill auditoriums in the biggest Vegas venues makes him one of Sin City’s most bankable stars.
He has performed more than 500 times in Vegas, beginning with his first show there in 1988. While he was topping pop charts across the world, and cranking out timeless hits, he still always found time to play in Vegas. He calls it his home away from home. The classic Manilow hit ‘Copacabana’ will always be a Vegas staple and has surely been influenced by his love of the city and its culture. Perhaps he once met a showgirl there named Lola.
His current residency is called ‘The Hits Come Home’, which shows just how connected he and the city are. Would he be the same performer without Las Vegas in his blood? Would Vegas be the same place without Manilow’s performances? Why bother contemplating these conundrums, just enjoy the music. The reviews for his latest show are very good, even if you are not much of a Manilow fan, you are still in for a treat.
If you want to experience Sinatra at his best in Vegas, you can find recordings of his amazing shows sprinkled through his discography. For Elvis, search for some of the videos online of his epic and entertaining renditions of his biggest hits. To get some Manilow music in your life, you can hop on a plane and take a trip to the neon oasis in the Nevada desert and see him perform for yourself.
These three kings of Las Vegas have defined what a residency can be and set the bar high for the young performers of today. Spoil yourself with some Vegas performances today and hear for yourself what all the fuss is about.
