Bob Dylan Said Elvis Presley’s ‘Viva Las Vegas’ Is ‘About Faith’
Bob Dylan once wrote an essay about Elvis Presley’s “Viva Las Vegas.” He saw it as a song about faith — albeit faith in something that isn’t traditionally considered religious. Dylan also had a bit to say about the faith that Elvis’ manager had in the “Heartbreak Hotel” singer. Fascinatingly, “Viva Las Vegas” wasn’t much of a hit.
Bob Dylan said Elvis Presley’s ‘Viva Las Vegas’ is about a modern Garden of Eden
In his 2022 book The Philosophy of Modern Song, Dylan analyzed “Viva Las Vegas” in depth. “This is a song about faith,” he wrote. “The kind of faith where you step under a shower spigot in the middle of a desert and fully believe water will come out.
“Or, more to the point, the type of faith where you stand in the marble lobby of an opulent hotel with neon flashin’ while being served free drinks by a thousand pretty women wearing sequined leotards flirting for tips in a bright-light city full of pawnshops and suicides and you still think you’re going to win,” he added. “No wonder it sets your soul on fire.”
Bob Dylan compared Elvis Presley’s manager to a pious fraud
The “Lay Lady Lay” singer wrote about Las Vegas in religious terms. “Las Vegas, crossroads of the modern world,” he wrote. “Utopia, Garden of Eden, Land of Dreams. If you see it once, even with half an eye, you’re never the same. All it takes is just one glance, and you’re transformed, mutated into something else, some arcane substance with a perpetual smile — something rich and strange.”
In the same essay, Dylan compared Elvis’ manager, Colonel Tom Parker, to a faith healer. The “Tangled Up in Blue” singer said Parker, like a faith healer, knew how to grab an audience’s attention, even if it was through questionable means. Dylan acknowledged that some of Elvis’ fans have a negative view of Parker, deriding him for putting the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll in subpar movies and working him very hard. In Dylan’s eyes, Elvis never would have become the King if it weren’t for Parker’s commitment to Elvis and Las Vegas.
How ‘Viva Las Vegas’ and ZZ Top’s cover performed on the charts in the United States
While “Viva Las Vegas” is one of Elvis’ most famous songs today, it didn’t perform exceptionally well in the 1960s. Then, it reached No. 29 on the Billboard Hot 100, staying on the chart for seven weeks. The tune appeared on the EP Viva Las Vegas, which climbed to No. 54 on the Billboard 200. The EP remained on the chart for seven weeks.
ZZ Top’s “Viva Las Vegas” wasn’t much of a hit either. It missed the Billboard Hot 100 but it peaked at No. 16 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Airplay chart. It spent a total of three weeks on the chart. ZZ Top’s cover appeared on the album Greatest Hits. That record reached No. 9 on the Billboard 200 and lasted on the chart for 74 weeks.
Elvis’ “Viva Las Vegas” wasn’t a big hit like “Hound Dog” or “Suspicious Minds,” but Dylan appreciated its brilliance.
