Las Vegas
Never Been To Spain June 10th 1972 Madison Square Garden
So I headed for Las Vegas only made it out to needles.
Never Been To Spain June 10th 1972 Madison Square Garden
So I headed for Las Vegas only made it out to needles.
On this day, in 1905 in the U.S. state of Nevada, the City of Las Vegas, aka Sin City was founded. The name of the state and the city came from the Spanish language. Las Vegas means the meadows! Water from underground artesian wells in the desert region,help form the green meadows from where Las Vegas gets its name. The water enabled the foundation of the city in the desert and Vegas became one of the railroad stops, built to connect Los Angeles and Salt Lake City.
In 1931, Nevada legalized casino gambling and also witnessed the beginning of construction on nearby hoover dam. The influx of construction workers and their families helped Las Vegas avoid economic disaster during the Great Depression. The construction work was completed in 1935. Then, following World War II, lavishly decorated hotels, gambling casinos, and big-name entertainment became synonymous with Las Vegas
In 1951 City residents and visitors were to witness the mushroom clouds and be exposed to fallout from the nuclear tests carried out on a site northwest of Las Vegas. these continued until 1963.
During
the 1960s, corporations and business powerhouses such as Howard Hughes
were building and buying hotel-casino properties. Gambling was referred
to as "gaming" which transitioned into legitimate business. Elvis Presley made his Las Vegas debut in 1956 at the New Frontier Hotel and returned to Vegas to make the movie Viva Las Vegas,” which was filmed in and around the Flamingo Hotel in the summer of 1963. Elvis is a singing racecar driver Lucky Jackson, who''s love interest,is the Flamingo’s pool manager, Rusty Martin, played by Ann Margret. The movie shows scenes of a younger, roomier Las Vegas and the climactic race scenes were filmed from Fremont Street to Hoover Dam and Mount Charleston.
Images from behind the scenes in Viva Las Vegas
Then on May 1, 1967 Elvis 32 and Priscilla 21, married at the new
Aladdin hotel. Colonel Parker organized it with the owner Mr Prell. The
ceremony was performed before a few friends and relatives, in Prell’s
private suite before the party opened up to a celebration breakfast of
100 friends and guests. Exactly nine months later on February 1st was the
birth of daughter Lisa Marie.
The summer of 1969, Kirk Kerkorian was ready to open the International Hotel. With 1,519 rooms, it was the largest resort hotel in the world. To give it a proper opening, Kerkorian hired two of the day’s biggest stars: Barbra Streisand and Elvis Presley. The story goes that the Colonel wanted Barbra to perform first to iron out any problems with the new venue. Elvis followed and strode onstage at the International on July 31, 1969. Now he was an all-round entertainer fronting a rock band polished and magnified by horns and strings. Elvis last performance in vegas was on December 12th 1976.
El Toro --- The Bull
Ole -- Bravo
The red cape -- The red cape is not used to make the bull charge . Bulls are actually colour blind. It is used to mask the blood of the bull and somewhat, disguise the cruelty of the kill .
The song El Toro, I believe, has Elvis taking the bull, El Toro''s side. The bull is the hero of this song defeating the Matador.
The God Bull
Because of its virility, power and regal presence, the bull has been an icon for worship in many ancient cultures. The bull was considered a sacred animal in ancient Mesopotamia, Greece, Rome and Egypt to name a few. It is common to see the bull offered as a blood sacrifice in these cultures.
Greeks
The bull was an attribute of Zeus represented by the constellation of Taurus. He transformed himself into a glistening white bull. Zeus (in the guise of the white bull) unassumingly planted himself amongst the herds in an effort to capture the attention of the lovely Europa with whom Zeus was completely smitten. Classic art will show Europa riding a white bull. This is Zeus in the form of a bull, and touches on symbolism of passion, transformation, virility, strength and fulfillment.
Hebrew
The bull symbol is the first letter in the Hebrew alphabet. It is thought this symbol was derived originally from the Semitic word for bull, and it is based on a pictograph that looks very much like a bull or ox head.
Celtic
In Celtic symbolism the bull represented physical strength and power. To the Celtic way of thought, the bull was also extremely virile, and so symbolized fertility and the power to procreate to extend the life of the clans. Druids associated the bull with solar energy and the female cow with earth energy.
La Paloma -- The Dove
La is the feminine in Spanish ! Where El is the masculine .
"La Paloma" belongs to a genre of songs called "Habaneras," a musical
style developed in 19th-century Spain that is very much
present today in the form of folk songs. The Habaneras, characteristic and distinct rhythm reflects
the fusion of the local Cuban songs that the Spanish sailors
brought back with them from their travels to the islands, with the
rhythm structure of the Andalusian, flamenco. "La Paloma" became popular outside of
Spain and is one of the most-recorded Spanish
songs. The original lyrics are a sailors lament after leaving his woman, he asks her to cherish his spirit if it returns to her window as a
dove. Then he fantasizes that if he does return safely, they will marry
and have seven, or even fifteen, children. Elvis version of La Paloma was titled, No More and first recorded for the Blue Hawaii soundtrack. The lyrics were written by Don Robertson. Don talking on how the song came about, "Ï received a letter from RCA asking me if i could write another adaption of a classical song similar to Its Now or Never for the movie Blue Hawaii. La Paloma came straight to mind but I didn't have a copy of the music, so I worked it out from memory. This was probably a blessing in disguise, because it took on a unique quality, different from the song I had learned as a child. Hal Blair and I spent most of the day in my office in Hollywood. I sat at the piano and he pulled up a chair next to me and we followed our usual procedure, both of us coming up with lyric phrases and trying them out as I worked on the arrangement and sang in Elvis' style. The lyric and the arrangement gradually evolved until we had a song we thought would fit Elvis and that we felt he might like". March 21st 1961, elvis recorded No More at the Hollywood Studios.The following recording was made for the Hawaii Benefit Concert , January 1973 production.
No More
Spanish Eyes or Moon Over Naples
Music written by Bert Kaemfert
The earliest vocal version was recorded by Freddy Quinn in 1965 after its release, the single was pulled from the market, when Decca, Kaemfert's label, threatened to sue, claiming ownership of the song. A version by Sergio Franchi with lyrics by Charles Singleton was recorded in late 1965 titled "Moon Over Naples", but did not chart. It would become a hit single in 1966 for Al Martino when a new set of lyrics were written by composer Eddie Snyder, now titled "Spanish Eyes". Since then Kaemfert,Snyder and Singleton have had their names on the composition, as writers.
Elvis performed this song on rare ocassions, in concert and at rehearsals . His studio recording was released on the 1974 Good Times Album. There is also home recordings of Elvis singing this song.
Si Si
Si, when it is written with an accent, it is pronounced using higher harmonics (in terms of frequencies), and generally with higher intensity, i.e. with stress. It means "yes
Si, if it is written without an accent, and it is pronounced using lower harmonics (in terms of frequencies), and much lower intensity than any typical word with a stress. It means "if"
Spanish Eyes and Spain
Padre -- Father
In a late fifties interview Elvis is heard mentioning this song as one of his favorites.
In a late fifties interview Elvis is heard mentioning this song as one of his favorites.
Flamenco Dance
It
most likely originated in Andalusia from the 13th to the 15th
centuries, when Spain was under Arab domination, their music and musical
instruments were modified and adapted by Christians and Jews, and later
by gypsies. The flamenco dance and music that we see today are the
results of centuries of amalgamating together, elements of the diverse
cultures. Greek, Roman and later from Indian, Moorish, and Jewish cultures .
Flamenco consists of three distinct parts: the 'cante' or song, the 'toque' or playing of the guitar, and the 'baile' or dance.
The
period, from 1869 to 1910, saw the appearance of cafes cantantes. These
small venues organised, ticketed performances of Flamenco. Thanks to
them, Flamenco became a public attraction and increased in popularity
amongst the general public.
Trivia
The bird Flamingo gets its name from Flamenco.
Los Angeles -- The Angels
Vega --- The brightest star in the constellation Lyra, approximately 26 light years from Earth. Vega is one of the stars that make up the Summer Triangle.
Charro -- A Mexican Cowboy
