Elvis in Las Vegas Page #5

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He was really concerned if they were still gonna accept him here.

Colonel said, "Elvis, don't worry about it. You'll be accepted.

"I'll put it this way - everyone in this town will know you're playing here."

Colonel announced to America that Elvis would be opening

at the 2,000 seat theatre in the nearly completed International Hotel.

It was the first of a new generation of high-rise hotels

that would transform the landscape and economy of that city.

But as he didn't have a band, Elvis had to build a new style of show band

that would win over a possibly sceptical Vegas audience.

I meet Elvis for the first time, really, up close and personal

and we just immediately had a great rapport.

Just... I got to see the charisma that everybody talked about was all about.

We started playing and I just zeroed on him, just watched every little thing he did.

I tried to play with every little move.

It was like playing for a stripper.

In burlesque...

obviously the drummer's role is to...accent the movements of the dancer.

In a way, what Elvis did was a dance too.

All of his movements were very much emphasised.

That was very much the way he expressed himself musically.

He stood right in front of me most of the time so he could not only hear

what the drums were doing but he could also feel it.

So it was like a two-way communication in that sense.

# All alone...

# And I'm missing you... #

We never lost eye contact with him

because he was so aware of

what's going on in his audience and had total control of the stage.

There was always this eye contact and we watched every move he made.

# Sail on by

# Your time has come

# To shine... #

Elvis watched everybody on stage. He knew what each one of us was doing.

He would call out your name, you'd be making a little whisper

and he'd go, "Myrna, don't do that."

And you'd go, "How did he see me?!"

It's like he had eyes in the back of his head!

He could be facing in a different direction

and he could pick up on whatever you were doing.

# I will ease your mind

# Like a bridge over troubled waters... #

He was the most focused guy I've ever worked with.

He knew every entrance of every singer, every group,

every oboe entrance, every violin entrance and if anybody slipped up,

he knew it.

The horns are answering it...

# If you need a friend... #

Right on top of friend.

Right on top of friend.

# Need... If you need... #

We learned probably 50 songs before we even opened.

Many of them were sung one time,

after many hours of rehearsal on that one song.

He would just decide, hey, I don't like this song.

And we never did the song again!

While the music was being shaped,

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