Q:
I'm putting together a Las Vegas mix for my iPod, with Vegas and gambling songs that are classic or fun or both. I've got several, including "Luck Be a Lady," "The Gambler," "Lucky Too (Christmas in Las Vegas)," and "Viva Las Vegas." What are some others I should add?
A:
As mentioned in the QoD of 09/06/2005, you could put together an entire mix just of versions of "Viva Las Vegas," which has been covered by everyone from the Dead Kennedys to Engelbert Humperdinck, via ZZ Top, Bruce Springsteen, and Dread Zeppelin.
But if you're looking for something a little more diverse ... here's a smorgasbord of suggestions ranging from Blues, rap, and reggae to metal, country, and pop:
- Las Vegas Virgin – Sonia Dada
- Gambler – Madonna
- Ace of Spades – Motorhead
- Son of a Rotten Gambler – Emmylou Harris
- I Let a Gambler Lead Me Astray – Odetta
- Blackjack – Ray Charles
- Shooting High Dice - Mississippi Sheiks
- Draw of the Cards - Kim Carnes
- Poker – Electric Light Orchestra
- Riverboat Gambler – Carly Simon
- Shape of My Heart - Sting
- House of the Rising Sun – The Animals (or Bob Dylan)
- The Angel and the Gambler – Iron Maiden
- Tumbling Dice - Rolling Stones
- The Card Cheat – The Clash
- The Winner Takes It All – ABBA
- The Gambler – Leonard Cohen
- A Good Run of Bad Luck - Clint Black
- Easy Money – Billy Joel
- No Luck in Gambling - Yellowman
- No Cheap Thrill – Suzanne Vega
- Las Vegas Turnaround (The Stewardess Song) - Hall & Oates
- Desperado – The Eagles
- Life is Just a Card Game - Big Joe Turner
- Karma Hotel - Spooks
- Roulette - Bon Jovi
- Ramblin' Gamblin' Man - Bob Seger
- Ooh Las Vegas - Emmylou Harris
- Gamblin' Man - Bonnie Raitt
- The Jack – ACDC
- Dealer - Traffic
- It's Okay - Eminem (featuring Eye-Kyu)
- Deal 'em Again - Christopher Cross
- Go Down Gambling - Blood, Sweat and Tears
- Whisky, Women And Loaded Dice – Joe Liggins
- Midnight Train - The Monkees
- Gambling Woman – Memphis Minnie
- Lay Your Money Down – Bread
- The Gambling Song - Cliff Richard
- Gambling Polka Dot Blues - Hank Snow
- The Loser – Grateful Dead
- I Love Vegas - Dean Martin
- Turn Of A Friendly Card - Alan Parsons
- Norman The Gambler (rides around in a Rambler) - Max Romeo and the Upsetters
- Leavin' Las Vegas – Sheryl Crow
That's just a tiny sample to get you started and no doubt our readers have a ton of suggestions to add to the list, so please feel free to send us other titles and artists, and we'll include them in an "Update" to this answer.
Update 08 February 2010
05/18/2006 WOW! We got great feedback to this one - thanks to everyone who sent in suggestions. Here they are:
- Moonlight Gambler - Frankie Laine
- Queen of Las Vegas - B52s
- Roll the Bones - Rush
- Wind Him Up - Saga
- People Get Really Drunk in Las Vegas - Size 14
- Vegas Two Times - Stereophonics
- Me and My Monkey - Robbie Williams
- Vegas Remains - Reclinerland
- Vegas Baby - The Weepies
- Vegas - Clowns for Progress
- Vegas - The Regulars
- Vegas - Dan Mackenzie
- Vegas Bound - Evan Olson
- Vegas - PenthouseJ
- Vegas Dream - Rick McGuire
- Vegas Drag (Instrumental) - Count Basie
- Vegas - Suitcase Pimps
- Vegas Polka - Frankie Yankovic
- Vegas - Bobby Bare
- Jesus in Vegas - Chumbawamba
- Pretty Vegas - INXS
- Goin' to Vegas - Jimmy Ray
- Do It Again - Steely Dan
- Casino Queen - Wilco
- Roll of the Dice - Bruce Springsteen
- It's Midnight and I'm Not Famous Yet - Jimmy Buffet (or Steve Goodman)
- Sin City - Gram Parsons (or Emmylou Harris)
- Here's to the Losers - Frank Sinatra
- With Plenty of Money and You - Count Basie (or Tony Bennett)
- Silver and Gold - U2
- Street of Dreams - Sinatra
- Mr. Siegal - Tom Waits
- Five Card Stud - Ace Frehley
- The Cincinnati Kid - Ray Charles
- Aces - Suzy Bogguss
- Deal - Grateful Dead
- Queen of Hearts - Juice Newton
- Atlantic City - Bruce Springsteen
- Stranger Song - Leonard Cohen
- Luck of the Draw - Bonnie Raitt
- There's A Place In The World For A Gambler - Dan Fogelberg
- Still The Same - Bob Seger
More the most comprehensive and up-to-date listing of Vegas- and gambling-related songs, see our
Spotlight on... feature from May 14, 2009.
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