Question of the Day - 31 August 2007

As far as we can ascertain, at least 40, although we have no doubt whatsoever that there are more out there that we just haven't come across yet. The following list, presented chronologically by release date, encompasses everything from German post-punk versions to English country covers, French rockabilly to Chilean nihilism. And a lot of other genres in between. For each of those we know of, we've listed year of release and the album you can find it on.

Our list owes a huge debt to Nick Christenson, without whose Recordings of "Viva Las Vegas" site this wouldn't have been possible. Visit it and enjoy his witty and informative descriptions of 30 of the versions on this list, plus the correct lyrics to the song. The other 10 we dug up ourselves, but have neither the time nor the dedication of Nick to actually track them down, listen to, and describe them -- a treat that we will leave for you, our intrepid readers.

• Elvis Presley, Viva Las Vegas/Roustabout, 1964 -- the original
• Dead Kennedys, Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables, 1980
• Stephen Cummings, Lovetown, 1988
• Nina Hagen, Punk Wedding, 1988
• Residents, The King and Eye, 1989
• Bruce Springsteen, Last Temptation of Elvis, 1990
• The Special Consensus, Hey, Y'All, 1990
• ZZ Top, Greatest Hits, 1992
• Larry Victor, Our Time Will Soon Go, 1993
• Dread Zeppelin, No Quarter Pounder,1995
• Shawn Colvin, Till the Night is Gone, 1995
• Blues Brothers & Friends, Live From the House of Blues, 1997
• Wayne Newton, Viva Las Vegas!, 1997
• Hell City Hell Philharmonic, Hell City Hell, 1998
• Gipsy Vagabonds, Vive La Vide, 1998
• Mr. Pink, Red White and Pink, 1998
• Lynette Morgan & Her Tennessee Rhythm Riders, Little Red Wagon, 1999
• The Legendary Raw Deal, Southern Boys, 1999
• Hannah Elisabeth, The Sixties Show, 1999
• Nine Inch Elvis, Nine Inch Elvis, 2000
• Ann Margrock, i.e., Ann-Margret, The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas, 2000
• Billy Swan, Like Elvis Used to Do, 2000
• Jailbirds, Viva Las Vegas, 2000
• Swing Cats, A Special Tribute to Elvis, 2000
• Venetian Snares + Speedranch, Making Orange Things, 2001
• Fiskales Ad-Hok, ("Viva Santiago,") Calavera, 2001
• Great Pretenders, Point of View, 2002
• Speed Chicken, Der Mann Zum Hochbeamen (import), 2002
• Paul Ansel's Number Nine, Sweet Inspirations, 2002
• Hollywood Sound Orchestra, Elvis at the Movies, 2002
• Phil Cody, Mad Dog Sessions, 2002
• Englebert Humperdinck, Viva Las Vegas (import), 2002
• King Junior, Tribute to the King, 2003
• Lee Rocker, Burnin' Love, The Best of Lee Rocker (import), 2004
• Lisa Dames, If These Walls Could Talk, 2004
• Royal Crown Review, Greetings From Hollywood, 2004
• The Grascals with Dolly Parton, The Grascals, 2004
• The Thrills (Featuring James Burton), The Irish Keep Gate-Crashing, 2004
• Washington Dead Cats, Treat Me Bad, 2005
• Cornell Hurd Band, Texas By Night, 2006

Although it's called "Viva Laughlin," we're assuming (hoping) that CBS' new fall casino drama series will not rework the song as its title track, though it is billed as a "dramatic TV series with music" and we know will feature a performance of "Viva Las Vegas."

As always, if you know of one we've missed out, drop us a line via the QoD submission link and we'll be sure to keep adding to the list.

• "I'll wager the farthest-off 'cover' of 'Viva Las Vegas' is the one done by the now-disbanded Western Australian bluegrass band Sensitive New Age Cowpersons (their website is www.cowpersons.com) on their album 'This CD Will Change Your Life' and repeated on their compilation CD, 'Other People's Greatest Hits.'"
Aha! We knew there'd be more.
• "Just an FYI in response to the 'Viva Las Vegas' question, I know that Billy Joel did an often overlooked recording of the song on a vinyl album years ago. Cannot find the reference currently, but I also know that he has often done the version in concert, especially when in Las Vegas."