Our song, wronged

Chris Morris

By David McGrath Schwartz (contact)

Thursday, April 3, 2008 | 2 a.m.

Vegas Anthem Wronged?

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Viagra recently celebrated its 10th anniversary, and as its gift, ruined the unofficial anthem of Las Vegas with its "Viva Viagra" commercials. We, for one, can't hear the song Elvis made famous now without thinking of a bunch of gentlemen jamming out an ode to erectile dysfunction. For the full story see Our song, wronged.

If Elvis were still alive, he’d be 73 and probably could use the help the product promises.

But it’s safe to say The King would not be amused by what Viagra has done to one of his most famous songs.

Decades before “What happens here ...” became the city’s quintessential slogan, “Viva Las Vegas” was its anthem, the song that defined us to the world.

From that unforgettable opening riff, how could you think of anything but chorus girls, the Rat Pack and that “bright light city” where a fortune is “won and lost on every deal”?

Now, however, the song conjures up a new, most un-Vegaslike image: erectile dysfunction.

To mark its 10th anniversary on the market, Viagra co-opted the city’s theme song, sullying it for its “Viva Viagra” TV commercials.

One of the oft-run commercials for the little blue pills features a jam session of aging men happily singing about their sexual performance shortcomings to the tune of “Viva Las Vegas,” substituting the words “Viva Viagra” for the catchphrase Elvis made famous.

“They stole the Las Vegas anthem,” said Jesse Garon, an Elvis impersonator and owner of downtown’s Art Bar. “It’s stupid and irritating. It’s also catchy, which I guess is the point.”

Lisa Marie Presley is among those offended by the use of her father’s hit to hawk the pills.

“I find that revolting,” she told the Associated Press after the ad first aired last summer. “Some songs we have no control over. I know we didn’t license that one.”

“Viva Las Vegas,” written by Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman, became a hit for Elvis in 1964. It also was the name of a movie starring Presley and Ann-Margret.

A spokesman for Pfizer, the manufacturer of Viagra, did not return a call for comment Wednesday. Calls to Pomus Songs, which claims on its Web site to own the rights to the song “Viva Las Vegas,” also were not returned.

“Viva Las Vegas” is certainly not the first famous song to be snatched up for a commercial enterprise.

From Beatles songs to Bob Dylan in an ad for Victoria’s Secret to Aaron Copeland’s “Rodeo” (which younger TV viewers may know only as the tune in the “Beef, It’s What’s for Dinner” ads), beloved art and pop culture are regularly taken over by Madison Avenue.

But “Viva Las Vegas” seems different. It’s not just a popular song. It’s part of our civic identity.

“If someone did to ‘I Left My Heart in San Francisco’ what happened to ‘Viva Las Vegas,’ I could imagine the outrage,” said Michael Green, a local historian. “The irony here is that Las Vegas wants to be careful with its image.”

Then again, maybe those complaining are being a bit stodgy.

“We should be flattered,” said David G. Schwartz, director of UNLV’s Center for Gaming Research (and not a relative of this reporter). “It shows how those who market the city have been so successful.”

The Las Vegas brand has become so synonymous with sex and fun, Schwartz said, that without even mentioning Las Vegas, Viagra is able to capitalize on the city’s cool factor.

Plus, he points out that the song has been covered before. In the Dead Kennedys version, the last line of the song is changed to “Got coke up my nose to dry away the snot.”

That almost makes twanging on about impotence sound downright classy.

Plus, the original lyrics offer some obvious tie-ins to what Viagra’s all about. Because as Elvis said, “There’s a thousand pretty women waitin’ out there. And they’re all livin’ devil may care. And I’m just the devil with love to spare.”

At least for up to four hours.

“It’s been a song covered so many times by so many people, both earnestly, ironically,” Schwartz said. “It’s hard to say anyone now is going to have the last interpretation of it.”