#to the amount of nastiness and disrespect she gets from other fanbases

[septembersghost]

I sent this to another blog but she didn't answer it - I saw someone say Vegas is for "has-beens" and only associated with Elvis' "decline," Taylor would never taint her legacy in that way blah blah but Elvis did spectacularly well in Vegas, it wasn't performing there that was embarrassing or whatever, it's that he was locked there contractually with no way out bc of predatory management. wasn't the Vegas circuit a big deal, like the Rat Pack did well there too, or am I wrong?

yeah, whoever said that was missing some information/perspective. that's a reductive and sort of 21st century stereotyped view of what actually went on regarding elvis' time in vegas, and also missing a larger point regarding the big, flashy draw to be had there at that point. it wasn't "has-beens" putting on shows, it was legends of the time, and many of them did very well, watched that reinvigorate careers, made quite a bit of money, etc. the rat pack is another great example, they legitimately made the town into a glitzy destination. ("Frank wouldn’t go out after dark without a sport jacket on, let alone perform out of a tuxedo,” former Nevada Lieutenant Governor Lorraine Hunt-Bono said to Smithsonian magazine in 2013. “He was the spark that changed Vegas from a dusty Western town into something glamorous.”" x)

the negative side of it for elvis had far more complicated context, from parker's dealings to his own health. admittedly i only know basics of this and there are for sure more in-depth accounts, but in a universe where he wasn't in essence being caged there, he likely would've pursued a european/world tour like he wanted to, among other things, the circumstances would've just...been different. it certainly did not begin as anything close to a decline though, and even when he began to really struggle, his name on the marquee was still a huge draw. ("Visibly nervous as his four-week engagement at the International Hotel kicked off on July 31, 1969, Elvis quickly found his groove as he launched into classics like "Blue Suede Shoes" and "All Shook Up." Unlike the muted response that welcomed his debut in Vegas 13 years earlier, he had the star-studded audience eating out of his hand this time. He punctuated his high-energy, 75-minute performance with karate kicks and off-the-cuff stage patter.

Critics were swept up in the frenzy as well: "Elvis got a constant, roaring approval from his fans who all but threw themselves into the aisles and out of the balcony as the Pelvis sang his many rock 'n' roll hits while fiercely, almost savagely turning himself outside in," read one review from the Las Vegas Sun.

Even before the end of Elvis's stay, which drew a record 101,500 patrons over the four weeks, his manager, Colonel Tom Parker, and the International Hotel president negotiated a handshake deal to have the singer return for twice-per-year engagements over the next five years.

Elvis dutifully revisited the hotel–rebranded as the Las Vegas Hilton–for his two-shows-per-night residency into the mid-1970s, enjoying his home away from home in the 5,000-square-foot "Elvis Suite" on the 30th floor.

The performance magic dimmed as the novelty of the experience wore off for the star, who was also dealing with diminishing health and a deteriorating marriage. Still, die-hard fans continued flocking to the city to see their hero, with every one of his estimated 636 performances at the venue reported to be a sellout." x)

and this falls under that topic i've mentioned, when someone's fame is so enormous it eclipses their personhood, and becomes a kind of removed, shallow thing. the association with impersonators and riffs on stage presence or musicianship or acting that trail icons like elvis/the rat pack/marilyn/etc don't do full justice to who they truly were and why they became iconic, it's facsimile. that's not inherently bad, but it's not quite whole either.

there's additionally this snideness from a certain subsection of various fans who look down on "legacy artists" and it's buying into the ageism and other issues in the industry. taylor not being the type of artist likely to do a vegas residency has nothing to do with her being somehow above it all, it's just not her scene! i have to laugh if people really think artists like celine dion, katy perry, lady gaga, gwen stefani, jennifer lopez, cher, elton john, britney, mariah, beyonce, adele...all did their vegas residencies because they're "has beens" rather than, you know, wildly successful performers who chose to put on big shows that didn't require touring and were massively lucrative.