Elvis visits Jackie Wilson in Vegas writeup

 

Elvis visits Jackie Wilson in Vegas writeup

 

 

 

Before Wilson left the Dominoes, Elvis Presley stopped by to see them perform during his late 1956 stint in Las Vegas. Wilson performed an Elvis medley as part of the Dominoes' show, and Elvis was bowled over by Wilson's version of "Don't Be Cruel." Elvis returned the following three nights to see Wilson. On the legendary 1957 "Million Dollar Quartet" recording of Elvis with Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins, Elvis can be heard imitating Jackie Wilson imitating Elvis; it's a transcendent moment in the history of pop music. Fifteen years later, Van Morrison paid his own exuberant tribute to Wilson in the first track of "Saint Dominic's Preview" -- "Jackie Wilson Said (I'm In Heaven When You Smile)."

Wilson died at age 49 in 1982, eight years after suffering a massive heart attack onstage while performing with the Dick Clark Revue in New Jersey. Today is the anniversary of his birth. Pass it on...and let those whispers get louder.

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