Elvis Presley’s Las Vegas performances are iconic, but the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll had mixed feelings about the neon city. He wasn’t alone. Las Vegas evoked mixed emotions in many artists.
In a candid chat at TMF Studios, Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora were quizzed about scenarios they’d dread. Jon responded humorously, equating performing in Vegas to a fate worse than death. Mimicking a cheesy lounge singer, he crooned, “You give love a bad name,” poking fun at Wayne Newton-style performances.
Yet, irony has a way of playing its cards. Within a year of that comment, Bon Jovi was headlining a Vegas show. The band’s trysts with the glitzy city only multiplied. By 2018, Jon’s perceptions seemed to have taken a U-turn.
Conversing with the Las Vegas Review-Journal, he recounted multiple Vegas adventures: car races, simulated skydiving, attending the Tyson-Bruno bout, filming music videos, and even a memorable cross-country motorcycle ride that ended in the city. Not to forget, he mentioned his 1989 wedding at Graceland Chapel.
Despite Jon’s earlier jest about Vegas being “worse than death,” Bon Jovi performed in the city multiple times, serenading fans till 2021. It’s a testament to the allure of Vegas, a city that, despite reservations, draws artists back, time and again.
