I just came back from a trip to Las Vegas, and the long weekend has inspired my Top 10 Tuesday music activity today.
Las Vegas is known for Elvis impersonators and even more awesomely – the music of Elvis. I thought it might be fun today to create the next generation of Elvis impersonators and get your kiddos dancing and singing like the King of Rock ‘n Roll himself.
First, show your kids some great Elvis movie footage. Here he is singing “Viva Las Vegas,” of course…
Here are the lyrics to the song:
Bright light city gonna set my soul
Gonna set my soul on fire
Got a whole lot of money that’s ready to burn,
So get those stakes up higher
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
Viva Las Vegas, Viva Las Vegas
How I wish that there were more
Than the twenty-four hours in the day
‘Cause even if there were forty more
I wouldn’t sleep a minute away
Oh, there’s black jack and poker and the roulette wheel
A fortune won and lost on ev’ry deal
All you need’s a strong heart and a nerve of steel
Viva Las Vegas, Viva Las Vegas
Viva Las Vegas with you neon flashin’
And your one armbandits crashin’
All those hopes down the drain
Viva Las Vegas turnin’ day into nighttime
Turnin’ night into daytime
If you see it once
You’ll never be the same again
I’m gonna keep on the run
I’m gonna have me some fun
If it costs me my very last dime
If I wind up broke up well
I’ll always remember that I had a swingin’ time
I’m gonna give it ev’rything I’ve got
Lady luck please let the dice stay hot
Let me shout a seven with ev’ry shot
Viva Las Vegas, Viva Las Vegas,
Viva, Viva Las Vegas
Once they learn the melody, ask them to sing the song like Elvis.
And now they need to move like Elvis! There are some great instructional Elvis dance videos on Youtube.
Here are the Elvis legs:
Here’s the “Elvis Kick”
Once your kids have mastered the moves and the singing, it’s time to become Elvis. Get out some shades, flip up your collar, put on a big chunky belt or sash, slick back the hair, and if you really want to go glitz and glam…hot glue some blingy rhinestones to your clothes. Just shy of buying an Elvis costume..do the best you can with what’s lying around the house to get them in the Elvis mood. Here are a couple of great pint-sized Elvis photos I found online.
And last but not least…to really get them into Elvis…show them a clip of a young Bruno Mars doing his Elvis impersonation from “Honeymoon in Vegas.” He’s adorable!
I am sure turning your kid(s) into an Elvis impersonator could bring you hours of fun. Elvis made some great music, and this is music appreciation hands on! Go for it!
I hope you have enjoyed today’s Top 10 Tuesday music activity. For a complete list of the musical instruments under $40 that will help to promote music education in the home, click HERE. For an archive of previous Top 10 Tuesday music activities, click HERE. Make sure to check back every Tuesday for some more musical fun, and until next week, play on!
