Eat your heart out, Elton (and every other over the top performer)

Liberace, born on this date in 1919, got there first. He invented it, polished it, and kept improving it. You knew if you were going to see Liberace, you'd see the outfits, you'd see the entrances, you'd see, in a word, a show. That's what Liberace was all about.



His piano playing wasn't a wow with the critics, but audiences loved him.



Vegas wasn't really the birthplace of the over-the-top performance. You'd have to go back to the old Ziegfeld days for that. But it was Liberace in Vegas that made it personal. Compare the Hendrix concert we posted a couple of days ago. Once upon a time serious rock was a reaction to all the Vegas-like hoopla. Nowadays most rock is nothing but Vegas-like hoopla. I will duck down under the desk for a minute after typing this, but who the hell goes to see Lady Gaga for the music?

If you dig into the Liberace persona, you'll find a real personal connection with his fans. Who doesn't wish that the Liberace Museum had stayed open? I'd visit it in a minute. When you go to Vegas nowadays you feel sort of empty knowing that it's not there anymore.

Happy Birthday, Lee. You made the world a more fun place.
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