Freddie Bell(1931-2008)

He came to Las Vegas in 1953 from his home town of Philadelphia and was considered one of the great lounge acts of the time, alongside the trio of saxophonist Sam Butera, singers Louis Prima and Keely Smith. He was performing at the Sands casino-hotel on the Las Vegas Strip in the mid-1950s when Elvis Presley was just an opening act across the street at the New Frontier. Bell's upbeat covers, and perhaps his knee-wiggling dance moves, inspired Presley, according to Bell's publicist Norm Johnson.