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If Bernie Sanders was to sing a Vegas show tune what would it be – and why?

Vermont senator is a powerful orator, but can he sing?: Getty
Vermont senator is a powerful orator, but can he sing?: Getty

It seemed a fair enough question.

Here we were in Las Vegas, a city famed not just for its Blackjack tables, but for blockbuster shows and musical “residences” dating all the way back to the 1930s.

So, if Bernie Senator were to perform a Vegas show tune, what would his supporters select, and why?

There was a vast repository of musical history supporters attending an “get out the vote rally in Spring Reserve ampitheatre in the west of Las Vegas, could have reached to in order to answer The Independent’s question.

Dating back over more than 70s years, the hotels and clubs that line the Strip have hosted residencies from Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra, to Liberace, Cher, Celine Dione, Engelbert Humperdinck, Barry Manilow, Rod Stewart, Brittney Spears, Drake and Lady Gaga. In May, Sting will start his own Vegas residency at Caesars Palace.

They could have reached back further, to the 1940s when African American stars such as Nat “King” Cole, Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong were repeat performers. As an article published last year in UDisoverMusic pointed out, that was a time when the city was deeply entrenched with racism and known as the “The Mississippi Of The West”. Cole was not allowed to gamble at the venue he was headlining.

Isiah Garcia, 24, and engineering student, said he would like to see the senator sing Armstrong’s What a Wonderful World. “It’s one of my favorite songs and Bernie sees the best in people,” he said.

Neil Gillfillian opted for Danke Schoen by Las Vegas legend Wayne Newton, a song of break up and survival, and whose lyrics include: “Though we go our separate ways. Still the memory stays for always.”

Christina Rivera, 34, choose Michael Jackson’s cover of Come Together by The Beatles, which she said he performed on the Strip in his shows with Cirque du Soleil.

Sheila Wright, an elementary school teacher, said she was supporting Mr Sanders because she was tired of teaching children who were coming to school hungry and sick. She was quick to pick My Shot from Hamilton, with the words: “I am not throwing away my shot, Hey yo, I’m just like my country, I’m young, scrappy and hungry.”

The idea behind the question was make people consider what made them connect with the senator at a deeper, more visceral level, rather than simply thinking his plan for universal health care made good common sense.

When The Independent conducted a similar primary season experiment at Harlem’s Apollo Theatre in 2016 where the senator was holding a campaign events, and which only permitted black patrons after 1934, people suggested This Land is My Land, Faith, and America. Rachael Singleton, a nurse, had suggested We are the World.

At the point in the political cycle, Mr Sanders was fighting to keep up with Hillary Clinton, the favourite, who had the support of the Democratic establishment and corporate donors.

Four years on, Mr Sanders is the party’s frontrunner to take on Donald Trump in November. Was Tereresa Perez, another supporters of the senator, unconsciously displaying confidence he might seal the deal when she suggested Frank Sinatra’s My Way.

“He does his own unique thing,” she said. “And he has done for 40 years.”

It was a beautiful evening and The Independent was feeling in a generous mood. So when Shaun Richards and Jacqueline Bunge suggested Power to the People – one of the songs actually played at the rally – it was permitted, even though it was by John Lennon, not The Beatles, whose music features in Love, a show at the Mirage Hotel.

“All you need is love,” said Ms Bunge. “All you need is love, and Bernie Sanders.”

There were several people who went for My Way, and several who went for My Shot.

Mr Sanders campaign did not immediately respond to questions as to whether he had a favorite show tune, or which one best summed up his campaign.

Among the most interesting selections came from Frank Votaro, who pointed out that at the age of 77, he was almost the same age as the senator, who last October suffered a heart attack, and believed he was “the real mccoy”.

He also suggested a Sinatra song, not My Way, but That’s Life, which was recorded and released in 1966. “Sinatra did That’s Life first – My Way came afterwards,” he said. He song, was written by Dean Kay and Kelly Gordon and first recorded in 1963 by Marion Montgomery. Mr Votaro, who said he still worked part-time as a croupier, said he had served in the army with one of the men who composed it.

“It’s talks about the events that happen to us in life, and carrying on,” said Mr Votaro, as he began to sing the opening lines.

The lyrics begin: “That’s life, That’s Life, that’s what all the people say. You’re riding high on Monday, shot down in May.

“But I, I ain’t never gonna change my tune, when I’m back on top in the month of June.”

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