Swingin' Vegas

Break out your cocktail shaker and your sharpest sharkskin suit — we're taking a step back in time, to a world of glitz and glamour, hepcats and headliners, sin and . . . well, more sin. Welcome to swingin' Vegas, where the Rat Pack reigned over a chilled-martini world of late-night cool; where Dean Martin and his punch-drunk delight "Ain't That a Kick in the Head" shared a stage with Sammy Davis, Jr. and his take on the surefire showstopper "Lady Is a Tramp"; where Wayne Newton rode a voice unlike any other, wrapped around chestnuts like "Danke Schoen," all the way to the title of Mr. Las Vegas; and where Miss Peggy Lee got the tourists hot and bothered with her smoky signature nightcap "Fever."

Double down for more finger-poppin' Sin City goodness, in Next Steps.

Lookout! Mel Tormé, the smooth and oh-so-groovy Velvet Fog, is "Comin' Home Baby," and he's bringing swingin' Vegas with him. Yes, that means lounge legend Bobby Darin, traveling from "Beyond the Sea" for your cool-cat pleasure, and big-band kingpin Count Basie, who's got Tony Bennett on hand for a bouncy, brassy "With Plenty of Money and You." Cuban maestro Pérez Prado launches the Latin dance party with his hep hip-swiveler "Mambo No. 5," while Vegas playmates Eydie Gorme & Steve Lawrence are the life of the party with their twice-as-nice dreamer "This Could Be the Start of Something Big."

The night's still young — hit Deep Cuts for more swingin' Vegas.

When it came to Vegas sparkle and shine, it was a dead heat between Liberace and a Caesar's showgirl — now, with his most-requested "Stella By Starlight," you can still snag a front-row seat to his candelabra-lit, gold-plated Sin City extravaganzas without leaving your favorite comfy chair. Same goes for all our Deep Cuts, whether you prefer a one-on-one serenade from the siren of the Strip, Julie London ("My Heart Belongs to Daddy"), a slow-dance bossa nova from jazz chanteuse Nancy Wilson ("Wave"), or even a hilarious stand-up soliloquy from the late, great lover of language, Vegas fave Victor Borge ("Phonetic Pronunciation").

A King among swingers, Elvis Presley said it best: "Viva Las Vegas." Long live that legendary desert wonderland of cocktails and neon, hepcats and cool kittens, smart suits and tight dresses, and, most importantly, the larger-than-life personalities who transformed the town from a gambler's pit stop into the epicenter of happenin' entertainment. Stars like Frank Sinatra, who belted out "Luck Be a Lady" as if the fickle dame were at his beck and call; like Eartha Kitt, who purred "C'est si Bon (It's so Good)" as if the burg were her own private boudoir; and like rumble-voiced Robert Goulet, who'd hit that spotlight and dare to dream "The Impossible Dream." Colossal? Sure, but they all fit — like a diamond-studded horseshoe ring on a pinkie — into our Swingin' Vegas Essentials, your one-download time-bender for transforming any humble abode into the glamorous, golden-age Sands.