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?
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There was a vast repository of musical history supporters attending a “get out the vote” rally in Spring Reserve ampitheatre in the west of Las Vegas could have reached for in order to answer The Independent’s question.
Dating back over more than 70 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, Britney Spears, Drake and Lady Gaga. In May, Sting will start his own Vegas residency at Caesars Palace.
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1/18
Jessica Canicosa, a precinct captain for Bernie Sanders, waits to greet caucus voters at Liberty High School in Henderson, Nevada
REUTERS
2/18
Hotel workers at the Bellagio in Las Vegas get to grips with voting papers during the Nevada caucuses
AFP via
3/18
A caricature of Bernie Sanders is projected on to a tree during a rally in Las Vegas
EPA
4/18
A woman waits to have a photo taken with Elizabeth Warren during a town hall meeting in Las Vegas
REUTERS
5/18
The threat of coronavirus and other germ-borne illnesses was on some voters’ minds at the Democratic caucuses in Henderson, Nevada
6/18
Former vice-president Joe Biden takes a selfie with a voter in Las Vegas ahead of the Nevada caucuses
REUTERS
7/18
Amy Klobuchar changes her shoes backstage after giving a speech in Exeter, New Hampshire
AFP/Getty
8/18
A warmly-wrapped-up dog attends an Elizabeth Warren event at Amherst Elementary School in Nashua, New Hampshire
AFP/Getty
9/18
Bernie Sanders, who romped to victory in New Hampshire against Hillary Clinton in 2016, talks to the media in Manchester
Getty
10/18
Joe Biden was hoping to improve on his poor showing in Iowa in the New Hampshire primary
Reuters
11/18
Elizabeth Warren, renowned for giving time to supporters for selfies, works the crowd at the University of New Hampshire in Durham
Getty
12/18
Joe Biden takes a selfie with a supporter and his child outside a campaign event in Somersworth, New Hampshire on 5 February
Reuters
13/18
Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders quarrel after a confrontation in a TV debate in which Sanders claimed that Warren was not telling the truth about a conversation in which she claimed he had said a woman could not win the presidency on 14 January
AP
14/18
Supporter Pat Provencher listens to Pete Buttigieg in Laconia, New Hampshire on 4 February
Getty
15/18
Pete Buttigieg speaks at a campaign event in Concord, New Hampshire while awaiting the results of the Iowa caucus
Reuters
16/18
Elizabeth Warren is presented with a balloon effigy of herself at a campaign event in Nashua, New Hampshire on 5 February
Reuters
17/18
A supporter rides past a rally for Amy Klobuchar in Des Moines, Iowa on 14 January
AP
18/18
A man holds up a sign criticising billionaires in the presidential race in front of Michael Bloomberg in Compton, Califronia. The former New York mayor skipped the first caucus in Iowa and instead campaigned in California on 3 February
Reuters
1/18
Jessica Canicosa, a precinct captain for Bernie Sanders, waits to greet caucus voters at Liberty High School in Henderson, Nevada
REUTERS
2/18
Hotel workers at the Bellagio in Las Vegas get to grips with voting papers during the Nevada caucuses
AFP via
3/18
A caricature of Bernie Sanders is projected on to a tree during a rally in Las Vegas
EPA
4/18
A woman waits to have a photo taken with Elizabeth Warren during a town hall meeting in Las Vegas
REUTERS
5/18
The threat of coronavirus and other germ-borne illnesses was on some voters’ minds at the Democratic caucuses in Henderson, Nevada
6/18
Former vice-president Joe Biden takes a selfie with a voter in Las Vegas ahead of the Nevada caucuses
REUTERS
7/18
Amy Klobuchar changes her shoes backstage after giving a speech in Exeter, New Hampshire
AFP/Getty
8/18
A warmly-wrapped-up dog attends an Elizabeth Warren event at Amherst Elementary School in Nashua, New Hampshire
AFP/Getty
9/18
Bernie Sanders, who romped to victory in New Hampshire against Hillary Clinton in 2016, talks to the media in Manchester
Getty
10/18
Joe Biden was hoping to improve on his poor showing in Iowa in the New Hampshire primary
Reuters
11/18
Elizabeth Warren, renowned for giving time to supporters for selfies, works the crowd at the University of New Hampshire in Durham
Getty
12/18
Joe Biden takes a selfie with a supporter and his child outside a campaign event in Somersworth, New Hampshire on 5 February
Reuters
13/18
Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders quarrel after a confrontation in a TV debate in which Sanders claimed that Warren was not telling the truth about a conversation in which she claimed he had said a woman could not win the presidency on 14 January
AP
14/18
Supporter Pat Provencher listens to Pete Buttigieg in Laconia, New Hampshire on 4 February
Getty
15/18
Pete Buttigieg speaks at a campaign event in Concord, New Hampshire while awaiting the results of the Iowa caucus
Reuters
16/18
Elizabeth Warren is presented with a balloon effigy of herself at a campaign event in Nashua, New Hampshire on 5 February
Reuters
17/18
A supporter rides past a rally for Amy Klobuchar in Des Moines, Iowa on 14 January
AP
18/18
A man holds up a sign criticising billionaires in the presidential race in front of Michael Bloomberg in Compton, Califronia. The former New York mayor skipped the first caucus in Iowa and instead campaigned in California on 3 February
Reuters
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, an 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, chose 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 to 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.
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When The Independent conducted a similar primary season experiment at Harlem’s Apollo Theatre in 2016 when the senator was holding a campaign event at a venue 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.
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At that 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 in November. Was Tereresa Perez, another supporter 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 a number who went for My Shot.
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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. The 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 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.”
