"Michael Chapa, an Elvis impersonator who works in Los Angeles and Las Vegas, helped entertain more than 2500 of his relatives at what is believed to be the country's largest Hispanic family reunion "[14], There are also some Elvis impersonators who specialize in experimenting with gender, sexuality, race, taste and decency. Many other Elvis impersonators appeared while Elvis was still alive, evolving mainly out of small town talent competitions which took their influences from major music artists of that time. In a lengthy piece for Rolling Stone, David Browne digs into the "rogue '70s promoter," who decided to try to make a living by putting cover artists on stagewith faces surgically altered to look something like the late singer they were mimicking. The horns, strings and vocals of the Holladay Sisters were later overdubbed. Dennis Wise, 54, has been an Elvis tribute artist since before Elvis died (or allegedly passed on if you are one of those who believe he is in hiding). Described as the original and best-known Elvis Presley tribute artist, Dennis Wise has performed more than 10,000 shows in all 50 states and in other countries including Peru, England and Japan. ODay also landed them an appearance on Tom Snyders late-night network talk show. The Getty Images design is a trademark of Getty Images. Thanks to an unstable household his mother had several husbands ODay eventually left home for California, where he hustled his way into other bands. It just took off, Wise says. Bags were removed from under OConnells eyes, and wrinkles from his cheeks. "The King" of Rock and Roll has been gone for more than 30 years, but on any given night in Las Vegas the spirit of Elvis Presley lives on. Gamble, a high-school dropout whod worked as a carpenter and in local theater productions of musicals like Bye Bye Birdie, reveled in his Kingness. ., Silhouettes by Paul Guzzo, Record Details, Catalogue: 3829/M15-3829, Elvis Lives! Smith was featured several times on Pringle's regular TV show, though Smith only pretended to sing and play along with the music since he actually could neither sing nor play the guitar at that time.[7]. Dad hated Elvis. Gradually Elvis became a bigger part of the act. He almost never talked about his previous life or Rock and Roll Heaven with family (including a son, Andrew, who performs solo and with an Eighties tribute band around D.C.). Tap into Getty Images' global scale, data-driven insights, and network of more than 340,000 creators to create content exclusively for your brand. Hes Elvis. It contains interviews with many famous Elvis impersonators, and also gives you five free Sunfly Karaoke backing tracks, allowing you to download your favorite Elvis tracks to perform to. We were offered a job to go to Hawaii, Wise says. Keeping his spirit alive are tens of thousands of professional Elvis impersonators around the world, and millions more who do it for kicks. What if, instead of one altered rocker, he had an all-star ensemble of them? Dennis Colt, the first famous Elvis impersonator, circa 1978. BY THE NUMBERS $52 million Amount the Elvis estate made. Siegfried & Roy, and Wayne Newton. [11][bettersourceneeded] This joke may have its origins in Charlie Chaplin, who once did enter a lookalike contest and is often reported to have also placed third, although Chaplin's actual ranking in the contest is not known.[12]. The band shifted into Also Sprach Zarathustra (the theme from 2001: A Space Odyssey), the traditional orchestral opener for Presleys shows, and Gamble, in full Elvis sunglasses and jumpsuit, welcomed everyone to the performance. There must have been 100 people from the press all over the world taking pictures, he says. [38], Des Perenara, a Maori Elvis comes from Auckland but is now based in Cardigan, Wales. Fans who wish to pay homage to the King of Rock n Roll might enjoy attending Wises annual show commemorating the passing of Elvis. Dennis Colt, the first famous Elvis impersonator, circa 1978. From left: Rhyne, ODay, and Hazebrouck performing as Linda Ronstadt, Kenny Rogers, and Jim Croce at a Florida club in 1981. Its pretty common now, Wise says. The results could be comical: Caywood recalls a drive when some of them were pulled over by cops, who thought the bandaged people in the van were thieves. I would see a morbid aspect if we were being crassly commercial in cashing in on dead people. His admiration for The final Elvis impersonator made a splash by parachuting in on top of a car. According to a popular myth, Presley himself entered an Elvis lookalike contest at a local restaurant shortly before his death, and came in third place. Croce had perished in a plane crash in 1973, but Marc Hazebrouck, a former truck driver and psychology major from Rhode Island, was already playing songs by Croce and had a droopy mustache to match. On their way out of Nevada after the tour ended, a few of the singers and band members made a pit stop in the desert. [34], An Elvis impersonator in Arkansas, who legally had his name changed to Elvis Presley,[35] unsuccessfully ran for the positions of Arkansas Commissioner of State Lands in 2014, Arkansas State Senator of District 26 in 2016, and U.S. Representative of Arkansas's District 1 in 2018. The plot of the Father Ted episode "Competition Time" revolves around the three main characters Father Ted Crilly, Father Dougal McGuire and Father Jack Hackett entering the "All Priests Stars in Their Eyes Lookalike Competition". The music will be all Elvis, from the Vegas years. 'The World's Greatest Elvis impersonator..EVER!' Rick Bonner 335 subscribers Subscribe 132 121K views 9 years ago A both serious and humerous collection of the world's greatest Elvis. [45] The following year in August 1977, he was appearing at the Colonial Inn, fronting a nine-piece band called Coastal Connection. In fact, the clones didnt need the bandages, but ODay, ever the showman, insisted they keep the wraps on for maximum suspense. The Disney Channel sitcoms Hannah Montana and The Suite Life of Zack & Cody both featured main characters dressing up and acting like Elvis. In the aftermath of the collapse of Rock and Roll Heaven, Danny ODay went in search of an encore. Wise says he never saw a dime, nor ever saw ODay again. In 1978 Wise went through extensive plastic surgery to make himself look more like Elvis. Fans Also Viewed Monster Jam See all 201 Events Monster Energy Supercross See all 13 Events Ed Sheeran He heard ODay was now working with a country band something about tributes to country singers and tracked them down in a bar. The idea was to say I was trying to develop the sneer, I guess, he says. According to Rolling Stone, less than 50 people turned up to their debut show in Atlanta. And you have the fans who want to see that artist continue., ODay would never be on the level of Colonel Tom Parker, but he was something else entirely rocks own P.T. Ive got this kid who does a great Otis Redding, but hes white, he said straight-faced. He has been performing as Elvis since around 2000. James at the time was married to his first wife, but still had feelings for his childhood sweetheart, who was married back in Houston. Only after Elvis' untimely death on August 16, 1977, did impersonating Elvis start to become popular in the mainstream. Of course theyll come., Rhyne sang credible Ronstadt covers, while her new husband dug into his performing past to mimic Rogers husky delivery. Its got to be wrong. We use cookies. The first thing that comes to my mind is that plastic surgery is the highest form of flattery., He was way ahead of the curve, says Jeff Pezzuti, founder of Eyellusion, responsible for recent hologram tours of Frank Zappa and Dio. In Many Shapes and Colors: King's Spirit Infuses Multicultural 'Elvi' - Trin Yarborough, Page 1 Elvis devotee ready to perform - Stephen Forbes, Samoan Elvis sings his last, Alphonso Keil dies, Talking with an Angel, Page 1 - 4, By Ruth Jackson, 20,000 for one day Elvis Festival in New Zealand by Gail Bartley, Thousands 'all shook up' at Auckland's Elvis in the Gardens - TARANNUM SHAIKH, Pasifika programme Sunday 13 March, Sunday programme, > Samoa, 2.10pm Elvis of Samoa, "Hong Kong legend 'Melvis' dead at 68, local branch of International Elvis Presley Fan Club says", Warren makes time for grandson by Stuart Michael, LIFESTYLE, Tony Warren still rocking by Sonja Mustaffa, From Memphis to Vegas / From Vegas to Memphis, Elvis Sings The Wonderful World of Christmas, From Elvis Presley Boulevard, Memphis, Tennessee, Amazing Grace: His Greatest Sacred Performances, Command Performances: The Essential 60s Masters II, Suspicious Minds: The Memphis 1969 Anthology, The King of Rock 'n' Roll: The Complete 50's Masters, From Nashville to Memphis: The Essential '60s Masters, Walk a Mile in My Shoes: The Essential '70s Masters, Peace in the Valley: The Complete Gospel Recordings, The Frank Sinatra Timex Show: Welcome Home Elvis, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Elvis_impersonator&oldid=1139034895, Articles lacking reliable references from June 2020, All articles with vague or ambiguous time, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 13 February 2023, at 00:58. James had written three songs that became number one hits in the Southern United States. Wise is King for a Night on Saturday at Boulder Station. As a result, Sophia's wedding reception is filled with Elvis impersonators (one played by a young Quentin Tarantino)[30] instead of members of her own family, and Rose exclaims, "Either I got the Elvis list mixed with the guest list for the wedding or everyone in Sophia's family appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show!". Spencer would perform as Elvis (often in a gold lam suit) as the main part of a mini-set in which he also did other impersonations of figures such as Buddy Holly and slide guitarist Elmore James. There are also several university studies, for instance, Eric Lott's critical essay, "All the King's Men: Elvis Impersonators and White Working-Class Masculinity," published in Harry Stecopoulos and Michael Uebel, eds., Race and the Subject of Masculinities (Duke University Press, 1997). One of his biggest fans is Dennis Wise, a man who even had his face and hairline changed through plastic surgery to look more like Elvis. Get our roundup of longform stories every Saturday. But for Wise, the jailhouse only rocked for so long. his performance, Wise imparts trivia about Elvis's music, as well as All rights reserved. It was in his blood, and I want to think it was the drinking that prohibited him from doing more with his life. For reasons that remain mysterious, ODay completely turned his back on show business and began working in sales for car dealerships in the greater Baltimore and Washington, D.C., area. first song, he got the job. I was there in 1977 when Elvis died.. Since Joplin imitators were rare back then, Caywood adds, I was the only person who could do that at the time., Caywood, a native Californian who sang in a sassy rasp reminiscent of Joplins, didnt know the full story. One of the most popular modern plays dealing with Elvis impersonation is Lee Hall's Cooking with Elvis (1999). Barnum, a man who could, in Wises words, sell ice cream in hell. If that meant hiring someone to turn living singers into facsimiles of deceased ones, so be it. Shawn Klush. He performed regularly at the Elvis in the Park concerts at Cranwell Park in Henderson, Auckland, New Zealand, New Zealand. The two wound up singing covers in another band, poetically named Xerox, and before long, they became romantically involved. CONTINUE ON TO: The article has been published in the anthology The Oxford American Book of Great Music Writing and the anthology Louise Brooks, Frank Zappa, & Other Charmers & Dreamers by Tom Graves. Some of the performers had reservations about what they were doing. New York-native Erin Feinberg is a master observer of musical subcultures, and has snapped diehard tribes of metal-heads, prog-rockers, and punks. The main character of Cartoon Network's Johnny Bravo is heavily influenced by Elvis along with James Dean and Michael Jackson. He was always looking for his new project, says Patten. Me go in and have my face carved? But I was pretty ugly anyway. And the hype factor, always important to ODay, appealed to him, too: Man, the monster maker himself onstage. After James' recording failed commercially, the song was handed to Elvis Presley by producer Chips Moman, becoming a number one song in 1969, and one of the most notable hits of Presley's career. As incredible as it may sound, Elvis Presley would have celebrated his 74th birthday today probably quietly at Graceland lest he throw out a hip. He did say, Well, what can we do? It was perfect, but it was a lot of trouble, Wise says. Returning to Ocala, he found his marriage falling apart and began working construction jobs. The band ended up in Hawaii. Dennis F. December 14, 2015 We enjoyed Elvis John Verified Review Tyler E. May 20, 2014 A great experience with Elvis John Hired as: Elvis Impersonator Verified Review Terri K. April 27, 2014 Great Job! lvis Presley had been dead for six months when the plastic-surgeons knife plunged into Dennis Wise. He has every album Elvis ever recorded and pictures by the thousands. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Danny was flabbergasted I said that, says Wise. [33] A humorous example of mathematical extrapolation posits that if the growth of Elvis impersonators continued at the rate it did since 1977, by 2043, all humans on earth would be Elvis impersonators. Elvis Impersonator from Winston Salem, NC (95 miles from Wake Forest, NC) Danny Crouse is a consummate performer who performs as a solo artist and can perform a variety of music! I wasnt able to travel.. Theyre yelling at me, How do you feel? What are you thinking?, Wise says he didnt tell anyone in his family, including his parents or brother, since he feared they would think he was nuts. Thousands of "Elvi" gave it their best shot in the 2007 BBC competition show World's Greatest Elvis. (I wasnt there, but he wouldnt do that, counters Effie. Stinson doesn't skimp on his Graceland shows. There are many different types of Elvis impersonators and Elvis tribute artists. favorite song was "Heartbreak Hotel", and to his father's chagrin, he In the "Boo Haw Haw" Halloween special of Cartoon Network's Ed, Edd, n Eddy, one of the titular characters named Eddy is dressed-up as a zombie Elvis for trick-or-treating. Shane, 24, is a drummer, living in Nashville. Im sure he didnt have the money. So the surgery was an improvement., Wise made his debut onstage so soon after the surgery that black rings still encircled his eyes. Pop singer Bruno Mars, only six years old at the time, has a small role as a young Elvis impersonator. There are also three "how to" guides, Be Elvis! Caywood denies a report that she had her jaw restructured, which was likely more ODay hype: When another reviewer pointed out that Caywood wasnt a dead ringer, so to speak, for Joplin, ODay claimed she would have further work done to counter the criticism. Dennis Wise knows exactly where he was when Elvis Presley died Aug. 16, 1977. Despite ODays high hopes, and a decent amount of news coverage, the Rock and Roll Heaven tour didnt quite make the impact hed imagined. More recent titles include photo essays, Living the Life by Patty Carroll and The King and I: A little Gallery of Elvis Impersonators by Kent Baker and Karen Pritkin. [9] In his act, Kaufman would precede with several failed impersonations before unexpectedly launching into a skilled impersonation of Elvis Presley. But long before Las Vegas residencies, biopics, and massive publishing buyout deals, ODay imagined a world in which classic-rock nostalgia would be a lucrative business. [36], Steve Fitter is an Elvis impersonator from Waikato. [53], Alphonso Keil was an Elvis impersonator and professional musician. A 'Must See' video.Featuring:Rick Bonner (Vocals)Cody SlaughterDonny EdwardsNick NicolasIndia's ElvisElvis PresleyWatch \"Rick Bonner 'The Ultimate Performance' (Please share)\" on YouTube\"Suspicious Minds\" is a song written by American songwriter Mark James. And I wasnt being paid anywhere near what Jim Morrison was. He was a former dancer with a Polynesian troupe. As she later told the Orlando Sentinel, the whole show gave her the creeps due to real weird girls who started hanging out during my shows, biker types. She complained to ODay about her female-Elvis role, but he wasnt listening: Nothing I said seemed to sink in, Rhyne said. Rolling Stone later ranked it No. Danny pulls in with a brand-new Burt Reynolds Trans Am, he says. The label loved the song and put it out, but Scepter did not have the money to promote new artists, and the song did not make the charts. Mark portrays the 1950s rock-a-billy era complete with exact replicas of all of Elvis' performance guitars and stage clothes from 1954 to 1958, as well as old 1950s RCA microphones and even a full-size Nipper dog statue on-stage (Mark is the only impersonator that uses RCA's Nipper). Bandstand.". "We're not here to try to take his place. It's only fitting that he would The Complete History of Elvis Impersonators in 10 minutes [from the documentary Almost Elvis] BlueSuedeFilms 1.65K subscribers Subscribe 43K views 14 years ago The complete history of Elvis. About then Wise began managing a band that included his brother, Jim. They dont know what theyre getting into. But nothing would stop them, or ODay. Kwok Lam-sang, known as Melvis, was a long-time Elvis impersonator in Hong Kong. 7:30 pm. But a lot of the nightclubs were afraid it was just a freak show. "[26] According to Marjorie Garber's academic study, Vested Interests: Cross-dressing and Cultural Anxiety (1992), Elvis impersonation is so insistently connected with femininity that it is "almost as if the word 'impersonator', in contemporary popular culture, can be modified either by 'female' or by 'Elvis. Honeymoon in Vegas is a 1992 comedic movie which was directed by Andrew Bergman. He says he was patched up after the assassination in Dallas, dyed black, and abandoned by Lyndon B. Johnson. 3000 Miles to Graceland is a 2001 thriller film, starring Kurt Russell, Kevin Costner, Courteney Cox Arquette, David Arquette, Bokeem Woodbine, Christian Slater, and Kevin Pollak. He has continuously performed his Elvis tribute act for almost 50 years, including performances in Las Vegas and headlining an Elvis tribute show in Branson, MO for almost 20 years beginning in 1993. He once sang some songs on Karaoke at a 30th birthday party which his mother in law loved. released "Just Pretending" by Kurt Burrows is full of tips on how to talk, sing and dress like Elvis. there are currently no upcoming events. SELECT OPTIONS SAVE TO CART The gimmick baffled some who had known ODay. Sounds right, says Patten, laughing. In pop music, the tradition of the tribute band, the imitator, the impersonator, is now as durable as the concert T-shirt or the demand for an encore. The films also featured many real Elvis Tribute Artists from Las Vegas as background players, dancers and extras. He and his brother formed a garage band in the early 70s. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then Danny O'Day is well, he was in a category all his own. What Danny is doing with his new idea is just not right, he told the Miami News. Way before celebrity holograms were a thing, concert promoter Danny ODay decided to pay tribute to dead musicians in the craziest way possible getting plastic surgeons to transform a group of tribute artists into clones of Elvis Presley, Jim Croce, Janis Joplin, and Jim Morrison for his conceived tour, Rock and Roll Heaven.. Symptoms of the condition included the patient dressing up like Elvis, wearing a white/grey jacket with a red music note at its back, matching trousers, sunglasses and Elvis' famous hairdo. On "the thriving phenomenon of Elvis impersonators", see also Gilbert B. Rodman, Elvis After Elvis: The Posthumous Career of a Living Legend (1996). An Elvis impersonator is an entertainer who impersonates or copies the look and sound of American musician and singer Elvis Presley. Yeah, I thought, Oh, this is so weird, many times, Caywood says. There we go. He died at the end of 2020. ", and Miley's brother Jackson, in Hannah Montana, impersonated Elvis twice: The first time was to fool a gossip reporter, as a coverup, after Miley accidentally blabbed the Hannah-secret to her; and the second time was when Miley and Lily impersonated Dolly Parton and Miley's "Mamaw" Ruthie, respectively, after it came out that Ruthie and Dolly (portrayed by Parton herself) had a fight over Elvis Presley. >Article Archives Almost Elvis[29] is a 75-minute 2001 documentary film that follows a variety of professional Elvis impersonators such as they prepare for a large annual contest in Memphis, Tennessee. Elvis taxa. Dennis Wise is the ultimate Elvis Presley fan. The next night, they and a new batch of clones appeared onstage, and suddenly ODay was Kenny Rogers and Rhyne was looking a bit like Linda Ronstadt, then at the peak of her pop career. [55] During the 1960s, he played drums with Sonny Day and The Sundowners. American protest singer Phil Ochs appeared in concert in March 1970 at Carnegie Hall wearing a 1950s Elvis-style gold lam suit, made for him by Presley's costumer Nudie Cohen. Swipe your Rampart Rewards card at the door and receive 1,000 points! Some ETAs perform with a live band in the style of the TCB Band, complete with a brass ensemble and background singers to add to the originality; while others rely solely on karaoke for their performances. But once she arrived for the job, she realized what her new boss had in mind. ensemble. Self He wanted all the glory. My first gig was in March 1978 in Florida. Wise trekked to ODays home in Ocala, just in time to see his boss roll up, living large. Each show is an electric, high-energy performance backed by a full The friendship between Nelson and Presley is documented in the book "Elvis in Texas". His marriage to Rhyne fell apart. By 1978, Elvis wasnt the only rock star in the grave; the body count was rising. When he woke up, his swollen face wrapped in bandages, Wise had implants in his cheeks and a curled-up lip, and he was on his way to resembling the King more than his 23-year-old self. Dennis Wise Tickets, 2023 Concert Tour Dates | Ticketmaster Home Concert Tickets Dennis Wise Tickets 3.0 Dennis Wise Tickets Events Reviews (1) No Concerts Near Raleigh & Durham Select Your Dates Sorry. "It is indeed one place minstrelsy ends up; where 19th-century white guys imitated what they thought of as slave culture and Elvis took from R & B performers, the impersonators copy the copy, if you willit's minstrelsy once-removed. Hired as: Elvis Impersonator Sharon T. March 17, 2014 Aster Retirement Community wants to thank you Elvis, John! He was having to be with the band, and the kids were in school. My whole life has been dedicated to Elvis.. The plan was scuttled when someone accidentally tossed out the whole mess. Ive never missed a year, says Wise. Since Wise was persona non Presley in ODays world, a new King was needed. He didnt like that, the state fairs, says Effie. Luckily, Gamble says, he was able to point to a Rock and Roll Heaven billboard with his face on it, and he got away with just a warning. Dean Vegas and Paul Fenech from Australia were also booked for the event. \"Suspicious Minds\" was widely regarded as the single that returned Presley's career success, following his '68 Comeback Special. Debbie loved all that. "[18] According to George Plasketes, there are "legions of impersonators.