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Elvis Impersonators and Other Wannabes

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Elvis Fan
on July 26, 2008
in Elvis Presley, Music and Rock 'n' Roll
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Ah, yes, Elvis impersonators. Those lively men (women and even children) dressed up in bejeweled white bell-bottomed suits and capes with the puffed dark hair and sideburns who continue to believe and entertain. They are everywhere and they come in all shapes, sizes and colors. They are probably most common in Las Vegas but these days, it’s not surprising to find an Elvis impersonator in Greece, Mexico, England or even Japan.

The King and I - I wanna be Elvis
It didn’t take long before Elvis’ style was copied by Elvis wanna-bes. The King was still alive when impersonators began to appear. However, it was after his death in 1977 when Elvis impersonators multiplied and became part of mainstream entertainment. At the time, there were only about 170 Elvis impersonators. Today, there are tens of thousands. The notable comedian Andy Kaufman, in his early years, was one of the first professional entertainers to include impersonating Elvis in his act.

Becoming and being Elvis means different things for different people. There are Elvis impersonators who are mainly look-alikes and dress-alikes, while there are others who talk and sing like Elvis for entertainment. Still there are others who combine the two talents to become professionals. And then, there are those who ‘live Elvis’ as in dressing up and living their lives as they imagined the spiritual Elvis would.

Have you seen Elvis?
There are different Elvis looks that can be emulated but probably the most popular look that impersonators use is the 50s and 70s Elvis. However, it is the image of Elvis wearing the white suit, scarf and cape that endures and is easily the most recognizable.

Being Elvis
If you want to be Elvis, there are two ways to do it. One, do as Nike says and just do it and two, make it a process. There are several books about Elvis impersonators that not only document this phenomenon but also provide some valuable insight into the minds of other Elvis’s. Some of these include: ‘I Am Elvis: A Guide to Elvis Impersonators’, ‘Impersonating Elvis’, ‘The Elvis Impersonation Kit’ and ‘Be Elvis!’

Elvis impersonators in the 21st century
Today, Elvis impersonating is not only a business, it is an industry. There are registries that list Elvis impersonators who do it professionally and there is even an Elvis Information Network or EIN, aside from the tributes sponsored by the Elvis Presley Enterprises.

Around the world and especially in the United States, there are festivals, contests and events specifically for Elvis impersonators. Some of the most popular include the ‘Elvis Extravaganza’ in Las Vegas, ‘Elvis Invasion’ in Florida, and the Elvis impersonator convention in Blackpool, England.

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Elvis Presley The Ladies Man

Published
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Elvis Fan
on June 26, 2008
in Elvis Presley, Music and Rock 'n' Roll
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Of Elvis’ many girls: who were the ones always on his mind?

Elvis Presley was a ladies man. He had relationships with a wide range of women in his lifetime. From thin to buxom, tall to short, and redhead to blonde, he spent time with all types of women. He had affairs with country girls, foxy women, and lovely superstars.

Well, Elvis had often been associated with promiscuousness and machismo. And not a few people, some of which were members of The King’s inner circle of friends, bear witness not only to Elvis’ power over girls but to his countless sexual exploits as well.

Early Girlfriends

Early Elvis girlfriends include June Juanico and Judy Spreckels who are adamant about pronouncing their relationship with Elvis as only platonic friendships and that there were no sexual relationships with him whatsoever.

League Of Stars

There are allegations about the late legend’s one-night affair with a famous Hollywood siren named Marilyn Monroe. While many quarters simply dismiss this claim as nothing but a rumor, the possibility was likely.

Cassandra Peterson, an American actress famous for her role as Elvira, Mistress of the Dark also dated Elvis. But she claimed that it happened only once and that they didn’t do anything but talk.

Peggy Lipton Jones, an American socialite and actress, briefly dated Elvis but their relationship ended abruptly when she tried to persuade The King to affiliate with the Church of Scientology. She is convinced that he was, in essence, impotent due to the amount of drugs he used.

Other Elvis girls included Lori Williams who described Elvis as a perfect gentleman and a very sweet guy. Cybill Shepherd, an American actress, declared that she slept with Elvis. Ann-Margaret, a Swedish-American superstar, refers to Elvis as her soul mate; but many people dismiss this as a publicity stunt to increase public interest for her film with Elvis in 1963.

The One Who Got Hooked

And finally, comes Priscilla Ann Beaulieu who eventually married Elvis in 1967 after years of engagement. The couple divorced in 1973. They had a daughter, Lisa Marie, who can also be considered as one, if not the most, beloved of Elvis’ girls.

So what attracted these women to Elvis Presley? They sure knew that a relationship with The King wouldn’t be a typical love affair given his career and fame. Everybody knew too that no woman would ever have Elvis for herself because there was competition with his career and with other women.

Elvis’ girls all came to him as if under a spell maybe not because of his wealth or fame. Perhaps, it was because he simply knew how to treat them right.

Elvis and His Album Collection

Published
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Elvis Fan
on June 20, 2008
in Elvis Presley, Music and Rock 'n' Roll
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Elvis Presley Enterprises and Graceland have both catalogued The King’s record collection with over 1000 singles and albums that fill up a list of 24 pages.

When he was alive, Elvis Presley loved listening to opera stars such as Enrico Caruso and Mario Lanza. However, there is only one Lanza recording in Elvis’ collection. The record is black rhythm and blues and a bit of black and white gospel.

For the fans benefit, Elvis Presley Enterprises has catalogued the recording collection by title and alphabetically arranged it based on the last name of the artists. The exact number for every category may not be available instantly though. This is because a lot of the solo and group artists who started out as gospel singers have crossed over into other genres such as rhythm, blues and pop.

Friends Know Best
However, Elvis’ friends commented that they had no need for the list in order for them to know that his favorites were gospel recordings simply because this is what he loved to play to them. He preferred close harmony above all.

Elvis favorite groups included the Harmonizing Four and Golden Gate, Jimmy Hones, Mahalia Jackson and Jake Hess (who later formed the Imperials.) That close harmony was what made him a fan of The Platters and Ink Spots. He also favored love songs.

In his album collection, rock bands are quite rare. There were four albums by the Beatles and albums from the Turtles and Chicago but Elvis preferred soloists over groups.

Favorite Women Singers
There are few female singers in Elvis Presley’s album collection but his friends claimed that his favorites were Anne Murray (because she had a distinctive and clear voice), Vicki Carr, Della Reese, Mahalia Jackson, Bobbie Gentry, Dionne Warwick, Leslie Uggams, the Andrews Sisters, the McGuire Sisters, Tim Yuro and the Sweet Inspirations, who were once his back-up group.

Elvis was a balladeer and a rocker but he wasn’t much of a jazz fan but he owned a Duke Ellington album in his collection. There are classical music albums from Beethoven, Brahms and Mozart.

It’s interesting to know that an artist who has influenced contemporary artists was also influenced by artists of his own time. He was also influenced by those who came before him. Art truly surpasses time and through this Elvis Presley album collection, we got into the inner workings of The Kings ears.

Elvis Presley The Kings Life

Published
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Elvis Fan
on May 12, 2008
in Elvis Presley, Music and Rock 'n' Roll
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Elvis Presley was born on January 8, 1935 to Vernon, a truck driver and Gladys, a sewing machine operator. He was the second of identical twins. His brother, Jesse Garon, was still born. He grew up to be an only child. He was very close to his mother.

Elvis grew up being teased by his fellow classmates. They threw rotten fruit at him. They thought he was different because he stuttered.

His first public performance was when he was 10 years old. It was a singing contest held at the Mississippi-Alabama Fair and Dairy Show. He was dressed as a cowboy and sang Red Foley’s Old Shep. He won second place.

Wanting a rifle, he was bought a guitar instead. After two years, the Presley’s moved to Memphis. Elvis practiced playing his guitar in the laundry room. He was also part of a band with the other tenants.

In order to help with the family expenses, Elvis worked during the evening. He also started growing his sideburns and often dressed in flashy clothes. He stood out and again, he was bullied and mocked for it. He performed in the Annual Minstrel Show where he received a round of applause after singing Cold Cold Icy Fingers.

Living in Memphis, Elvis musical horizons expanded. He often hung out at listening booths and played old records. He loved music. He then went on to blues and hillbilly hot spots. In time, he wanted to hear what his voice sounded like recorded.

He made a demo acetate which included recordings of I’ll Never Stand In Your Way and It Wouldn’t Be The Same Without You. He returned to the Sun Studios to present his demo.

Alongside his band mates Scotty Moore on guitar and Bill Black on bass (who left their previous band The Starlight Wranglers so they could work full time with the King), Elvis started doing regular live performances all around Memphis promoting his first single.

The famous trademark moves of leg shaking and hip gyrating was all because of Elvis nervousness whenever he performed onstage and in front of a huge crowd of women. This was how he concealed his anxiousness.

Audiences had never heard the kind of music Elvis played. Neither had they seen anybody perform the way he did. It was amazing to see the once polite, shy and mumbling boy gain self-confidence at every public appearance and performance.

The rest, as they say, is history.