| November 14th, 2005 10:27 AM |
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| Ten Thousand Motels |
It's good to be the King
By ROBERT DOMINGUEZ
NY Daily News / November 13, 2005
When Elvis Presley died in 1977, the rock 'n' roll idol's legacy didn't end with 120 million albums sold, 100 Top 40 hits, a closetful of funky white jumpsuits and one future pop-star daughter.
Presley's untimely death, at 42, also spawned a pop-culture phenomenon even more bizarre than a fried peanut-butter-and-banana sandwich.
More than 30,000 Elvis impersonators are trying to fill The King's blue suede shoes, and dozens of them — from every corner of the globe — are the subject of a whimsical new book of photographs by Patty Carroll.
Some may think of these Elvis wanna-bes as second-rate novelty acts working Vegas lounges, state fairs and stock-car races. But for most Elvis impersonators, sporting big hair, long sideburns and a perpetually curled lip isn't just a full-time job — it's a calling.
"It's not really something that any of us start out to do," says Rick Marino of Jacksonville, Fla., an Elvis impersonator for more than 30 years.
"It's a career that finds us."
Actually, most of them prefer to be known as Elvis Tribute Artists — thank you, thank you very much. In Carroll's book, "Living the Life! The World of Elvis Tribute Artists," the Chicago-based photographer and college teacher spent nearly 10 years shooting more than 300 ETAs at Elvis shows, impersonator competitions and fan-club meetings across the U.S., whittling them down to 75 for the book.
"It's not only that they have this love for Elvis," says Carroll, "it's like they become Elvis when they put on their costumes and go into Elvis mode. Ordinary, nerdy guys transform themselves into cool, sexy guys people fall all over."
Though many of the ETAs in the book bear a passing resemblance to Presley — thanks mostly to jet-black pompadours, oversize sunglasses and flashy costumes — the ersatz Elvi also come in a variety of sizes, shapes, ages, races and genders.
"The universal appeal of the Elvis phenomenon doesn't have limits," says Carroll. "The ones I selected were symbolic of the wide range of people who, for the most part, are working professionals who do this for a living. But I found that every imaginable kind of person loves Elvis and wants to be like him."
Among those with a hunka-hunka burnin' need to play Presley are several women, including one from Japan; ETAs from England, Norway and Belgium; a Mexican-American who bills himself "El Vez" and a black Elvis from Maine; a deaf Elvis and another who has a prosthetic leg; a father-son Elvis duo and a trio of skydiving Elvises.
There's even a ventriloquist with a wooden sidekick, a dummy who looks like … Elvis.
While many ETA's need gimmicks to stand apart from a crowded field, Marino says the trick to being a successful Elvis impersonator is to not impersonate Elvis.
"My perspective has always been that Elvis is Elvis, and you're whoever you are," says Marino, who is featured in Carroll's book and is also the author of "Be Elvis! A Guide to Impersonating the King."
"You need to take your own personality and create a character that has enough of you in it, rather than just do an impersonation of him. People will actually find that much more believable."
That's been the case for Yoshi Suzuki of Manhattan — a Korean-American who has been an ETA for nearly 20 years.
"I'm Asian, and so I put comic relief in [my performance]," says Suzuki, whose real name is Robert Kim.
"That's actually worked much better for me than just playing it straight."
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| November 14th, 2005 11:18 AM |
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| glencar |
"My perspective has always been that Elvis is Elvis, and you're whoever you are," says Marino, who is featured in Carroll's book and is also the author of "Be Elvis! A Guide to Impersonating the King."
"You need to take your own personality and create a character that has enough of you in it, rather than just do an impersonation of him. People will actually find that much more believable."
Um, nobody wants this guy's personality as part of the show. They want Elvis. |
| November 14th, 2005 11:46 AM |
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| stonesmik |
I like Tortelvis of Dread Zeppelin (he just sings LIKE Elvis, but no tunes sung by Elvis)... yeah, and fuck all the rest. |
| November 14th, 2005 01:20 PM |
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| Ten Thousand Motels |
I don't think I'll invest in this photo book. |
| November 14th, 2005 01:27 PM |
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| glencar |
You should buy a DVD player first. Or a Stones ticket. |
| November 14th, 2005 01:32 PM |
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| Ten Thousand Motels |
quote:
glencar wrote:
You should buy a DVD player first. Or a Stones ticket.
I have a dvd player on this computer, but I haven't used it yet. |
| November 14th, 2005 01:46 PM |
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| lotsajizz |
quote:
stonesmik wrote:
I like Tortelvis of Dread Zeppelin (he just sings LIKE Elvis, but no tunes sung by Elvis)... yeah, and fuck all the rest.
they do their own tunes and covers--INCLUDING the King, Greg has a great sense of humor.... |
| November 14th, 2005 03:46 PM |
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| Gazza |
quote:
stonesmik wrote:
I like Tortelvis of Dread Zeppelin (he just sings LIKE Elvis, but no tunes sung by Elvis)... yeah, and fuck all the rest.
Loved their cover of The Immigrant Song (reggae covers of led Zep songs - brilliant)
We have a guy over here called "The King" who is also an Elvis impersonator with a difference
He's made two albums of cover versions of songs by artists who are dead (or who have band members who have died). the albums are called "Gravelands" and "Return to Splendour". They're actually pretty good. As an Elvis fan, I usually cant stand Elvis impersonators but this stuff is good because hes doing other people's songs and so theres no Elvis version to compare them to.
He's covered stuff like "Come as you are" (Nirvana), "Whole lotta rosie" (AC DC), Whisky In The Jar (Thin Lizzy), LA Woman (The Doors), Love will tear us apart (joy Division), All or nothing (Small Faces), Sweet Home Alabama (Skynyrd) and..Sympathy for the Devil
basically, any major dead artist you choose to name, he's covered them Elvis-style. Its great fun.
For some bizarre reason he has actually had most of his success in eastern Europe.
[Edited by Gazza] |
| November 14th, 2005 04:09 PM |
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| Ten Thousand Motels |
quote:
Gazza wrote:
As an Elvis fan, I usually cant stand Elvis impersonators ...............
uh uh....Elvis Tribute Artists.  |
| November 14th, 2005 04:24 PM |
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| Dick Bush |
Connection:
http://www.keithrichards.com/300/125.wmv |
| November 14th, 2005 04:41 PM |
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| Ten Thousand Motels |
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| November 14th, 2005 04:44 PM |
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| Dick Bush |
quote:
Ten Thousand Motels wrote:
Jeb Bush for president! |
| November 14th, 2005 05:26 PM |
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| Ten Thousand Motels |
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