[6], The second known impersonator was a 16-year-old boy named Jim Smith. audition for Wise as an Elvis Presley impersonator. RAINBOW UMAMI: a Queer Club Remix Series: Celebrating diversity and creativity in the queer music community. He had previously wanted to manage a Barbra Streisand impersonator but soon realized the audience wouldnt buy his first choice: At five feet two and 160 pounds, she didnt conjure Streisand physically. True impersonators don't 'do Elvis' for monetary gain, but as missionaries to spread the message of The King. He would be in the traditional Elvis dress from the waist up, but from below the waist was in Bermuda shorts and bare feet. The novelty of the show, at a club in Melbourne, Florida, combined with all the press the surgery had received, commanded a rock-star-worthy fee $15,000 for the first week (about $60,000 today). 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). Leilani, who had referred to himself as a "rock 'n' roll-singing Polynesian guy", had formed a rockabilly band in the early 90s and had performed in Hawaii. Once again, ODay arranged for the operations, forked over the money (supposedly in the area of $500,000, partly from loans), and alerted the press. We were traveling the country, doing two shows a night six and seven nights a week.. Other honors bestowed upon Wise By the mid-Eighties, ODay was running out of schemes. 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. He was a former dancer with a Polynesian troupe. Read more in our, Elvis Presley performs in Providence, R.I., on May 23, 1977. Decades before hologram tours, one rogue '70s promoter found another way to put Elvis, Janis, Jim Morrison, and other late icons back onstage. Shane will be drumming for with his dad on Saturday night. Elvis taxa. Palaios, v.8, pp.623624. In 1985, he resurfaced in his home state of Maryland, managing a bar, Dannys, on Route 50 in Easton. Dennis Colt, the first famous Elvis impersonator, circa 1978. I bless you, Daniel ODay, she says, for opening up such a large part of my life that came out of that.. When Wise reexamined his contract at the time, he realized hed signed with ODay for 50 years and that ODay was entitled to half his earnings. At the time, James was residing in Houston. From left: Hazebrouck, Caywood, Rhyne, Gamble, and OConnell at their post-surgery press conference, 1978. All Rights reserved. his performance, Wise imparts trivia about Elvis's music, as well as Rock and Roll Heaven, the touring extravaganza he conceived and promoted, didnt just pay homage to one deceased icon, but four of them: Elvis, Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, and Jim Croce. A both serious and humerous collection of the world's greatest Elvis impersonators. It was very fresh at that point compared to now. But dad drove a truck and was gone all the time and so Mom always listened to Elvis records. In an episode of Married with Children, the character Peggy Bundy claims to have seen Elvis at a mall, prompting a large number of Elvis impersonators to come to her home so she can share her "experience.". He was the winner of the competition. James said that late one night, he was fooling around on his Fender guitar and using his Hammond organ pedals for a bass line and came up with what he thought was a catchy melody. In fact, the clones didnt need the bandages, but ODay, ever the showman, insisted they keep the wraps on for maximum suspense. (AP Photo, File), Leonard Cohen's Kids: Dad's Ex-Manager Fiddled With Trust, Ed Sheeran on His 2022: 'I Felt Like I Was Drowning', After 'Grotesque Conduct,' $29M for Kobe Bryant's Family, Radio Station Shares 'Incredibly Worrisome' Update on Missing DJ, God Save the King From Trying to Find a Band to Play Coronation, Man Who Worked for Disney Longer Than Anyone Has Died, Manager on Sizemore: 'There Is No Further Hope', Chris Rock Gets Ready to Discuss 'The Slap', Judge's Sentencing Remark Shows Murdaugh Family Pull, 2 Familiar Faces Were on Turbulent Lufthansa Flight, Woman Declared Dead Decades Ago Suddenly Turns Up. But a lot of the nightclubs were afraid it was just a freak show. I kind of took after him.. By 1977, the band found itself gigging in Arkansas, doing what their guitarist Jim Wise calls Stevie Wonder and disco stuff. ODay was also learning how to work the system. Dennis Wise has the honor of performing over 10,000 shows. People loved it.. Later that year, he was joined by the rest of the clone army for their post-surgery reveal on the daytime show America Alive! A.J. ODays experience with Wise may have ended badly, but it gave ODay a taste of big-time showbiz, and he wanted more. There are many Elvis contests for amateurs, festivals and other events held across the world celebrating Elvis and his many impersonators. Rolling Stone later ranked it No. [53], Alphonso Keil was an Elvis impersonator and professional musician. Item Information. impersonators; a cover of TV Guide magazine; and presentation of keys 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. favorite song was "Heartbreak Hotel", and to his father's chagrin, he 19 verified bookings. 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. Its become the most collected U.S. stamp with more than 124 million saved and more than 500 million sold. But he hit a snag: According to his musicians, the Vegas casino establishment wanted ownership of the idea and were less interested in working with ODay himself. New York-native Erin Feinberg is a master observer of musical subcultures, and has snapped diehard tribes of metal-heads, prog-rockers, and punks. 7:30 pm. Some of these impersonators go to Graceland on the anniversary of Presley's death to make their personal tribute to the artist. I would tell those people not to do it. mannerisms. We just want to bring back He only lasted there about a year, and soon after opened another spot, ODays Pub. Elvis birthday events So, this morning I was invited by the crew at KTNV Channel 13 to talk about Presley, and who do. The Philippines has its own Elvis Presley impersonator, Filipino singer, and actor Eddie Mesa, dubbed as the Elvis Presley of The Philippines. The Joplin, Mo., native had been an Elvis fan since age 5, when his mother would put on stacks of records and play them all day long. In 2003, at age 54, ODay succumbed to non-Hodgkins lymphoma. But the fans gave their tender love to Shawn Klush of Pittston, PA, crowning him King in the finale. They began using the contest along with their Elvis brand, licensing anyone wanting to charge a fee to hold an Elvis contest. "There are heavily-bearded Elvii, four-year-old Elvii, and Elvis duos; Italian Elvii, Greek Elvii, Fat Elvii, a Lady Elvis, even a Black Elvis. These talented artists can pose for photos, perform Elvis's greatest hits, emcee corporate events, and sometimes officiate weddings just like in Vegas. Dennis Wise shows off his reconstructed face to talk-show host Mike Douglas. include being named by Dick Clark as one of the three best Elvis $10 million Approximate worth of his estate when he died in 1977, More than 1 billion Best guess of his record sales, according to Elvis Presley Enterprises (the company that owns his likeness and everything else), 147 Number of albums and singles that had been certified gold/platinum/multi-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, 31 Number of feature films that Elvis appeared in from 1956 to 1969. He has every album Elvis ever recorded and pictures by the thousands. Kenny had a really unique voice. The Flim Flam Band continued working, in what ODays cousin Paul Patten calls the Howard Johnsons tour of lounges in those family-vacation hotels. The plus sides, he still has some good moves, accomplishes an acceptable Elvis appearance and performance, but his voice doesn't sound much like Elvis. I just thought, Well, I dont know what does that mean? says Gamble. The shit hit the fan. When the run ended in March 1979, Caywood recalls a big blowup over money, and the band broke up. He recalls seeing cocaine backstage, and during a Tahoe drive, Gamble stocked his black Lincoln with a cooler of beer and some Jack Daniels and was, of course, pulled over by cops for some infraction. [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]. "He was way ahead of the curve," says Jeff Pezzuti, founder of Eyellusion, responsible for recent. 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.). CKX, INC, which now owns Elvis Presley's estate, has full control including the grave of Elvis Presley and his family members along with his home Graceland in early 2008. It was a Method-acting thing, says Caywood. 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. 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. (Photo by Getty Images). Another Filipino Elvis impersonator is singer businessman Chito Bertol who also impersonates Elvis Presley mostly at Bistro RJ Bar in Makati City, and sometimes occasionally performs every year with Filipino singer businessman Ramon Jacinto who was the founder of Bistro RJ and his radio station DZRJ 100.3 FM & his TV station DZRJ TV 29 in the Philippines. The gimmick baffled some who had known ODay. The 24th season of the American adaptation of Big Brother featured Daniel Durston, an Elvis impersonator from Las Vegas, Nevada.