People were calling me from all over the world. A lot of guys stick to your basic Elvis songs, like Jailhouse Rock, but what I try to do is to expand it to let people know this is what Elvis did gospel, rock n roll, R&B. This Look how well records by dead rock stars sell. He knew the time was coming when the bond between rock icons and fans would grow so intense that an industry could rise to exploit that union. A number of books are available on the topic of Elvis tribute artists. True impersonators don't 'do Elvis' for monetary gain, but as missionaries to spread the message of The King. The first singer to go through the surgery was Elvis impersonator Dennis Wise; a former car salesman from Hawaii who traveled to the U.S. to try his luck as a tribute act. To hear his family tell it, Danny Dixon ODay could have been a star. From 1982 to 1984 he had a nightclub across the street from Graceland in Memphis. Cruise kept asking James if he had any songs that would be right for Elvis. Later that year, he was joined by the rest of the clone army for their post-surgery reveal on the daytime show America Alive! Hired as: Dennis Wise has been paying tribute to Elvis for more than 30 years. He needed those people if we were going to play in Las Vegas, says Caywood. 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. Elvis birthday events So, this morning I was invited by the crew at KTNV Channel 13 to talk about Presley, and who do. Some people thought it was very bizarre, but people were interested in it from the standpoint of business.. 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. In his mind, Rock and Roll Heaven would merely be the beginning. In 1956, shortly after Elvis began to rise in popularity, Smith began jumping on stage and imitating Elvis. there are currently no upcoming events. Despite matching his attire, hairstyle and voice, the Kings are unaware of Elvis as a historical musician, not even knowing what his name was - only that he must have been worshiped for there to be a building dedicated to teaching people to imitate him. He is a published author and has appeared on New Zealand television in ads, Like Minds, Like Mine. Sight unseen, always. And just like ODay, each was hungry for recognition and success, a very different type of American dream. Wise heard a story maybe apocryphal that ODay had booked pop star B.J. The film was directed by Don Coscarelli. It is cured by visiting a psychologist, who tells the patient how ridiculous he/she look[31]. [16], According to Gael Sweeney, Elvis impersonation offers a spectacle of the grotesque, the display of the fetishized Elvis body by impersonators who use a combination of Christian and New Age imagery and language to describe their devotion to The King. In Civilization II, the "Attitude" Advisor in the player's "High Council", who advises on the peoples' happiness, is an Elvis Presley caricature, depicted wearing sunglasses even in the Ancient period. About then Wise began managing a band that included his brother, Jim. Dry-ice fog made a cameo, too. "[17], However, the Elvis industry includes "professional Elvis impersonator registries." He and Effie were divorced in 1979. Gamble switched to Christian music and eventually became an ordained minister in Arizona, where he currently lives. For example, an ETA may open his show with a 50s set dressed in appropriate attire (such as a gold lame jacket), reenactments of musical scenes from Presley's movies, and/or reenactments of segments from the '68 Comeback Special; and after an intermission closes his show with a full-blown 70s concert dressed in an appropriate jumpsuit. In The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker, a dancer named Tott with a striking resemblance to Elvis Presley appears on Windfall Island. 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. To this day, you can easily see tributes to ABBA, Rush, or Eighties and Nineties hip-hop. Rolling Stone later ranked it No. The horns, strings and vocals of the Holladay Sisters were later overdubbed. Wise was doing an Elvis show in Hawaii. "That was a very strange day," Wise says. "[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. He died at age 64 in July 2008, after battling cancer. Events tend to attract large numbers of amateur Elvis impersonators and Elvis fans. He At the tours debut, at the Southeastern Music Fair in Atlanta in September 1978, fewer than 50 people showed up. 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. Dave Ehlert from Waukegan, IL began performing as Elvis in 1967 a full 10 years before Elvis died. Collect, curate and comment on your files. 'Rolling Stone' has the story of 'rogue '70s promoter' Danny O'Day. He has been performing since the late 1960s and in the 1980s was performing at the Copper Grill in The Weld on Jalan Raja Chulan, Kuala Lumpur, and in later years at the Royal Selangor Club in Dataran Merdeka.[66][67]. He was always looking for his new project, says Patten. Wise had come to Orlando at the request of a newly acquired personal manager, Danny O'Day of Ocala. Ive got this kid who does a great Otis Redding, but hes white, he said straight-faced. A.J. Following the transformation, he made his TV debut on Good Morning Americain early 1978. 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. [8] Jeremy Spencer of British blues-rock band Fleetwood Mac became known for his high-energy Elvis tribute performances during his tenure with the band. 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. While some impersonators perform a wide variety of Presley's discography, his songs from the 1950s and 1970s remain fan favourites. His admiration for Elvis has spanned over forty years. In Annalee Newitz and Matt Wray, eds.. Sweeney, "The King of White Trash Culture," p.262. 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Caywood wound up taking the gross heap home with her, with the thought of encasing it in glass and turning it into a coffee table. This show will be a little different from the past few years, Wise says. 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. She wouldnt let go, he chuckles. There Wise lay, on a table in an Orlando hospital, surrounded by photos of the King. Shane will be drumming for with his dad on Saturday night. Then, he would move on to dead comedians, remaking people to resemble W.C. Fields and Abbott and Costello. [21], Blackpool in the UK, features a busy Elvis wedding chapel[22] based at the Norbreck Castle Hotel, Queens promenade, where couples can have their wedding vows renewed by Martin Fox. Even though James's recording initially had not been commercially successful, upon reviewing the song Elvis decided he could turn it into a hit. You can see Dennis Wise on Friday, August 16 and Saturday, August 17 at He was only 42 years of age. The large growth in Elvis impersonators seems tightly linked with his ever-growing iconic status. 2016 Rampart Casino at The Resort at Summerlin. It's almost like being in your zen, your spot.". Hes great.. In an episode of Due South, Season one, episode 10, "The Gift of the Wheelman", It's Christmas time and the police station is filled with Santas, elves and Elvises. Eric Lott, "All the King's Men: Elvis Impersonators and White Working-Class Masculinity," in Harry Stecopoulos and Michael Uebel, eds.. See Gael Sweeney, "The King of White Trash Culture: Elvis Presley and the Aesthetics of Excess." The original unaired pilot even had Johnny Bravo as a literal Elvis Presley impersonator. 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. From a standpoint of being original and doing something that wasnt being done, I give him credit for putting his neck on the line. He could have made a killing in Atlantic City., Some involved in Rock and Roll Heaven wanted to forget it ever existed. He was having to be with the band, and the kids were in school. 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. That was the start of a career that has lasted more than 30 years. The first known Elvis impersonator was a young man named Carl 'Cheesie' Nelson from Texarkana, Arkansas, who in 1954 built up a local following on WLAC radio with his renditions of "That's All Right, Mama" and "Blue Moon of Kentucky." 1970's Dennis Wise Enterprize ELVIS Impersonator jacket Men's Large satin look . Yeah, I thought, Oh, this is so weird, many times, Caywood says. audition for Wise as an Elvis Presley impersonator. There we go. "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. Dennis's television credits include appearances on "Good Morning It's only fitting that he would choose a career that pays tribute to the King of Rock and Roll. 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). $52 million Amount the Elvis estate made in 2008, according to Forbes. Update information for Dennis Wise More at IMDbPro Contact Info: View agent, publicist, legal on IMDbPro Known For The Alaska Experiment Self 2008 The Mike Douglas Show Self - Elvis Presley Impersonator 1978 Hide all | | Edit Filmography Hide Self (3 credits) 2008 The Alaska Experiment (TV Series) Self - Take the Long Way Home (2008) . In addition to the classics, Im throwing in some songs Elvis did onstage that arent heard as much. The TV appearance was a mixed bag: Dr. Joyce Brothers, the star psychologist and talk-show regular, accused ODay of being a Manson-style cult leader. It was perfect, but it was a lot of trouble, Wise says. Elvis Presley An Interview With Elvis' Stepbrother, David Stanley David Stanley was just 4 years old when he moved into Graceland after his mother Dee married Elvis' father, Vernon. Arona Mane Shows Off His Production on Thandi Phoenix's new single 'Hot Sauce'. [4][5], Contrary to popular belief, Elvis impersonators have existed since the mid-1950s, just after Elvis Presley himself began his career. Elvis Extravaganza is a 60-minute 2009 Elvis impersonator documentary featuring amateur Elvis impersonators and their quest for the title of the "World's Finest Elvis Impersonator.". [40][41], Andy Stankovich is a well known Elvis impersonator from Auckland, New Zealand. 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! [53], Alphonso Keil was an Elvis impersonator and professional musician. I dont know where it went or if somebody didnt get paid.). He would be in the traditional Elvis dress from the waist up, but from below the waist was in Bermuda shorts and bare feet. Las Vegas Sun, 2023, All Rights Reserved, Less Elvis in Vegas doesnt mean no Elvis in Vegas, Elvis has yet to leave the building (5-15-2008), Bartender mixes Elvis moves with Santa Fe drinks (4-13-2001), Vegas Vipers Home Opener Against DCDefenders, Durango Beats Liberty, 57-47, in Boys 5A BasketballChampionship. Just as he arrived, ODay was hauled off to jail for being behind on his child-support payments. During the 1970s, a star attraction at the Aloha Lounge in Florida's Hawaiian Inn was Mr. Fatu. In the late 90s he started up a group called Alphonso Keil and the Kavaliers. There are disputes about what happened next. He wanted all the glory. In an episode of the American sitcom The Golden Girls, the characters of Blanche and Rose are considering hiring an Elvis impersonator for their "Hunka Hunka Burnin' Love Fan Club," yet Rose mixes up the Elvis list with the guest list for the wedding of the character of Sophia. Dennis can recreate the songs, moves and looks from all Era's of Elvis' career, 50's, 60's, and 70's. His heavy show schedule of an average of 200 shows a year with tours in Colorado, California, Nevada, Arizona, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Florida, Wyoming, Nebraska and Iowa in the past year alone proves that Dennis is the most sought . There are many Elvis contests for amateurs, festivals and other events held across the world celebrating Elvis and his many impersonators. The pub and everything in it, including Hamilton Beach mixers, towels, and soap dispensers was sold in 1988. I thought I was headed back to Hawaii, but the guy said Ill take him. Dennis began his professional tribute to Elvis in 1978, a year after the (Read the full story, which has plenty of photos.). For this paper, he interviewed many impersonators and draws parallels with minstrelsy. He was there in 2016 for the event,[62] and in there in 2018.[63]. [3], Many impersonators sing Presley's songs. Ive never missed a year, says Wise. He wound up in one called the Flim Flam Band, where his future wife Effie saw him perform covers in her hometown of Ocala, Florida, in the early Seventies. Some ETAs perform under stage names, mostly using names associated in some way with Presley's life or career (such as Presley's character names in his movies). All Rights reserved. Dennis Colt, the first famous Elvis impersonator, circa 1978. Some ETAs record CDs to sell at their shows, which of course contain many of the Elvis standards, but could also include some of their own songs as well as songs of other artists. First of all, you dont believe it. Hes lead singer for the dance band Deja Vu, which performs from 6 to 9 p.m. Wednesdays at South Point. If you cant read the first three lines on an eye chart, then I suppose physically he might fool you, he wrote of Croce, also pointing out that the clearest resemblance came by way of the bands non-altered lead guitarist, a dead ringer for Peter Frampton. That landed him appearances on Good Morning America and The Mike Douglas Show., Cosmetic plastic surgery was just a novelty back then. He has every album Elvis ever recorded and pictures by the thousands. 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. Dennis Wise has been paying tribute to Elvis for more than 30years. (I knew it wasnt the original, the woman said of ODay. Cruise and James thought of \"Suspicious Minds\" and James began urging others to get Elvis to hear it. "[25] In her paper, "Women Who 'Do Elvis'", Case Western Reserve University researcher Francesca Brittan deals with female Elvis Presley impersonators and finds them to be "campy, cheeky, and often disturbingly convincing. In 2003, at age 54, ODay succumbed to non-Hodgkins lymphoma. An advertisement for State Farm Insurance featured four Elvis impersonators, each of which performed the company's "magic jingle" in succession, causing representatives from the company to appear out of thin air. By 1978, Elvis wasnt the only rock star in the grave; the body count was rising. His performance may be considered the first significant Elvis impersonation. Dennis Wise knows exactly where he was when Elvis Presley died Aug. 16, 1977. Send us a tip using our anonymous form. Most fall under the following categories: There are different levels of impersonation, which depends largely on who is doing the impersonation and for what purpose. I really hated him then. On New Years Eve 1979, during the tours Reno run, she tossed down 50 sleeping pills and some champagne and hoped it would all end. I was heartbroken, very upset. 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.). Dean Vegas and Paul Fenech from Australia were also booked for the event. 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. Last year, he earned $54 million, topping the list of dead performers who are still making money. Palaios, v.8, pp.623624. Wise will perform his annual Elvis birthday concert Saturday at the Chrome Lounge at Santa Fe Station. (When the ceremony was over, they had some difficulty eating the wedding cake.) ODay wasnt there, so Gamble had to content himself with walking off with a piece of stage gear. "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. Bubba Ho-tep is the title of a novella by Joe R. Lansdale which originally appeared in the anthology The King Is Dead: Tales of Elvis Post-Mortem (edited by Paul M. Sammon, Delta 1994) and was adapted as a 2002 horror-black comedy film starring Bruce Campbell as Elvis Presleywho escaped the pressures of his fame long ago by impersonating an Elvis impersonator and is now a resident in a nursing home. ODays experience with Wise may have ended badly, but it gave ODay a taste of big-time showbiz, and he wanted more. In "Wedding Card," an episode of the Canadian sitcom Corner Gas, Oscar and Emma Leroy admit to having no photos of their wedding because "it was an Elvis wedding". Grow your brand authentically by sharing brand content with the internets creators. 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. An Elvis impersonator is an entertainer who impersonates or copies the look and sound of American musician and singer Elvis Presley. Caywood was already a fireball, get-out-of-my-fucking-way person, as she says, with a bad-ass stare and freewheeling vibe to match. He did say, Well, what can we do? The first night, Wise was singing Love Me Tender and passing out scarves la the King when a woman in the crowd came up and grabbed him in the crotch. Fans Also Viewed Monster Jam See all 201 Events Monster Energy Supercross See all 13 Events Ed Sheeran The Casino is not part of the Hotel and is not part of the JW Marriott system. The idea was to say I was trying to develop the sneer, I guess, he says. repertoire, Dennis can answer most any request. In the Digimon Adventure anime, one of the main villains, Etemon has the character of an Elvis impersonator. Growing up in Baltimore, he played drums in a few local bands. He had to think outside the rock box, and maybe drastic measures were in order. 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. Since Wise was persona non Presley in ODays world, a new King was needed. Danny was flabbergasted I said that, says Wise. 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). In Reno, Gamble saw ODay handing out five-dollar bills to people at the door to lure them inside. ODay who used the word clone while agreeing that that wasnt quite the right scientific term for what he had paid doctors to do even boasted hed found a chemist in Los Angeles who could alter someones pigment. How would Danny come up with that? she says. I feel weird saying this, but basically I was the hit of the show, says Caywood. Marcia is a schoolteacher, teaching the history of music. 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. The 24th season of the American adaptation of Big Brother featured Daniel Durston, an Elvis impersonator from Las Vegas, Nevada. On the 15th of May, 2011, he entered the Elvis Down Under competition in Upper Hutt. The small western New South Wales town of Parkes in Australia has been hosting the Parkes Elvis Festival since 1993, which includes a special "Elvis Express" train from Sydney to Parkes. 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. It just took off, Wise says. SUMMERS: So it is deep cuts and classics all weekend at the Birmingham Hilton. 2023 Getty Images. And lastly, Dennis is a bit aged these days and many of his promo photos are of younger years. Drive. He is considered to be one of the first notable Elvis impersonators and even Presley himself supposedly said that Kaufman was his favorite impersonator. Despite ODays high hopes, and a decent amount of news coverage, the Rock and Roll Heaven tour didnt quite make the impact hed imagined. In 1985, he resurfaced in his home state of Maryland, managing a bar, Dannys, on Route 50 in Easton. Elvis taxa. I forget the script, Gamble says, but it was Elvis coming down from heaven to bring back some friends.. The Flim Flam Band continued working, in what ODays cousin Paul Patten calls the Howard Johnsons tour of lounges in those family-vacation hotels. Organize, control, distribute and measure all of your digital content. Other Samoan Elvis's include Elvis of Samoa,[64] and Nifae Fepuleai. He said, Give me something! and a nurse came over and plunged this needle into me. Wise soon went under. All rights reserved. Some of his contemporaries included Rick Saucedo of Chicago and Johnny Harra, a Kansas City native who moved his show to Texas in 1977. They didnt know they were talented musicians. In Miami, the tour was booked into the Persian Room at the Marco Polo Hotel, but when not enough tickets were apparently sold, it was downgraded to the Swingers Lounge Disco. [52], During the early 1990s, Sam Leilani from Reseda, L.A. made the news briefly. Dennis Wise knows exactly where he was when Elvis Presley died Aug. 16, 1977. According to Caywood and Gamble, no one was getting paid much, if anything at all, and what pay existed wasnt always equal. '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. There have been at least three prominent Elvis impersonators of Samoan descent. I wanted to be an entertainer, and who doesnt want to be like Elvis come on!, Effie insists the idea was her late husbands. Original faux-Elvis Dennis Wise practices post-surgery with promoter Danny O'Day, 1978. The King is as popular today as he was when he died suddenly at the age of 42 in the Memphis mansion on Aug. 16, 1977. One of the first books to document the phenomenon was, I Am Elvis: A Guide to Elvis Impersonators released by American Graphic Systems in 1991. From left: Rhyne, ODay, and Hazebrouck performing as Linda Ronstadt, Kenny Rogers, and Jim Croce at a Florida club in 1981. He was popular in the South, but not so much around the rest of the country. ., Silhouettes by Paul Guzzo, Record Details, Catalogue: 3829/M15-3829, Elvis Lives! Jeff Yagher played an Elvis impersonator (as well as Elvis himself) in an episode of The Twilight Zone called "The Once and Future King". Eventually, ODay was able to smuggle Wise into that clinic on that day in January 1978. . A lot of us in the entertainment business dont get a chance to do some of the normal things. ODay was finally the headlining star attraction hed always longed to be, if not the way hed quite planned it. Thats up from $49 million in 2007. He envisioned a world in which celebrity worship would rule, everyday people could be elevated to stardom, and there would be no shame in any of it. The best known was the Upsetters, an R&B and soul outfit that ODay joined in 1965. He died at the end of 2020. Other honors bestowed upon Wise He and his brother formed a garage band in the early 70s. Wise isnt totally focused on Elvis. Musician who performs in the style of Elvis Presley. 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. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then Danny O'Day is well, he was in a category all his own. The international guide I am Elvis, for instance, contains "photos, repertoire, and personal testimonies that serve to materialize the phenomenon of Elvis impersonation and further institutionalize it, including female Elvii, child Elvii, Black Elvii, El Vez the Mexican Elvis, and scores of British, German, Greek and Indian Elvii. (Blame it on the club owner, ODay said in response.) Some of these impersonators go to Graceland on the anniversary of Presley's death to make their personal tribute to the artist. Elvis Presley: The King's best impersonators. I was like, What? But his mind worked that way. Growing up, he dressed like Elvis and answered to Elvis in the school halls. After the tape was mixed, James and Chips flew to New York, where James's manager had contacts with Scepter Records. Its America.. Danny has played music all over NC ,SC & Parts of VA. Danny has played many venues such as: The Barn Dinner Theate. 1970's Dennis Wise Enterprize ELVIS Impersonator jacket Men's Large satin look . It was such an odd thing. Professional Elvis impersonators, commonly known as Elvis tribute artists (ETAs), work all over the world as entertainers, and such tribute acts remain in great demand due to the unique iconic status of Elvis. In February 1980, friends, family, and roller-disco ushers gathered at the Fifth National Banque, a club in Norfolk, Virginia, for what ODays business manager would call the first clonehead marriage. Their faces covered in bandages, ODay and Rhyne took their vows; even the bride and groom figurines on the cake were swathed in bandages. Elvis has spanned over forty years. One of the most popular modern plays dealing with Elvis impersonation is Lee Hall's Cooking with Elvis (1999). A major post-mortem event in Elvis history occurred in Orlando on Jan. 31, 1978, when Dennis Wise underwent six hours of plastic surgery to look more like The King of rock 'n' roll.
March 11, 2023