This past August 16^th marked the 30^th anniversary of the death of popular music’s biggest icon. As a kid, I was a huge, devoted, fan who was fortunate enough to see ELVIS PRESLEY a total of 23 times - 18 of which were at the Las Vegas Hilton (formerly the International Hotel). For all the accolades Elvis has earned, we do not stop to think that he can also be credited with unintentionally spawning the celebrity impersonator industry as we know it today.

Ironically, at the time of Elvis’s death, he would have been as oblivious to that as he was when he cluelessly walked into that small Memphis recording studio one afternoon in 1953 and ultimately forged together black rhythm & blues, white country, and a hint of gospel which would   became known as Rock & Roll. He had no idea what he was doing then and he certainly would have had no idea what he has done now. He was a simple country boy who just wanted to sing for his supper.

After Elvis’ untimely demise in 1977, the nation (and eventually the world) was bombarded with a slew of ‘Elvis’ tribute artists – many of them eventually making their way to Las Vegas which, for better or worse, would forever become recognized as the world’s nucleus for Elvis impersonators. In 1979, I remember Vegas actually had ‘Elvis’ shows running simultaneously in 4 separate hotel/casino showrooms. The term “impersonator” became so connected with the Elvis ‘circus’ that, to this day, many professional tribute artists still view it as a non complimentary description – hence given way for the alternate, more flattering, term: “Tribute Artist/Act”.

The Elvis impersonator phenomenon in the mid to late 70’s evolved into the tribute act industry with production shows such as ‘ROCK N ROLL HEAVEN’, ‘LIVERPOOL’, and eventually ‘LEGENDS IN CONCERT” (in 1983) as the forerunners. All of these shows featured an Elvis impersonator in a starring or principal role. To this day, ‘Legends in Concert, generally regarded as the world’s most popular tribute show, still features an ‘Elvis’ as its star attraction.

Of course, celebrity IMPRESSIONISTS had been around for years before any of these “Tribute’ shows existed, although not as its own INDUSTRY.

According to the recent summer series, ‘THE NEXT BEST THING”, the requirements to be a successful tribute artist was supposed to be for the performer to possess the ability to the extent that he/she convincingly LOOKED, SOUNDED, and PERFORMED like the character they were emulating.  Unfortunately, as we now know, this was not always the case and ironically, and rather sadly, if any one tribute act is ‘excused’ from meeting these requirements, it is the ETA (Elvis Tribute Artist).

 We see it happening everywhere and it hasn’t let up… audiences cheering, applauding, and even screaming for a performer who neither looks nor sounds anything reasonably like he real ‘King of Rock’.  It seems that anyone these days that has a coif of dark hair and long sideburns is labeled “Elvis”.

The biggest tragedy other than Elvis actually dying at 42 was that he died grossly overweight – something he was not proud of during his final years and I’m fairly certain, would not particularly like to see being emulated. Food for thought (no pun intended)… if Elvis had never gained all that excess weight in the last few years of his life, it would not be acceptable for considerably more than half of the ETA’s out there to don a jumpsuit (thank God) and appear on a stage. 

 But let’s not stop short of that… aside from the fact that we have Elvi that come in all different shapes, sizes, and colors, there are also far too many that sing flat or cannot even carry a tune – which is even more baffling since the real Elvis was known and respected  for being a phenomenal/versatile vocalist. Just for the record, saying Elvis was the best vocalist ever is arguable since everyone obviously has their personal favorites. However, making the claim that he was the most successful is a known fact. Statistically speaking, throughout the years the music buying public have purchased more of his recordings (somewhere between 1 & 1.5 billion worldwide and counting) which is more than any other singer or group to date – that’ s fact that can be backed up by simple research.

One would think that because Vegas is recognized as the world’s focal point for Elvis impersonators, that we also represent the best of the best.  While there is no doubt that, at one time or another, Vegas has hosted the top ETA’s in the world, we can also lay claim to having some of the worst as well. After all, where else can a 200+ lb, mediocre singing performer make a living performing weddings, handing out flyers, and/or taking photos with eager tourists in LA or Vegas? 

Presley’s almost religious-like popularity, along with the extremely low standard of the general Elvis loving public is what we can blame for these performers being allowed to exist. Given that, who can really fault ROBERT SILLERMAN of CKX, Inc, (the company that now owns and runs most of Elvis Presley Enterprises) for wanting to ‘control’ the ETA industry considering the way Elvis has being represented by his emulators?

Over the years I have banged my brains out trying to make sense of this low standard of acceptance regarding the Elvis impersonators. One logical explanation is that he is so loved and missed that the public is willing to accept any type of (un)reasonable facsimile as a replacement. As an Elvis purist, that is just wrong and somewhat offensive, especially since I do not believe this same low standard would hold true for the Frank Sinatra & John Lennon fans.

About a year or two after Elvis’ death I can remember watching JOHNNY CARSON on the Tonight Show half jokingly state… “If life was fair, Elvis would be alive and the impersonators would be dead”, to which the studio audience reacted by cheering and applauding.  While I feel that this may be a bit too harsh of a statement,  I DO believe that if we were to dress a monkey in a white studded jumpsuit, put thick silver aviator glasses and sideburns on him and threw him out on a stage, the audience would go crazy.  The point I am trying to get across is that the standard expectations for an Elvis tribute artist has been reduced to just that and the man, ELVIS PRESLEY, who was and still is popular music’s most idolized & revered act - deserves better.

ROB GARRETT is a producer and tribute artist of Neil Diamond.  Diamondman1@aol.com