Impersonator, or Tribute Artist?

So, what do we call them (call us)…Elvis impersonators, or tribute artists?

I remember the first Elvis cover act I ever saw at the Currency Club in the old Sheraton Park Central in Dallas. The guy’s name was Alan Meyer(?), not sure about the last name, he billed himself simply as “Alan”. He put on a great show and my friends and I tried to catch his act whenever he came through town. I would say he performed as a “tribute artist”, that is to say, he didn’t address the audience as if he was Elvis…but would talk about whatever song he was about to do and say, “Elvis recorded this one in 1956″,or whatever.

The other act I saw, maybe around 1983, was Johnny Harra. Johnny was one of the first Elvis impersonators and would take on the persona of Elvis and really try to recreate the concert experience and would say, “I did this song in my first movie”, etc…in other words an impersonator. He had the look, moves and a great voice and it added up to a realistic performance, for sure. By the way, I heard Johnny Harra will be performing at the Elvis Contest at El Ranchito in Oak Cliff next month…it will be great to hear him again.

Almost every “Elvis” act I see today is more of a tribute, as is my own. I’m just more comfortable performing in that style…plus I don’t think my speaking voice sounds all that much like Elvis’ speaking voice.

Either way, I think most of the audiences come for the music!

Let’s Get the Ball Rolling

I thought it might be fun to share some random thoughts and my experiences as an Elvis tribute artist (or Elvis impersonator, if you prefer). This is my initial attempt at blogging, which will become apparent rather quickly. But, hopefully, I’ll get better at it as time goes on.

I have been performing since 2002, mostly out of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, as Johnny Rockit and I have to say I love doing the Elvis show. Along the way I have met some great people and had a lot of fun bringing back some memories for people that saw Elvis perform back in the day.

I really don’t know what direction the site will take, sometimes the posts may be relevant to Elvis fans, some others might be more interesting to other Elvis tribute artists. Some posts won’t be interesting to anyone…I’ll try not to write too many of those.

Thank you for visiting, check back soon!