When ODay proposed the idea of surgical transformation to them, the newly hired hands were either eager or puzzled, depending on the singer. He knew what was coming, but the reality of it didnt really hit him until the doctor, who seemed like a nice enough guy, started carving into his face. $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 wanted all the glory. They mainly fall under three main levels of impersonation, which are: Enacting a typical 70s Elvis concert is a preferred choice of most ETAs; however, some ETAs may portray various phases of Presley's career in a single show. But in the current landscape, where dead pop stars seem as prevalent as living, breathing ones, Danny ODays outlandish vision remains open for business. 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) . And with that, another lightbulb flicked on. He had to think outside the rock box, and maybe drastic measures were in order. 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. I thought I was headed back to Hawaii, but the guy said Ill take him. Its become the most collected U.S. stamp with more than 124 million saved and more than 500 million sold. Boards are the best place to save images and video clips. 2.9K views, 40 likes, 10 loves, 16 comments, 11 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from WiseDrums: So twice a year I play drums for my father Dennis Wise who's been an Elvis Presley tribute artist since. [46] Among the LP albums he recorded were his 1976 album, Mr. Fatu Sings Elvis, which was recorded live at The Hawaiian Inn,[47] and Manatua Mai A'u (Remember Me), released on the Tam-Bay label. >Las Vegas Entertainment Today Home Page American Sound Studio was gaining a reputation in the industry as the Box Tops had just recorded \"The Letter\" there so James relocated to Memphis. ODay later admitted the idea was also suggested by Rhyne and that he had his own doubts: I said, What, are you crazy? 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". [6], The second known impersonator was a 16-year-old boy named Jim Smith. The large growth in Elvis impersonators seems tightly linked with his ever-growing iconic status. Dad hated Elvis. 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. 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. This has seen some impact on what Elvis impersonators and contests have on the media and marketing industry. Despite ODays high hopes, and a decent amount of news coverage, the Rock and Roll Heaven tour didnt quite make the impact hed imagined. And you have the fans who want to see that artist continue., ODay would never be on the level of Colonel Tom Parker, but he was something else entirely rocks own P.T. When I found out I was going to do this, I said, Well, enough of [health food], and I went out and had a cheeseburger with a shot of whiskey and beer. To dispel any doubts about the actual alcohol in her onstage bottle, shed pour some of it into the glasses of skeptical fans in the front rows, and watch as they gulped it down and realized they were drinking genuine Southern Comfort. Thousands of "Elvi" gave it their best shot in the 2007 BBC competition show World's Greatest Elvis. It is cured by visiting a psychologist, who tells the patient how ridiculous he/she look[31]. Danny as Kenny Rogers? Wise says. "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. Then, he would move on to dead comedians, remaking people to resemble W.C. Fields and Abbott and Costello. It was not for money purposes. Rolling Stone later ranked it No. We were traveling the country, doing two shows a night six and seven nights a week.. Since Wise was persona non Presley in ODays world, a new King was needed. 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. More recent titles include photo essays, Living the Life by Patty Carroll and The King and I: A little Gallery of Elvis Impersonators by Kent Baker and Karen Pritkin. Jesus Christ thats some twisted shit, says Croces son A.J., who was only a grade schooler when ODay hired an upstart to be resculpted as Croces father. Impersonating a dead pop star, or reviving them virtually, is one thing. ODay scrambled and found a replacement after several tries. Decades before hologram tours, one rogue '70s promoter found another way to put Elvis, Janis, Jim Morrison, and other late icons back onstage. "[15] There are even some performers who satirize other Elvis impersonators. James had written three songs that became number one hits in the Southern United States. Gary James' Interview With Elvis Impersonator Dennis Wise Dennis Wise made Page One news in papers across the country back in 1978 when he under went 6 hours of cosmetic surgery to re-construct his face to resemble Elvis Presley. "You're no longer the other guy, you're the 'King.' Recalling those early performances, the groups Janice Joplin impersonator, Mona Caywood-Moore, was quoted saying, they were bombs, man. In his mind, Rock and Roll Heaven would merely be the beginning. During the 1970s, a star attraction at the Aloha Lounge in Florida's Hawaiian Inn was Mr. Fatu. He performed regularly at the Elvis in the Park concerts at Cranwell Park in Henderson, Auckland, New Zealand, New Zealand. 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. The idea was to say I was trying to develop the sneer, I guess, he says. 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. He appeared in episode 3 of the BBC Two Wales documentary, Cardigan Bay Coastal Lives. (Read the full story, which has plenty of photos.). In pop music, the tradition of the tribute band, the imitator, the impersonator, is now as durable as the concert T-shirt or the demand for an encore. After James' recording failed commercially, the song was handed to Elvis Presley by producer Chips Moman, becoming a number one song in 1969, and one of the most notable hits of Presley's career. O'Day's first foray into the world of tribute acts came in 1977, when he met Dennis Wise, who sounded close enough to Elvis that O'Day convinced him to go under the knife and have his nose, cheeks, and lips made to look more like the King's. The band ended up in Hawaii. Tap into Getty Images' global scale, data-driven insights, and network of more than 340,000 creators to create content exclusively for your brand. He was popular in the South, but not so much around the rest of the country. The original unaired pilot even had Johnny Bravo as a literal Elvis Presley impersonator. It wasnt Vegas, but it was close, and it came with perks, like all the alcohol and Perrier anyone wanted. "[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. There are many different types of Elvis impersonators and Elvis tribute artists. 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. some memories. On the 15th of May, 2011, he entered the Elvis Down Under competition in Upper Hutt. My dad has been an Elvis Tribute Artist for over 30 years. At the time, he was referred to as the greatest Elvis impressionist around. 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. I always do a show celebrating his birthday and remembering him on the anniversary of his death.. It also featured Clearance Giddens, a black Elvis. 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. Smith's physical resemblance to Elvis and his mannerisms happened to catch the attention of DJ Norm Pringle of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, who had been playing "That's All Right, Mama" and "Heartbreak Hotel" on the radio. "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. "That was a very strange day," Wise says. I was a small kid growing up in Joplin, Mo., he says. (Singing) Wise men say only fools rush in, for I can't help falling in love with you. include being named by Dick Clark as one of the three best Elvis That was a very strange day, Wise says. from the cities of Augusta, Georgia and New Orleans, Louisiana. At the recording session, James sang the lead vocals, and the studio band backed him with Momam producing. From left: Caywood as Joplin, Rhyne as female Elvis, Hazebrouck as Croce, Gamble as Elvis, and OConnell as Morrison. After the tape was mixed, James and Chips flew to New York, where James's manager had contacts with Scepter Records. Other honors bestowed upon Wise 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. [53], Alphonso Keil was an Elvis impersonator and professional musician. Must be 21 to attend this Las Vegas event. Their memories of Rock and Roll Heaven are decidedly mixed. A more scholarly examination of Elvis impersonation is, Impersonating Elvis by Leslie Rubinowski released in 1997. Croce hadnt heard of the tribute until contacted by Rolling Stone, and neither the Joplin estate nor the surviving members of the Doors remember these clones from more than 40 years ago. Wise will perform his annual Elvis birthday concert Saturday at the Chrome Lounge at Santa Fe Station. After spending the next two years on the road, he and his wife, Marcia, decided to settle down in Las Vegas. 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. American protest singer Phil Ochs appeared in concert in March 1970 at Carnegie Hall wearing a 1950s Elvis-style gold lam suit, made for him by Presley's costumer Nudie Cohen. Hes consistently at the top of its top-earning Elvis Presley: The King's best impersonators. [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. Dragging along the white suits theyd been forced to wear onstage, the musicians piled them atop one another and set the clothes afire, resulting in what Caywood recalls as an unholy muck of cow patties, dirt, and melted polyester.. He would just come out with that stuff, you know?, Newspaper headline writers reveled in the weirdness of Rock and Roll Heaven, dubbing it the cloneheads and referring to ODay as the clone ranger. ODay brushed off any and all skepticism. Item Information. They began using the contest along with their Elvis brand, licensing anyone wanting to charge a fee to hold an Elvis contest. first song, he got the job. Danny has played music all over NC ,SC & Parts of VA. Danny has played many venues such as: The Barn Dinner Theate. The two still performed in what tiny clubs they could, but one day a waitress told ODay, who was singing Kenny Rogers songs with another act, that he bore some resemblance to the Gambler growler. Dennis Wise has been paying tribute to Elvis for more than 30years. . Hazebroucks lips were enlarged and lowered, and his straight hair was given a Croce-style perm. A 'Must See' video.Featuring:Rick Bonner (Vocals)Cody SlaughterDonny EdwardsNick NicolasIndia's ElvisElvis PresleyWatch \"Rick Bonner 'The Ultimate Performance' (Please share)\" on YouTube\"Suspicious Minds\" is a song written by American songwriter Mark James. We're dealing with a man who can never be replaced. 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.". The best known was the Upsetters, an R&B and soul outfit that ODay joined in 1965. As a result, Sophia's wedding reception is filled with Elvis impersonators (one played by a young Quentin Tarantino)[30] instead of members of her own family, and Rose exclaims, "Either I got the Elvis list mixed with the guest list for the wedding or everyone in Sophia's family appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show!". He was always looking for his new project, says Patten. He has performed more than 10,000 shows as an Elvis impersonator. Jeff Yagher played an Elvis impersonator (as well as Elvis himself) in an episode of The Twilight Zone called "The Once and Future King". I would tell those people not to do it. Wise was doing an Elvis show in Hawaii. 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. The Oxford American Book of Great Music Writing, "LadyLuck Music Tribute Artist Radio Station", "Elvis Presley: The King's best impersonators", "Elvis Wade: A Tribute To The Legends Of The 50s, 60s & 70s | Things to do in Orlando", "The Sad End of the First Elvis Impersonator", "Policing Elvis: Legal Action and the Shaping of Post-Mortem Celebrity Culture as Contested Space. 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. I was there in 1977 when Elvis died.. Dennis Wise Tickets, 2023 Concert Tour Dates | Ticketmaster Home Concert Tickets Dennis Wise Tickets 3.0 Dennis Wise Tickets Events Reviews (1) No Concerts Near Raleigh & Durham Select Your Dates Sorry. He talked about re-creating Buddy Holly, Jimi Hendrix, and the members of Lynyrd Skynyrd whod died in a plane crash the year before. If I could still do two shows a night, six nights a week, Id do it, Wise says. Erwin, D.H. and Droser, M.L., 1993. The man who played Elvis' boss at the Crown Electric company was Red West, a real life schoolmate and best friend of Elvis. It was perfect, but it was a lot of trouble, Wise says. First of all, you dont believe it. 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. 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. Halfway through the However, its been rumored that they may have inspired this funny Saturday Night Live sketch, Behind the Music: Rock & Roll Heaven., News and Entertainment from Australia's favourite youth publisher, The Nirvana Nevermind babys lawsuit has been dismissed, A study compared celebrity worship and cognitive skills and the results arent good. This fabricated myth was featured as a news item in the Weekly World News, and has been misunderstood to be factual by people who do not realize that the Weekly World News is well known to publish outlandish and often unbelievable articles. Dean Vegas and Paul Fenech from Australia were also booked for the event. Droser in a 1993 paper derived from the Elvis impersonators the term Elvis taxon (plural Elvis taxa), which denotes a taxon that has been misidentified as having re-emerged in the fossil record after a period of presumed extinction, but is not actually a descendant of the original taxon, instead having developed a similar morphology through convergent evolution. BY THE NUMBERS $52 million Amount the Elvis estate made. But all were doing is emulating the dead people with all due respect.. Dennis F. December 14, 2015 We enjoyed Elvis John Verified Review Tyler E. May 20, 2014 A great experience with Elvis John Hired as: Elvis Impersonator Verified Review Terri K. April 27, 2014 Great Job! Dennis Wise shows off his reconstructed face to talk-show host Mike Douglas. There we go. In the words of Jim Croces son A.J., as quoted in Rolling Stone, Jesus Christ thats some twisted shit. We feel you on that, A.J. They dont know what theyre getting into. But nothing would stop them, or ODay. I forget the script, Gamble says, but it was Elvis coming down from heaven to bring back some friends.. Its got to be wrong. '"[13] Professional Elvis impersonation can be called a special branch of the entertainment industry. Swipe your Rampart Rewards card at the door and receive 1,000 points! repertoire, Dennis can answer most any request. I got up one night and did Heartbreak Hotel and the fans liked it, Wise says. $12.95 Cost of his first guitar, bought in 1946 at the Tupelo Hardware Store, $17.50 Tickets to dinner show at the Hilton, including lobster or steak, in the 1970s, 837 Consecutive sold-out shows at the International and Hilton, $43.7 million Worth of show tickets sold in Las Vegas (more than $150 million in 2008 dollars), 1956 Heartbreak Hotel, I Want You, I Need You, I Love You, Dont Be Cruel / Hound Dog, Love Me Tender, 1957 Too Much, All Shook Up, (Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear, Jailhouse Rock, 1960 Stuck on You, Its Now or Never, Are You Lonesome Tonight?. I do two annual shows one for his passing and one for his birth (Jan. 8), the 54-year-old tribute artist says. Hired as: Elvis Impersonator Sharon T. March 17, 2014 Aster Retirement Community wants to thank you Elvis, John! There are many Elvis contests for amateurs, festivals and other events held across the world celebrating Elvis and his many impersonators. Elvis cant die. The music will be all Elvis, from the Vegas years. We just want to bring back On "the thriving phenomenon of Elvis impersonators", see also Gilbert B. Rodman, Elvis After Elvis: The Posthumous Career of a Living Legend (1996). At an early stop on the tour, one reviewer noted that few of the performers resembled their dead counterparts that much. I got more publicity over that than John Travolta did in 1978. Travolta was popular at the time because of Saturday Night Fever and Grease.. Get ready, music lovers, because Record Store Day 2023 is right around the corner! to earth and that separates a lot of entertainers", states Dennis. 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. Even though James's recording initially had not been commercially successful, upon reviewing the song Elvis decided he could turn it into a hit. We started playing in clubs in Joplin and in Oklahoma and Id do a little Elvis skit in the act, Wise says. All rights reserved. Dennis expertly recreates Elvis's movements, phrasings, and I dont see a morbid aspect, he said. ", "Guinness book of records - Largest gathering of Elvis impersonators", Gadfly Online: David McNair and Jayson Whitehead, "Love and Theft. Dennis Wise, 54, has been an Elvis impersonator for more than 30 years, beginning with a garage band he started with his brother. Hired as: He and Effie were divorced in 1979. Streamline your workflow with our best-in-class digital asset management system. lvis Presley had been dead for six months when the plastic-surgeons knife plunged into Dennis Wise. Hazebrouck, who was still performing as Croce, rejoined ODay and Rhyne for a Kenny, Linda, and Jim show. 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. Finding the right plastic surgeon to tweak Wises lips and cheeks and straighten his nose was tougher. He was on hand for the first year anniversary of Elvis' death at the Prince William County Fair in Manassas, VA on August 16, 1978. It's almost like being in your zen, your spot.". 7:30 pm. In the end credits of the episode, Mark sings the theme tune in the style of Elvis. Keeping his spirit alive are tens of thousands of professional Elvis impersonators around the world, and millions more who do it for kicks. One of his biggest fans is Dennis Wise, a man who even had his face and hairline changed through plastic surgery to look more like Elvis. The shit hit the fan. When the run ended in March 1979, Caywood recalls a big blowup over money, and the band broke up. By Laura Fitzpatrick Friday, Jan. 08, 2010. He also has an Elvis tribute act. \"Suspicious Minds\" was widely regarded as the single that returned Presley's career success, following his '68 Comeback Special. Other Samoan Elvis's include Elvis of Samoa,[64] and Nifae Fepuleai. The horns, strings and vocals of the Holladay Sisters were later overdubbed. Wise heard a story maybe apocryphal that ODay had booked pop star B.J. The film was directed by Don Coscarelli. Some people thought it was very bizarre, but people were interested in it from the standpoint of business.. I was 30 or 32 and wild and crazy anyway. Dennis Wise, 54, has been an Elvis impersonator for more than 30 years, beginning with a garage band he started with his brother. In 1985, he resurfaced in his home state of Maryland, managing a bar, Dannys, on Route 50 in Easton. Following the transformation, he made his TV debut on Good Morning America in early 1978. Fans Also Viewed Monster Jam See all 201 Events Monster Energy Supercross See all 13 Events Ed Sheeran The Complete History of Elvis Impersonators in 10 minutes [from the documentary Almost Elvis] BlueSuedeFilms 1.65K subscribers Subscribe 43K views 14 years ago The complete history of Elvis. Condition: Pre-owned Pre-owned These days, O'Day (who died in 2003) is "the smallest of footnotes in pop history books," but he was also remarkably prescient, writes Browne: "Long before Las Vegas residencies, biopics, and massive publishing buyout deals, ODay imagined a world in which classic-rock nostalgia would be a lucrative business." Marriott and the JW Marriott system are not associated with any part of The Resort at Summerlin (the Resort) other than the JW Marriott Las Vegas hotel (the Hotel) at the Resort. People loved it.. But for ODay, it probably didnt matter: He already had a bigger, grander, and wilder scheme in mind. There must have been 100 people from the press all over the world taking pictures, he says. This tribute to But long before Las Vegas residencies, biopics, and massive publishing buyout deals, ODay imagined a world in which classic-rock nostalgia would be a lucrative business. It was his seventeenth and last number-one single in the United States. Mom was the fan in the house. [34], An Elvis impersonator in Arkansas, who legally had his name changed to Elvis Presley,[35] unsuccessfully ran for the positions of Arkansas Commissioner of State Lands in 2014, Arkansas State Senator of District 26 in 2016, and U.S. Representative of Arkansas's District 1 in 2018. A few years later, Caywood and her then-husband, who was in the band, returned to the site, and there the pile remained, in all its mangled glory. Wow your guests with a visit from the King of Rock and Roll! than 10,000 shows honoring the king. He once sang some songs on Karaoke at a 30th birthday party which his mother in law loved. An Elvis impersonator is an entertainer who impersonates or copies the look and sound of American musician and singer Elvis Presley. [59][60] Like Alphonso Keil before him,[61] Angel regularly performs at the Parkes Elvis Festival, an event that now attracts 20,000. 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! Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.