Elvis Tribute Artist Eddie O'Rourke presents A Tribute to The King

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Over the years I’ve read many articles on homes that claimed to be replicas of Elvis’ famous mansion “Graceland”. Unfortunately, in most cases, the homes don’t even come close to the original.

There’s a structure in Orlando. FL that looks the part from the outside, but once inside you find that the staircase is on the wrong side of the entrance hall and there is no attempt at decorating the rooms to replicate the ” Memphis Mansion”. Another, much talked about building, is in Northridge, CA and at one time owned by a professional Elvis impersonator. The home is gorgeous and expensively decorated. But, again, once inside, the rooms hold little resemblance to the “King”s abode. Newspaper and magazine articles about Graceland Too in Holly Springs, MS often refer to it as a Graceland duplicate when, in fact, it is simply rooms loaded with lots of Presley memorabilia. Not a bad thing …by any stretch, but IT AIN’T GRACELAND!!!			Gracenote Entry Hall	Graceland Entry Hall
			Graceland Dining Room	Gracenote Dinning Room
Gracenote Living Room / Music Room	Graceland Living Room / Music Room	A number of years ago, when I visited Elvis’ home for the first time, I was struck by the marked similarity between the floor plan of Graceland and my own home in New Jersey. I loved the high style of the very formal front rooms and equally engaged by the wacky themed rooms. Years ago, while still living at home with my folks, I painted an eight by forty foot mural of the chariot race scene from Ben Hur on a wall that ran the length of our living and dining rooms. I also recall turning our basement family room into my rendition of “Tiki Gone Wild”. So wacky and themed are not strange to me.
As I made my way through Elvis’ home, I remember thinking how easy it would be to recreate much of what was capturing my imagination. So here we are many years later. To date, I have duplicated Graceland’s entrance hall, dining room to the left, living and music rooms to the right.			Graceland Fireplace & Clock	Gracenote Fireplace & Clock
Graceland Upstairs Privacy Partition	Gracenote Upstairs Privacy Partition	The upstairs hallway with the privacy partition which leads to the bedroom area. I’ve recreated the billiard room complete with yards of pleated patchwork fabric
and even the infamous “Jungle Room”. Actually, Elvis called it the den area and it was the press that started calling it the jungle room. Ebay has been a wonderful resource for duplicating the furnishings of the ’50s, ’60s and 70s. What I couldn’t buy at auction, I made myself; furniture, drapes, lampshades…you name it. The various rooms also boast actual items that once belonged to Elvis.			Gracenote Jungle Room / Den	Graceland Jungle Room / Den
Graceland Living Room Detail	Gracenote Living Room Detail	Dozens of trips through the iconic mansion and hundreds of photos have helped to replicate all the nuances of Graceland. I received many a strange look from the mansion guards as I photographed odd “stuff” such as light switches, doorknobs and baseboard and ceiling moldings. I affectionately refer to my home as “GRACENOTE” …The real Graceland replica! Gracenote Lamp Graceland Lamp Graceland Sidelight Entry Detail Gracenote Sidelight Entry Detail
Graceland Above Entry Detail	Gracenote Above Entry Detail

Hey out there!

Eddie O'Rourke with friends at The Pointe Restaraunt Jersey City NJ

This past Sunday, November 2nd, I performed at one of my favorite NJ venues, “The Pointe”. A trendy nite spot right on The Hudson River. With the lower Manhattan skyline as my backdrop, and assisted, center stage, by the members of DJ Express, I presented my latest rendition of ” A Tribute To The King”. I opened the show with an arrangement of “Hound Dog” that deceptively begins slowly, but in the chorus revs up to the more familiar tempo. Next, another early Presley hit “One Night” really got the audience involved. And then, an Elvis tune from the jumpsuit era ” Kentucky Rain” followed by “Way On Down”, from the Moody Blue album. The dynamic and always popular “Hurt”, a short medley of “Long Tall Sally” and “Whole Lotta Shakin’ “, at break-neck speed and the poignant song “Separate Ways”, written by Elvis’ friend Red West. “Suspicious Minds” is a song requested often and consequently winds up in many of my concerts. After a program of more than two dozen songs, I closed with “Viva Las Vegas”. Invariably, this one usually gets the crowd out of their seats and singing along. I wonder if the Viva Viagra tv ad has anything to do with the response? I just know I’m gonna sing the wrong words one night…”The King” would be amused. This was a very strenuous performance. Exhilarating and exhausting at the same time. I don’t need an exercise routine folks…THIS IS IT!! It’s how I remain slim enough to fit into the expensive jumpsuits.

Now, I pose a question to all of you. And I truly would appreciate some feedback on the subject. I’m always searching for little devices to keep the show fresh. Not an easy task when folks expect so many familiar tunes over and over. Often, when I hear contemporary songs, I wonder how they might sound performed Elvis-style. I’ve seriously considered adding a “WHAT IF” segment to my show. A chance to bring the Elvis treatment to songs of the 21st Century. What’s your opinion?

HAVE A WONDERFUL THANKSGIVING!!! Eddie aka “E”

As you may or may not have noticed some changes have been made here on the the website.

First the “Buzz” page has been modified to allow my guests and fans to post their comments. I plan to also add back the old press and comments as soon as we have the new page wrapped up.

Next we’ve added an Elvis Memorabilia page. This page will be updated from time to time with goodies I’ve found on Amazon and Ebay. Items you may like for yourself or that special Elvis fan in your life. I’ll be posting some of my own memorabilia here on my Blog over time.

Last but not least I’ve received emails from other Elvis Tribute Artists about where I get my backgrounds and Jumpsuits from… and it got me thinking about how I struggled when I started to find the best Elvis backgrounds and the best Elvis Jumpsuits. So I decided to put up an Elvis Tribute Artist resources page. The page is open for anyone (ETAs or businesses / sellers) to post a resource. It’s on your honor and must stay on topic. Any unrelated or unsuitable content will be removed without notice.
I will post more of my favorite Elvis Tribute Artist resources as I find the time.