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

As a professional Elvis Tribute Artist, I’d like to acknowledge the March 30th passing of entertainer Johnny Harra. While The King of Rock was still alive, Johnny was one of the earliest performers to devote an entire stage act as a tribute to him.  The fact that he just happened to resemble Elvis certainly didn’t hurt the illusion.

Johnny began his admiration for The King of Rock at the age of eleven, doing his Elvis impersonation for family and friends. By the 1970s he was performing his tribute in local Texas nightclubs.  He and his band were  booked for several shows at a Dallas/Fort Worth Holiday Inn, the day that Elvis died. The press he received from that gig subsequently lead to his appearance a few weeks later, before a crowd of 20,000, at The Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas. Later in 1977 Johnny signed a three year, six million dollar contract with The Silverbird Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.  In his later years, Johnny struggled with arthritis and diabetes. After a period of time in semi-retirement, he returned to the stage just before the 25th anniversary of Elvis’ passing. In his long career as an Elvis Impersonator/Tribute Artist, Johnny Harra was featured in many newspaper and magazine articles, appeared on national TV, was featured in the movie “This Is Elvis” and took his “Profiles of Presley Show around the world.  At the hight of his popularity, Johnny was an inspiration to those of us who aspired to a career as an Elvis Tribute Artist. The tribute was to The King of Rock n’ Roll…Johnny showed us how to do it with class!