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

As an Elvis Tribute Artist, folks are inclined to ask me all sorts of
odd things related to the “King”. A persistent question is; “why can’t
we go upstairs at Graceland”? Some fans feel it’s their divine right and
how dare the estate prevent them from entering those private quarters!
Elvis took great pride in his ownership of the mansion and was always
inviting folks to “come up and see the house”. Today, what you see on
the official tour is pretty much the part of his home he would show to
visitors. The rest was OFF-LIMITS! It’s unfortunate, but we live in a
society where EVERYONE thinks they should know EVERYTHING about EVERYONE!!

Beyond the opening of Graceland as a museum in 1982, various family
members continued to reside within its’ walls. It was not uncommon,
during the tour, to smell a roast in the kitchen or hear a dog bark. It
was that home-like aspect that left you with the feeling that Elvis
might walk into the room at any moment. Priscilla and Lisa Marie
continue to share traditional “southern” dinners, with family and
friends, in the formal dining room, whenever they’re in Memphis. Going
through Graceland has always been more like being invited to a friends
home, rather than a history lesson.

I can only imagine what a difficult choice it must have been for the
Presley family to open Elvis’ home to the public. But, the rising cost
of maintaining the property left them with no other recourse. For those
who are interested; there are sites on the internet that offer a glimpse
of the upstairs rooms. While most of the photos are authentic, some pics
are misleading showing rooms from a home used for the 1988 docudrama
“Elvis and Me”. In the opening credits of the motion picture “This Is
Elvis”, you can view Graceland as it appeared in 1977. These sources
should be more than enough for the curious!

I respect the privacy of the Presley family and I’m sure the majority of
Elvis fans feel the same. Keep upstairs at Graceland off the tour and
leave it to the memories of those who called it home.

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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.

On October 7, 40 year old, Lisa Marie Presley and husband, Michael
Lockwood 47, welcomed twin baby girls, “Finley” and “Harper” into the
family. The babies weighed 5lbs, 15oz and 5lbs, 2 oz. Lisa Marie also
has two children with ex-husband, Danny Keough. Twins run in the
Presley family. Lisa’s dad, Elvis was a twin, and mom, Priscilla has
younger brothers who are twins.

JANUARY 8, 1935—Elvis is born in Tupelo, MS
SEPTEMBER 12, 1948—Elvis moves to Memphis, TN
JULY 5, 1954—Elvis makes his first commercial recording at Sun Studios
MARCH 13, 1956—Elvis’ first album “Elvis Presley”, is released
SEPTEMBER 9, 1956—Elvis makes his first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show
NOVEMBER 15, 1956—Elvis’ first film, “Love Me Tender”, is released
MARCH 24, 1958—Elvis enters the army
AUGUST 14, 1958—Elvis’ mother, Gladys, dies
MARCH 5, 1960—Elvis is discharged from the army
MAY 1, 1967—Elvis marries Priscilla in Las Vegas
FEBRUARY 1, 1968—Lisa Marie Presley is born
DECEMBER 3, 1968—Elvis performs the “Comeback Special”
JULY 31, 1969—Elvis returns to Las Vegas at the International Hotel
DECEMBER 21, 1970—Elvis meets President Richard Nixon at the White House
JANUARY 14, 1973-” Elvis-Aloha from Hawaii” becomes the first worldwide satellite broadcast
OCTOBER 9, 1973—Elvis and Priscilla divorce
JUNE 26, 1977—Elvis performs his last concert at Market Square Arena Indianapolis, IN
AUGUST 16, 1977—Elvis passes at Graceland and ‘The Legend Lives On”

Elvis’ most favorite snack was a peanut butter and banana sandwich
fried in butter. If you’re interested in trying one: Take two slices
of white bread, mash one banana with an equal amount of peanut
butter, fry in a pan with butter as you would a grilled cheese
sandwich. It’s a snack rich in protein and about 750 calories… so I
don’t suggest a steady diet of them!

September 18th was the final concert for my “Elvis Summer Festival”
here in New Jersey. A cool, comfortable evening. Outdoor events in
those body-hugging jumpsuits can be exhausting when the temperature
rises. The basic theme of the show was “Elvis In Hollywood”. Now
anyone, who knows even a little about “The King”, can tell you that
he wasn’t always fond of some of the songs he had to sing
in those movies. So my choice of tunes was very careful. Following
the “2001″ intro, my opening song was “Spinout”, from the film with
the same title. Some of the other numbers along the way included:
“Blue Hawaii”, his most popular movie, “Puppet On A String”, from G.
I. Blues”, “Love Me Tender”, the title song for Elvis’ first film and
the energetic “Viva Las Vegas” as my closer. All told, about twenty
songs with none of the bummers like “Do The Clam” and “Old Mac
Donald”. I gave out dozens of hawaiian leis and satin scarves. I’m
always amazed at how much those trinkets mean to people. The audience
was fantastic; enthusiastic and responsive. A dream for an
entertainer!! Post concert, I spent about an hour signing autographs
and posing for photos with fans. For me….a little taste of what it
must have been like for Elvis….ALL THE TIME!! He always gave his
“all” to the crowd. It has always been my opinion that , as a
performer, I need to respect the audience. That includes dressing the
part. They shouldn’t have a problem picking out the entertainer from
the rest of the folks. Elvis always provided a feast for the eyes as
well as the ears. As part of my tribute, I continue the tradition.
It’s important for me to show my gratitude for the attention I
receive. After all…it’s the audience that allows me to “live the
dream”.

August 10, 2008

I am often asked to explain the difference between the two. If you
posed the question to a dozen Elvis Tribute Artists/Impersonators,  you would probably get a dozen different variations on the theme. All I can offer is my
personal take on the subject. For myself, I prefer the title of Tribute
Artist. I pay tribute to the man and his music. When I’m on stage my
goal is to present myself with a general Elvis style. Yes, I wear
the jumpsuit, but my voice is MY voice. If people feel I have an
Elvis quality when I sing…I’m pleased. I don’t attempt to sing a
song with every inflection the King used at a particular concert . I
don’t present a song exactly the same way twice. Even Elvis played
with the lyrics and melody.

An Impersonator is someone who attempts to be a carbon copy. Exact
vocals with exact moves and facial expressions. It is unfortunate,
but there are far too many guys with little or no talent attempting
to be exact copies. They’re the ones who give the rest of us a bad
name and all too often the press refers to them as “IMPERSONATORS.”

I’ve always tried to project a natural Elvis appearance in my
shows. Real sideburns not paste-ons. I don’t wear stage makeup to
enhance the look and I’ve never worn those ridiculous wigs with the
exaggerated pompadours. I DON’T IMPERSONATE ELVIS, I PAY TRIBUTE! My
appearance, moves and singing are meant to be similar….not an
exact copy! In the final analysis, no matter where you perform; Philadelphia to Phoenix, Memphis to Moscow… call yourself whatever you
please. But, perform with quality and respect.