Elvis Lives: The Business of Being Elvis

Rating:
Summary: The Career of an Elvis Tribute Artist
Review: Elvis Lives: The Business of Being Elvis is my second outing with a book about those who perform as a tribute to Elvis Presley. Anyone who enjoys seeing fine performances done in the style of Elvis Presley will find this book to be a valuable way to find out more about where to see the top tribute artists and who to watch and listen to.

The first book I read is called Be Elvis: A Guide to Impersonating the King by Elvis Tribute Artist Rick Marino. It opened up the whole world of how one learns to perform like Elvis and have the right make-up, lighting, costumes and sound. In Elvis Lives, I learned that this book has already sold over 35,000 copies.

That's not surprising in one way, because Elvis Lives points out that about 35,000 people are performing as Elvis now. I had no idea this was such a big business. There are contests all over the world where performers are ranked. This has been a way that many top Elvis Tribute Artists (the best artists don't impersonate Elvis, they perform in honor of him) have gotten recognition and bookings. There are also regular performances of the top acts, which are described in this book.

The only thing this book lacks is a CD with a sample of each of the 100 or so artists who are included singing an Elvis song.

There are interviews with these artists that describe how they got into the business (many were asked to perform by people who noticed a strong resemblance to Elvis), developed their talent, conduct their lives and careers now, their philosophy about being an Elvis artist, and what kind of act they do and where you can see them. These artists range from children to men nearing retirement age. It's clear that many were affected by their perception of Elvis to be more caring, more generous and more considerate of others.

Ms. Thomas-Williams is a talented writer with an eye to interesting details, and she brings out the best in her subjects.

From this, I learned that I should seek out those who try to capture the spirit of Elvis (rather than his appearance or sound), perform will a full orchestra or band, and are happy to interact with the audience during the show and afterwards.

Economically, it seems likely that the business of performing an Elvis-related show is over a billion-dollar industry. Some of the top performers get paid around $25,000 a show. Although they don't do as well as Elvis did, it's pretty impressive.

I found myself yearning to go to Memphis this week in preparation for the August 16th anniversary of Elvis's death, and watching the weeklong The Images of the King contest there. Oh, well, maybe next year!

After you finish enjoying this fine book, think about how else you can recreate the spirit of Elvis in your life. Can you do something nice for your Mother, as Elvis often did? Can you stay up late helping those who are troubled, as Elvis also did?

Rating:
Summary: The Career of an Elvis Tribute Artist
Review: Elvis Lives: The Business of Being Elvis is my second outing with a book about those who perform as a tribute to Elvis Presley. Anyone who enjoys seeing fine performances done in the style of Elvis Presley will find this book to be a valuable way to find out more about where to see the top tribute artists and who to watch and listen to.

The first book I read is called Be Elvis: A Guide to Impersonating the King by Elvis Tribute Artist Rick Marino. It opened up the whole world of how one learns to perform like Elvis and have the right make-up, lighting, costumes and sound. In Elvis Lives, I learned that this book has already sold over 35,000 copies.

That's not surprising in one way, because Elvis Lives points out that about 35,000 people are performing as Elvis now. I had no idea this was such a big business. There are contests all over the world where performers are ranked. This has been a way that many top Elvis Tribute Artists (the best artists don't impersonate Elvis, they perform in honor of him) have gotten recognition and bookings. There are also regular performances of the top acts, which are described in this book.

The only thing this book lacks is a CD with a sample of each of the 100 or so artists who are included singing an Elvis song.

There are interviews with these artists that describe how they got into the business (many were asked to perform by people who noticed a strong resemblance to Elvis), developed their talent, conduct their lives and careers now, their philosophy about being an Elvis artist, and what kind of act they do and where you can see them. These artists range from children to men nearing retirement age. It's clear that many were affected by their perception of Elvis to be more caring, more generous and more considerate of others.

Ms. Thomas-Williams is a talented writer with an eye to interesting details, and she brings out the best in her subjects.

From this, I learned that I should seek out those who try to capture the spirit of Elvis (rather than his appearance or sound), perform will a full orchestra or band, and are happy to interact with the audience during the show and afterwards.

Economically, it seems likely that the business of performing an Elvis-related show is over a billion-dollar industry. Some of the top performers get paid around $25,000 a show. Although they don't do as well as Elvis did, it's pretty impressive.

I found myself yearning to go to Memphis this week in preparation for the August 16th anniversary of Elvis's death, and watching the weeklong The Images of the King contest there. Oh, well, maybe next year!

After you finish enjoying this fine book, think about how else you can recreate the spirit of Elvis in your life. Can you do something nice for your Mother, as Elvis often did? Can you stay up late helping those who are troubled, as Elvis also did?