ALMOST 40 years after Elvis Presley left the building, the King of Rock’n’Roll is still a force in the pop charts, still performing in concert and still inspiring stars and fans with his music and moves.
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In the charts, the Priscilla Presley-produced The Wonder Of You: Elvis Presley with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra peaked at No. 3 in the ARIA rankings and was the year’s fifth biggest-selling album in the UK.
On stage, The Wonder of You live concert experience plays throughout capital cities later this year - promising “the closest possible experience to seeing The King perform live” with original concert footage of Presley backed by a live 40-piece orchestra.
And next week - to celebrate January 8 and what would have been Presley’s 82nd birthday - hundreds of side-burned and jump-suited Elvis fans will converge in central NSW for the Viva Las Vegas-themed 25th anniversary of the Parkes Elvis Festival (January 11-15).
Here’s what Presley impersonators and fans from around Australia say about the enduring wonder of Elvis.
THE VOICE
WAYNE Cooper’s love affair with Elvis Presley centres on the voice. That magnificent three-octave vocal range, that could produce exhilarating hip-shaking rock’n’roll one minute then make a heart swoon through emotional soul and gospel the next.
Over the past five years the former Lake Macquarie policeman has impersonated The King’s iconic voice professionally to widespread acclaim. So much so that Cooper’s nationally-touring show Sincerely Elvis has been recognised as the country’s best tribute act at the Australian Entertainment “MO” Awards for the past two years.
His five upcoming shows in Parkes, which includes a debut performance at the town’s famous observatory, sold out more than a month ago.
“My love of Elvis is purely based on the fact that, over and above being an entertainer, he’s probably got one of the greatest male vocals I’ve ever heard, ability-wise and range-wise,” Cooper says.
Cooper lists Presley’s 1972 rendition of An American Trilogy as his favourite song and believes his ’70s concert period was the pinnacle of his 24-year career.
“It’s just an identifiable period for a lot of people because they’re the years when he went through all the different jump suits,” Cooper says. “In my show I start off in the ’50s and go right through to the concert years and people’s faces are completely different when you come out in the jump suits, opposed to the early rock’n’roll years.”
THE ENTERTAINER
ORANGE’S James Caulfield has performed as Elvis across central west NSW since 2001, and says he admires the iconic performer for his dedication to music.
“He didn’t just perform, he brought the crowd in with him,” Caulfield says. “Even in the end when the drugs were overtaking him, he still pushed himself to give that performance. He made sure every person who saw him perform walked away and said he was the king of rock’n’roll.”
Caulfield says he preferred to be known as a tribute artist rather than an impersonator.
“I give him a tribute, I don’t ever try to make it foolish,” he says. “I love Elvis so I’m going to dress properly, I’m going to perform properly and sing to the best of my ability.”
"He’s probably got one of the greatest male vocals I’ve ever heard, ability-wise and range-wise."
- Wayne Cooper
Through his tribute performances, Caulfield has introduced multiple generations to the music and charisma of Elvis.
"It’s amazing how children respond to Elvis,” he says. “They respond to me singing, they respond to me dancing. Each part of his music makes you feel good. Kids get onto that.”
THE SEX APPEAL
IT has been almost four decades since his death but Wagga Wagga’s Annette Anderson still cannot help falling in love with Elvis.
“Young people and old people, everybody seems to like him,” Anderson said. “Apart from his sex appeal, he was a very humble man, he was a very generous man and very good to his mother. His music also has huge variety.”
Anderson and her sister Helen Limberger will attend the Las Vegas showgirl-themed festival. The Priscilla Presley wig she has worn for four years will make another appearance coupled with a polka dot dress.
“When everyone gets dressed up, it’s just a really great atmosphere,” she says.
THE FANATICISM
WITH a room full of memorabilia, and tailored suits modelled off the king of rock'n'roll himself, John Caulfield could well be Tamworth's biggest Elvis Presley fan.
The Tamworth Services Club courtesy bus driver is nick-named Elvis by his patrons due to playing Presley songs while working. He's been a regular visitor to Parkes each January since 2003 and has only missed one Elvis Festival since.
For Caulfield, Presley's music is addictive and never tiring.
“I can listen to Elvis music, virtually non stop, to me it's pleasing,” Caulfield says. “When I get into my vehicles or the courtesy bus at work and turn the stereo on, it's Elvis music. The CD might change over the course of the night, but it'll be another Elvis CD.”
Caulfield says it's Presley's “persona and vocal ability” that makes him so interesting, even four decades on from his untimely death.
“I'm not taking it away from any other artists, but for the Tamworth festival we might get three times as many people as Parkes but it's 20 to 30 times as many artists. At Parkes, it's celebrating the life and music of just one man.”
Caulfield lists Green, Green Grass of Home, In the Ghetto and An American Trilogy as his favourite songs.
THE BUSINESS
DUBBO’S Peter Judd wouldn’t call himself an Elvis fan.
Despite that, the local Rotarian and Trike Adventures business owner is gearing up for his fifth Parkes Elvis Festival, where it’s his job to get Elvis fans where they need to go.
For Judd – who does like The King’s music – it’s all about the community spirit of the event and “just being there and enjoying the atmosphere”.
“It’s insane, it really is,” Judd says. “You see black Elvises, Indian Elvises, transgender Elvises, lesbian Elvises, gay Elvises, glittery Elvises, Elvis statues. The whole event is just sublime, crazy and thoroughly entertaining. You get an absolute buzz. It’s a wonderful event and we want to be a part of it.”
The festival provides a major boost to the Parkes economy. More 22,000 people visited the town during the 2016 edition, injecting $11 million into the regional economy.
But the event is also a major earner for businesses across the central west, including Trike Adventures. This year he’ll spend a week in Parkes and will have two trikes on deck for the first time, after demand last year saw Elvis fans and impersonators waiting up to two hours for a ride.
THE TIMELESS APPEAL
TIME hasn’t dulled Elvis Presley’s power for 73-year-old Bathurst resident Gerard Barnes. The devout Presley fan has been listening to The King’s work since 1957.
“I’ve got everything he put out,” Barnes says. “I’ve never seen him live, but I followed him as much as I could. He was a freak and he could sing everything – blues, rock, anything.”
Barnes visited Graceland, Presley’s iconic home, in 1995, calling it a “pleasure” to see the place where his icon lived and recorded the bulk of his music.
Barnes also had a Staffordshire bull terrier called Memphis, who used to howl along while Barnes sung Presley songs.
Barnes has the voice for Presley songs and plays the guitar, on top of having recorded two covers – Wooden Heart and Judy – released in 1991. He performed at weddings and functions, until health complications led to his retirement.
THE ROMANCE
ELVIS is alive and well, and he’s wedding couples across Tasmania. Launceston man Adam Page began performing as the King after receiving many comments that his singing voice echoed Elvis.
In 2016, Page and wife Louise Wilson started Elvis Weddings Tasmania, bringing the Las Vegas-style nuptials to the Apple Isle.
“I’ve always loved Elvis, and I respect him a lot,” Page says. “My parents loved Elvis, I grew up on his music. It’s music that’s timeless.”
As well as sealing the deal on marriages, Page performs in his blue suede shoes regularly at nursing and retirement homes around Launceston.
It is often said that music can perform miracles, and Page is a witness to that.
“Some of the residents with dementia really believe I am Elvis, and the women come up and hug me and touch my face,” he says. “Staff have said ‘We haven’t heard them talk for four or five months’ but here they are singing all the words to Love Me Tender. It’s incredible.”
Page says his favourite Elvis tunes to perform are An American Trilogy and If I Can Dream.
“They are wonderful powerful positive songs that are just so well written,” he says. “Whenever I sing these two I get a standing ovation. They just mean a lot to me on a personal level.”
THE VEGAS SHOW
VINCE Gelonese remembers the night he realised he might be able to make some money singing Elvis songs.
“I started out playing in bands when I was a young bloke,” says the 51-year-old from Canberra. “We played a variety of songs, the Beach Boys and Elton John.
“One night we were at this venue and this Elvis impersonator turned up, played a 20 minute set, and walked away with more money than our band did for the whole night. I thought then, there’s got to be something in this.”
So he went and bought a suit and started his own Elvis show.
Thirty years later it’s about more than the money for this classically trained singer who had one of his original songs, Every Dream, reach number one on the US Billboard charts.
Another highlight of his career was performing a couple of numbers at Graceland during the annual Elvis Week a few years back.
“To visit the trophy room, where all the gold records are, really brings home what he achieved.”
Gelenose has also performed as Elvis in Las Vegas, and soon returns to Parkes.
“Part of the fun for me is there are lot of people who shouldn't be putting a suit on and trying to impersonate Elvis," he says.
“Elvis was a great singer, a great musician, a great performer, a great dancer, everything he did he was good at. If you're going to take the time to impersonate someone, at least have one of those traits, if not two or three. But unfortunately there are people who just put on a suit and sideburns and think they're impersonators.
“I guess if you like that kind of thing, that's fine,” he laughs.
Our Elvis correspondents
Reports by Joshua Leeson, Zona Black, Haley Craig, Bradley Jurd, Karen Hardy, Emily Bennett, Jennifer Hoar and Nicole Barlow.