Tag Archives: ETA

I Feel This Would be Perfect for Your Readers

Well, maybe… maybe not.

After 8-1/2 years of existence, ElvisBlog has really good SEO (search engine optimization).  So lots of folks with a product or program or website or whatever concerning Elvis will Google search and find the site.  Then, they send an e-mail hoping I will share their great (fill in the blank) with the blog’s readers.  Usually, I can’t help because ElvisBlog is about providing interesting articles, not free advertising.

Circle G Foundation Logo

The only exception is when I can build an interesting blog article around the project.  The best example of this is the Circle G Foundation which is trying to save Elvis’ old horse ranch in Mississippi.  There was such a full history and so many photos available, I got three blog articles out of it – here, here, and here.  Hopefully, they did some good.

Better guess at location

Circle G Ranch Aerial View

 

For some reason, the past week has seen a rush of these requests.  While none work for a stand-alone blog article, here’s a little information from five of them.

 

DoYouRemember.com:

Graceland

I’ve been getting e-mails from these folks for some time.  I don’t know how I got on their list, but if their latest topic interests me, I click on the link and read it on their website.  A recent post is titled June 1982: Graceland Opens to the Public.  It’s a nice little interview with Graceland’s director of public relations, Kevin Kern.  Click here to read it.

While you are there, you might want to type Elvis in the search box.  There are sixteen other features that are about completely about Elvis or at least mention him.

Elvis is Dead

Do You Remember asked me to share the Graceland article on ElvisBlog, and suggested I share an ElvisBlog article on their site.  I might just do that.  Every little bit helps that SEO.

 

Mercum Auctions:

Mercum Auctions Celebrity Auctions

I keep up with six or seven auctions that have a history of offering Elvis items, but I have never heard of Mercum.  However, they do have a dozen photos of Elvis during his Army days provided by old buddy Rex Mansfield.  Also included is a set of eleven Army slides, copies of Elvis’ induction and discharge papers, and a few other items. To view them all, click here.    Scroll down to the Elvis items.

 

Long live the King:

Long Live the King

This request came in from freelance photographer Mike Dvorak, who is doing a project on Elvis Tribute Artists and the fans who love them.  He is trying to raise $28,000 to finance his project titled Long Live the King.  Click here to see a short video about his concept and several still photos of ETAs he has already photographed.  Note to Troy Yeary at the Mystery Train Elvis Blog.  You won’t like any of these guys, except maybe the fellow above.  I know you will love that fur coat over the jumpsuit.

 

Paul Fraser Collectibles:

Paul Fraser Collectibles

This English company recently produced a short guide on collecting Elvis memorabilia.  If you prefer to consider big-ticket Elvis collectibles at a fixed price, rather than auction bidding, this guide may be just what you need.  Be warned, there does seem to be fair amount of hype.

 

Widescreen.org:

Widescreen.org

This came in as a Comment on ElvisBlog’s recent series of Random Thoughts on Encore’s month of Elvis movies in May.  I guess I’ll approve it for posting, but the writer (signed only as Leb) kind of dissed me. He said, “My main comment concerning your review is the lack of information concerning HOW Encore broadcasted these films. Encore uses what is known as Pan n Scan. In other words, they redirect the film which you are watching. Doesn’t this matter to you?”

Actually, no it doesn’t.  I’ll let others worry about defending the visions and intentions of film makers.  I just want to watch Elvis movies.

Next, Leb said, “Most of Elvis’ quality Hollywood output (and cultural influence and popular music for that matter) ended with Liverpool in 1964.”  Well, he’s right about the quality of Elvis’ movies after 1964, but no way Elvis’ cultural influence ended then.  And Elvis had thirty-nine Top 40 hits (including two #1s) after 1964.

The last thing Leb said didn’t sit well with me at all.  “I am including a URL for your consideration. I hope you enjoy it and it wakes you up.”

Sorry, I’m afraid you wasted your time on me.

 

 

©  2013    Philip R Arnold, Original Elvis Blogmeister    All Rights Reserved    www.ElvisBlog.net

 

Thumbnail Icon

Elvis, Elvis Presley, and Graceland are registered trademarks of Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc.

 

The Evolution of Elvis Tribute — Part 4

If you’ve been an Elvis fan for a long time like me, you’ve noticed EPE’s change in attitude toward Elvis Tribute Artists.  For the first two decades after his death, Graceland distanced itself from the hordes of men who performed as Elvis impersonators.  Actually, they went farther than that.  Ever protective of his ‘image,’ EPE filed a lawsuit against the Legends In Concert in 1983 to prevent the show’s “Elvis” from looking like, dressing like, or moving like the real Elvis.

Legends in Concert

We can assume it became impossible to sue all the hundreds (thousands?) of tribute artists, causing Graceland to accept a begrudging coexistence with them.  Early in the 2000s, Todd Morgan, EPE’s director of media and creative development said, “We represent the real thing.  The impersonator thing for the public and the press… has often been a negative.  When you think impersonator, you think of parody.  We could never find a comfort level in embracing it.”

Then in 2006, Morgan said something much different.  “Over the past year we have had a lot of discussion about the Elvis tribute artist phenomenon and what to do about it.”  (Cynics would say “what to do about it” is code for “how to make money off it”)  “We realized it was never going to go away.  It has gotten bigger, the entertainment has gotten better. So, we thought maybe if we get involved in some way, maybe we can bring attention to the most talented tribute artists.”

And their answer was… The Ultimate Elvis Artist Tribute Contest.

Logo 2

If you’ve been to any of the past six Elvis Weeks, you know this is now a huge, big-ticket event.  Every competitor has previously won top prize at an Elvis tribute contest around the US and several foreign countries.  These guys are great entertainers and professional showmen.  There is certainly none of the parody or damage to the Elvis ‘image’ that EPE once worried about.

ETA winners

ETA winners 2

I have been to several competitions, and I love the good Elvis Tribute Artists.  From Shawn Klush in 2007 to Ben Portsmouth in 2012, these guys are great.

EPE has a new tie-in with the Ultimate Elvis winners. Now, they are presenting shows around the country with past winners headlining.  The Elvis Lives tour seems to be a great success.

Elvis Lives 3

 

The ultimate purpose of this article was not to give unpaid endorsements for EPE’s Ultimate Elvis contest or its Elvis Lives tour.  I really wanted to show just how far the evolution of Elvis tribute has come.  To do that, we have to go back and see what some of those guys that gave it a bad name looked like.  For years, I have kept a file titled “Elvis Impersonator Losers.”  After showing a few here, I’m going to delete the whole file.  Better gone and forgotten.

 

Big Belly

Fat Elvises are a recurring theme.  With all the iron bars here, it looks like this guy is in jail.  I think Elvis Week could use one, so we can keep these guys from walking the streets of Memphis and getting shown in the media around the country.

 

T

Todd Morgan certainly had a point about parody.

 

Elvi with Moustaches

Okay, we’ve got a group of Elvi’s with moustaches hovering around a copy of the Heisman Trophy.  Nothing strange about that.

 

Big Belly 2

Oh, no.  Not another fat Elvis.

 

ShElvis

Is that really an old female Elvis?  Some of the young ones are pretty hot, but this one… probably not so much.

 

midget

I saw this guy (or one of his peers) at the Collingwood Elvis Festival a decade ago.  I don’t think he actually performed, just added to the ambiance of the event.

 

Fat Red Elvis

Sad, just sad.  Another candidate for the bad impersonator jail at Elvis Week.

 

Too Old

Maybe this guy isn’t really an Elvis Impersonator Loser.  It would actually be pretty cool if an old dude could put on a good Elvis show.

 

Loser Drinking Beer

Give me a break.  Where do you even get a wig like that?

 

Fat Boy Sitting Down

Do we really have to look at another fat Elvis?  Hey, we’re not finished yet.

 

Hot Dogs

Well, at least they’ve got nice jumpsuits and sunglasses.

Just to end on a high note, here’s Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist Contest winner Shawn Klush, showing what a good ETA looks like.

Shawn Klush

Shawn klush 2

I’ve seen Shawn twice.  If you never saw Elvis in concert, Shawn’s show is as close as you’ll ever get.

 

©  2013    Philip R Arnold, Original Elvis Blogmeister    All Rights Reserved    www.ElvisBlog.net

 Thumbnail Icon

 

Elvis, Elvis Presley, and Graceland are registered trademarks of Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc.