On Aug. 16, 1977, millions of hearts were broken when Elvis Presley died, leaving his fans bereft of the man whose music was the soundtrack for their lives.
Following his death, an interesting phenomenon sprang up, that of the Elvis impersonator, or the Elvis Tribute Artist.
The first actually appeared in the 1950’s, but the job (because for many it is a full-time job) became more and more popular after his death.
Many men (and some women) have taken the plunge either for fun or for other reasons, and many come away with a new perspective, both on the performance industry and on the King himself.
The Clearfield area has produced an Elvis Tribute Artist who has garnered state-wide and national fame and recently he performed in a series of tribute concerts in honor of Presley’s 81st birthday.
Ryan Pelton didn’t start out as an Elvis fan. He says when he was growing up music was not a big part of his family’s life, but as early as age 12 years old people would tell him he “resembled a young Elvis.”
Pelton graduated from high school and built a business around building Web sites for people. One day, his mother faxed him an entry form for an Elvis contest. “I dare you to do this,” she wrote in the margin.
“As a joke, thinking I would one up her, I entered the contest,” Pelton said. “I knew nothing about Elvis and only had one week to prepare.” He even wrote hints on his hands to sing the song.
To his surprise, he won the contest against 20 veteran performers from the United States and Canada. A week later, he was performing in Philadelphia.
“It didn’t take me long to figure out that the puzzle piece shape of my life fit into the ‘Elvis Puzzle,’” he said, and so he sold his business and jumped into the Elvis world.
“It all came down to one simple thought that kept creeping up in my mind: I didn’t want to be 90 years old one day and look back and think, ‘What if…’”
In the end, Pelton says he didn’t choose this path for his life, it chose him. He says to be successful you can’t run around with qualifiers, such as a viable Plan B or C, you have to give anything you do 100 percent.
He says if he had to, he could make a career from something else if need be. “That is really all I can control in the equation. I don’t think about the outside influences and the things I can’t control.”
Pelton takes his work very seriously, noting that the impact of Elvis’ music touched millions, if not billions of people and can still be felt. He said this can be difficult to grasp, and it is important to him to “get it right.” People often say he is a goofy, happy-go-lucky person but he takes his performances as Elvis very seriously.
And the response has been amazing. He says it is hard to believe how many people show up and continue to show their support for Presley and his music.
“It is perhaps the most telling way to measure the impact that Elvis had on the world, as here we are today, nearly 40 years after he passed away. Think about that,” he said.
While there is a great deal of work and responsibility to make the experience as wonderful for everyone, Pelton says the best part is being able to perform, which he loves.
He says Elvis’ music lives on, an all that is missing is the physical body, which he provides on stage in performances. Along with trying to look and sound like Elvis, his favorite part is trying to emulate the charisma Elvis had, something that cannot be faked.
“Elvis had charisma in spades!” he said, “It’s fun trying to elevate to that level!”
That said, it can be difficult to be “on” so much of the time. The travel, especially, is wearing, and Pelton says he is home only a few months out of the year. He tells people he gets paid to travel and the performances, which he loves to do, are free.
What’s next? Pelton says he has inadvertently accomplished many goals over the years and has been very blessed. Currently, his sights are set on Elvis Presley Enterprises’ 2016 Ultimate Elvis Contest in Memphis. He says to win would be awesome but regardless he wants to show up and present the best he can.
Other than that, he says, “I will continue to seek open doors and go through them. It has worked so far.”