"Almost Elvis"…..The Unusual and Bewildering World of Elvis Impersonators! (Part 13)

The Elvis Impersonator Phenomenon: Marginal or Substantive? There are various elements of the world of the Elvii that suggest it is a substantive and enduring part of the Elvis world:

The Number of Impersonators: Estimates of the number of Elvis impersonators in America and worldwide vary dramatically from a few thousand to tens of thousands. One impersonator group has suggested that by 2005 there will be 25,000 Elvis impersonators in the USA alone.

The www.elvisentertainers.com site includes contacts for more than 100 Elvii in the USA and Canada. Regardless of their actual number, the fact is that not only have Elvis impersonators lasted for over 25 years, they have flourished and their numbers grown significantly in most western and importantly, Asian, countries.

Australia for instance has around a dozen impersonators whose name regularly appear in club and concert hall gig guides. In Asia fan club meetings are literally full of budding jumpsuited musical Kings!

The Impersonator Associations: The demand for Elvis impersonators in the USA is high enough that a number of organisations have formed to promote, raise the standard of performance and offer the services of impersonators. These include:

• The Elvis Presley Impersonators International Association


• Impersonators Central (Las Vegas)


• Professional Elvis Impersonators Association - PEIA (aka www.elvisentertainers.com)


• National Association of Amateur Elvis Impersonators

These organisations take themselves very seriously and are generally well organised (although the National Association of Amateur Elvis Impersonators appears to have been discontinued).

A number, such as the PEIA, have a detailed creed and code of ethics. The PEIA Creed includes:

"I have an obligation to all associations, groups, and businesses who purchase my entertainment services, and to provide those services in a professional and ethical manner."

This series of articles are reprinted with the kind permission of www.elvisinfonet.com

Andy Stankovich

Elvis The Voice

www.ElvisTheVoice.com

One of the world's great Elvis Presley tribute artists