Carol
Hunter

Elvis Tribute Artists Radio

Elvis Tribute Artists Radio

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What we provided, to be honest, was the first opportunity for all the guys to get together and network much like they do today with the use of the internet.  We also provided them with the opportunity to sing with a band on a stage with over 1,000 people in attendance at the shows, which was something they never had the opportunity to do before.  Heck, most of them had never even sung with a band.  We even had professional photographers there like Patty Carroll and Kent Barker providing them with the opportunity to have professional pictures taken (which have become calendars, decks of cards, books, etc.,  providing a lot of exposure), and seminars showing them how to do press kits and get jobs.  We would provide them with videos of their shows to use to promote themselves.  It was the launching pad for the whole ETA phenomenon – truly!   

As an example, we had more press and media at our 1989 convention than had been at the 1988 South Korea Summer Olympics.  We had a newsletter that went out to thousands of people every month with all the information as to what was going on in the world of Elvis impersonators much like LLM does today.  Our EPIIA Showcase was great.  We auditioned everyone throughout the year via video (which explains why I have so many videos)  to be in the Showcase, and we took the best 40!  We invited guests like Charlie Hodge,  DJ Fontana, Eddie Fadel, and many others. The fan clubs followed later with their conventions, copying us.   The Showcase is actually where Butch Polston and Gene Doucette (who along with Bill Belew designed Elvis' costumes) met and went into business together which allowed  Butch to make exact authentic replicas of the jumpsuits instead of copies.  We had the very best vendors in the business.  All these things cleared the way for the business of being Elvis to proceed.  It would have happened without the EPIIA I'm sure, but the fact is ‘IT DIDN'T.’  So this is why a lot of the old timers respect me for what I and others accomplished,  and why I wrote the book (Be Elvis) as an extension of the work we accomplished with EPIIA.

We also were able to contribute large donations to needy organizations, which I feel is so very important to mention.  Our Motto was:  Continuing The Legacy of The King!  And how can you do that without helping others out which Elvis spent his entire professional life doing.

We  helped the diehard Elvis fan along with Doc Franklin  and the Memphis Contest get past the stigma of going to see an Elvis Impersonator.  Also, I feel EPIIA was responsible for many of the big promotions of the early 1990's.  For example the l991 JC Penney ‘Elvis Cologne.’  Their  slogan was: ‘There have been 39 Presidents, but only one KING!’  I was the national spokesman for J C Penney and, in fact,  did their commercial that ran on the JC Penney National Cable Shopping network.  Another promotion was for the Elvis US Postage Stamp in l991-92, and I represented the concert Elvis Image doing a national campaign for the stamp promotion.  The Postal Service used many other ETA’s  through the EPIIA, and I was personally involved in the selection for these and many other promotions. Today, very few of the guys understand what went into or was really involved in providing them with the opportunities they have today.”


ELVIS AND IMPERSONATORS

“Without going into detail, as we know, EPE was not happy with Elvis impersonators.  However there had been Elvis impersonators since the late 60's.  Elvis knew about and was photographed with some of them.  We also have a taped interview with Elvis replying,  when asked what he thought of Elvis impersonators or if he had a problem with them, ‘Hey look, I don't really get it, but I don't have an issue with it whatsoever.’  He was then asked if he had any favorites (kind of in a joking way) and his reply was: ‘I really get a kick out of Andy Kaufman.’  Andy (a big Elvis fan)  was doing this on national TV before Elvis died.”


EPE and IMPERSONATORS

“I believe the folks at Graceland have finally realized that we are good for the business of Elvis, which is why they are now so much more relaxed about it.  To be honest, they made a mistake.  They right away should have got organized and had the guys get licensed by Graceland... booking us nationally...having auditions, etc.  It would have made the business much better and Graceland would have gotten huge profits from it and gained control.  Much like satellite radio and TV have hoodwinked the masses into paying for something that was originally free. To put it bluntly, EPE missed the boat concerning the Elvis impersonator business and now there is nothing they can do about it.  That window was opened for a very brief time, right when Elvis passed.  It's gone forever, unless these guys stop trying to have a career as Elvis by selling products on the internet.  Now this is dangerous territory... it's one thing to sell tapes and videos of their show, but to go into a studio and try to pass themselves off as Elvis..this is a delicate matter.  RCA could interpret this as an infringement of their ability to make an income from their original product.  Some guys are, in my opinion, getting greedy and a little out of control as to respecting copyright, etc. “


THE BUSINESS IN GENERAL & ETAs

“I have been in this business professionally for almost 35 years, not just Elvis but all of it on and off the stage.  I have seen how it has changed as have times.  It was much better and more organized before.  Today, entertainers are like the Monkees were in the 1960's ([a knockoff of The Beatles or Beach boys).. a synthetic band. They were all struggling actors who were auditioned and put together for a television program, using professional songwriters, producers and musicians.  Does this sound familiar?   How about American Idol or New Kids on The Block, or all these boy groups?   A fabricated form of entertainment to sell to an uneducated audience willing to spend money on it.  Hey ‘Free Enterprise’ remember the ‘Pet Rock’ ...it’s comical.  The really sad thing is that society is getting lazy.  It is easier to copy something that someone else has already done or to milk something that sells no matter what kind of quality it is, than to take the time and energy to come up with something of quality "requiring talent.  You know......today’s society of people needing instant gratification.  In doing so we have a lack of talent out there.  It shows in today's music, I mean please... our TV programs... and it's beginning to show in our feature film industry with sequels, sequels, sequels.

In a nutshell, in my opinion, very few of the guys today are  doing Elvis.....they are impersonating each other.... they are so confused.  Very few of them went to Elvis’ shows and the ones who did were probably 10 or younger and what do they know.  I mean you can read about World War 2 or Vietnam or see a movie about it.  But believe me it is nothing if you didn’t actually go there, to use this an example.  No offense!”


CONTESTS

“I think it was the first year of Doc Franklin’s contest (which, at the time, I believe was the original and only contest) that my friend, Glenn Bowles won.....then there were Michael Hoover, Clayton Smith,  Kevin Mills, Doug Church and Mori Yasumasa from Japan.  These were the first six to win when the contest was still really something at the Vapors in Memphis.  What happened is that Doc made so much money off these contests that it kept his club in the black all year from the profits they brought in, then by the end of the year he would be in the red again and the contest would bail him out... so after a while, he thought to sell Vapors and to just do the contest at independent sites, which, in my opinion,  was the downfall of the whole event.  It lost its magic, like American Idol without Paula, Simon and Randy, the MC and a different theme song.  It just would not be the same, plus most of the guys have become so much alike doing basically the same thing,  copying each other instead of doing Elvis, whereas in the beginning everyone was creative, fresh, original, exciting.  Even if they were bad, it was fun. Today it has turned into something else, totally different.  No Magic!   Which to me is what made Elvis so special... he was all these things and more...  never a copycat!

I feel some contests are a joke.  I mean if you want to get Joe Esposito, Dotty Rambo, James Burton, Ed Enoch, Jerry Schilling, and Sonny West to judge these things ok, otherwise they are ridiculous in my opinion.  They are a way for people to make money off hopeful  ETA's at their expense... which is why we went to the format we did with the EPIIA Showcases.  That was my idea to do a Showcase much like we did in Nashville when we were a new talent and all of the Who's Who in the music business would be there to check out the goods.  With the EPIIA, it worked and everybody had fun. That was until everyone got delusions of grandeur thinking they were stars, complaining as to who was in the Showcase  and feeling they should be paid to attend these events.  Yet they would spend a fortune to go to the contests.  So that, to be honest, is what was the undoing of the EPIIA...too much of what you see today.... people not realizing a good thing, like LLM for example,  until it’s gone.  Everyone in Vegas really pushed me to continue with the Showcase conventions. Joe Guercio himself even called me asking if we could reconsider and do the Showcase with him.  We (our Showcase)  were on the front page of the Las Vegas Sun every year.  It was really something.  But as George Harrison so poetically put it, ‘All things must pass’ so with that being said I will close.”


Many thanks  to Rick Marino for his insights!  Both Rick and I would welcome any feedback, which can be sent to carol@ladyluckmusic.com


Check Rick’s ETA Spotlight, his article on Elvis in Jacksonville, and Carol’s review of Rick’s book, “Be Elvis”.

who, as always, is refreshingly candid and outspoken

After being in England recently and meeting organizers and members of the successful and growing A.P.E.P.T.A. (an association of ETAs), I touched base with Rick Marino, long-time ETA, who, at one time, was president  of the now disbanded USA based EPIIA.  Rick, who has been an ETA for over 30 years, and who has a wealth of information about the early years of ETAs in the USA, is known for being outspoken, opinionated, and blunt (in fact, Rick and I have had some extremely interesting discussions over the years!).   Rick has always been willing to share his experiences and knowledge with others, including the tips in his book “Be Elvis.”   He also has an amazing collection of  “ETA archives,” including more than 100,000 photos and 300 videos of ETA’s through the years, copies of newsletters, bios, etc.

I asked Rick about the role the EPIIA played in the early days of ETAs, his thoughts on today’s ETAs, and  on contests.  Rick also was kind enough (with not much notice) to dig up a few photos for me showing just a few of the many ETAs he’s met or worked with.  The following comments are  Rick’s answers to my questions and his perceptions.  Many thanks Rick!

EPIIA (ELVIS PRESLEY INTERNATIONAL IMPERSONATORS ASSOCIATION)

“The EPIIA was formed in early 1988 before widespread use of cell phones and  computers.  There were no sound tracks, B & K or professional costumes, and fan clubs were still thinking that Elvis was coming back with the Holy Grail or something. The Elvis impersonators had probably never seen anyone other than themselves and maybe a couple of others, and there were no contests.

In  Las Vegas 1992