ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — While there may never be another King of Rock ‘n’ Roll, Tyler Christopher might just be the king of Elvis tribute acts.
The Elvis Tribute Artist has been performing the music of Elvis Presley for nearly 20 years, winning awards and placing in Elvis competitions all over the country, including Memphis, Tennessee and Elvis’s hometown, Tupelo, Mississippi.
Christopher will soon bring his signature showmanship to the Asheville stage with “The Return of the King: An Unrivaled Tribute to Elvis.” The show will be held at 7 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 30, at the Wortham Center for the Performing Arts.
A journey through time
Christopher and his band, The Roustabout Showband, will present three different versions of Elvis during the show.
“Our goal was to present Elvis in his prime and to walk people through his whole career,” Christopher explained. “The show starts with him in in the 50s when he first started and he was kind of the rock ‘n’ roll sensation. The 50s rebel, so to speak.”
“The Return of the King” then transitions into the 1960s, featuring songs from Elvis’s film career and comeback concerts. After intermission, the show jumps to the jumpsuits of the 1970s and features tunes from the Las Vegas era of Elvis.
“It’s cool because you kind of go through a journey seeing him evolve through the three decades of his career,” Christopher said. “How he changed both his look and his performing style, and the music and all that stuff.”
Elvis in his prime
Christopher emphasized that his performance of Elvis and his music is a tribute, not a takedown.
“It’s important for us to present Elvis in shape, and in his youth and high energy,” Christopher said. “Unfortunately, too many times over the years, there’s been people that have kind of made Elvis into a caricature, and they present him in a not-so-flattering way and it gives people the wrong oppression of who this guy was. Our goal’s always to present him in his prime.”
Christopher goes to great lengths to achieve maximum fidelity to the real Elvis, from costumes to dance moves.
“We put a lot of work to the authenticity of the show. Really, if you’re doing the 50s Elvis, man, we make sure the outfits are correct. We make sure the look is correct for that era. Then, when we move on to the 60s or 70s, whatever, the hair changes, the sideburn changes, the outfits change, the way his stage presence was, his dance moves,” Christopher said. “We’re just really big on making sure everything is very highly authentic.”
However, for an Elvis Tribute Artist, nothing is as important as the voice.
“The voice is obviously important. When you’re singing Elvis, people want to hear his tone,” Christopher said. “They don’t want to hear you singing Elvis in your style. They want to hear Elvis. You know, that’s what they’re there for.”
A different show every time
Even after decades spent listening to Elvis’s music, it has never gotten old for Christopher.
“Some of it comes back to, you know, if you love what you do, it’s not work,” Christopher said. “I don’t know what it is, I think it’s something special about Elvis and his music. I never get tired of his music. I never get tired of performing his music. It’s exciting to me every time.”
As a lifelong fan of the King, Christopher has an encyclopedic knowledge of the Elvis catalogue, comprised of over 700 recorded songs across the rock, pop, blues and country genres. With such a wide variety of music to choose from, the tribute artist said he never performs the same show twice.
“We’re constantly switching up the material for the shows, the songs. I have just a ridiculous ton of his replica stage wear, so you’re bound to see different outfits every time you see the show, as well,” Christopher laughed. “We do try to keep it fresh in that way. And, you know, Elvis was cool in that fact as well. If you watch footage of his concerts, you could see him sing ‘Hound Dog’ 20 different times, but you’ll never see him do it exactly the same twice.”