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--- THE ORIGINAL ELVIS TRIBUTE
2010
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| We are very proud to
present a tremendous new Elvis Presley show, a classy and dynamic
tribute that incorporates The King’s greatest performances like
“Suspicious Minds”, “All Shook Up”, “Return To Sender” and many,
many others. Leadsinger Robert Washington’s electrifying vocals
capture the raw power and intensity of ‘the real thing’, while the
inclusion of Elvis associates Duke Bardwell on bass and Michael
Jarrett on keyboards add a great deal of authenticity to this
remarkable show. For both men, this marks the first time that they
participate in an Elvis tribute tour, and they both represent
largely unexplored parts of the Elvis story that add fascinating new
insights into that story. “The Original Elvis Tribute 2010” breaks
away from all the usual clichés surrounding Elvis tributes; instead,
it’s centered around several unique individuals with very different
backgrounds, brought together by their admiration for Elvis Aaron
Presley. More than 30 years after his death, Elvis’ legacy is more
alive than ever, and this vibrant new show tells you why. It’s a
one-of-a-kind celebration of The King that features some of his
finest music, performed by those who were there when Elvis shook the
world. It’s quite a scoop that bassplayer Duke Bardwell will be a part of this tour. Duke worked both on stage and in the studio with The King in the mid-70s, and in all he played bass on 181 concerts. Yet he’s always avoided media exposure about his association with Elvis, and this tour marks the first time that Duke does an Elvis-connected tour since that original association ended back in April ‘75. Duke experienced some great highs with Presley, including Elvis’ first concerts in Memphis in 13 years (Duke gets an unusual name-check from Presley on the live album), the two amazing Houston Astrodome shows in front of 88,000 people, the dynamite shows at the L.A. Forum with celebrities like Led Zeppelin in the crowd… but there were also the lows. During the period that Duke worked with Elvis, the latter’s problems with prescription medication were really beginning to take hold. Duke was there that infamous night in Las Vegas, when Presley told a stunned audience that he was sick of the rumours flying around about him, and that if he would find those responsible, that he would pull their tongues out “by the roots”. Duke acknowledges that it was generally a difficult period, but nevertheless he still talks about Elvis with a great deal of affection, and he’s genuinely proud of the highlights from that period, which include playing bass one of Presley’s finest 70s rockers, “T.R.O.U.B.L.E.”, as well as being asked by Elvis to sing and perform a solo piece during one of the Lake Tahoe concerts, an unusual honour that The King only bestowed upon 3 or 4 others during his entire career! Also joining us is songwriter Michael Jarrett on keyboards. Michael Jarrett learned his chops while on the road with Jerry Lee Lewis, who ended up praising him for his playing. Michael wrote “I’ll Be Home On Christmas Day” for Elvis, who recorded it for his hugely popular “Elvis sings the wonderful world of Christmas” album, which is one of the all-time bestsellers in the Presley catalogue. The original demo for that song had a verse in it which included the names of Michael’s children, but Elvis skipped that verse for the released version. Imagine Michael’s surprise when an outtake was released a few years ago where Elvis did sing that verse! Michael also wrote “I’m Leavin’” for The King, and it was released as a single A-side in late ’71. The song had a great deal of significance for Presley, who often referred to it as “one of my favorite songs”, and he always seemed to enjoy performing on stage during his final years. Michael says that Presley’s versions of his songs are quite close to the original demos as recorded by him – even down to the phrasing. It will therefore be interesting to see Michael perform these songs on stage just as Elvis originally heard them. Michael Jarrett continues to write songs, and still performs regularly in his homestate California together with great musicians like Albert Lee, but this tour marks the first time that he does something Elvis-related. It’s interesting to note that Elvis’ original version of the Michael Jarrett song “I’ll Be Home On Christmas Day” was recently cited as the 2nd most important Christmas song ever by Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet (23/12-’08 edition). We are thrilled about the fact that Robert Washington will be joining us on the May 2010 tour as the lead vocalist. Robert is one of the best Elvis sound-a-likes worldwide; His voice is so close to ‘the real thing’ that he has stunned even the people from Elvis’ inner circle, including emcee Al Dvorin, rhythm-guitarist John Wilkinson, and bodyguard Sam Thompson – who have all been very generous in their praise of Robert. He has also worked with several of Elvis’ musicians like D.J. Fontana and The Jordanaires on various occasions. For Robert, it all began on that fateful day, August 16th, 1977. He was celebrating his 19th birthday, when he heard the tragic news of Elvis’ passing… Ever since that day he has felt a special connection with The King of Rock & Roll. Today, Robert Washington is a thrilling live-performer who has wowed audiences all over the U.S., England and Japan. He has appeared in the movies “The Faithful” and “Let’s Play House”, and he’s also featured in the award-winning documentary “Almost Elvis”. Robert won the World Champion title at the prestigious ‘Images of Elvis’ contest in Memphis in 2003. He’s greatly looking forward to this tour, which will mark the first time that he tours Europe. With his strong stage presence and his fantastic voice, he will be a great asset for the show. This amazing band will also feature some of the finest musicians around, including Nashville session-player Gantt Kees on drums, gorgeous singer / model Sue Moreno on vocals, and the sensational Chris Casello on guitar. We are very proud to have Chris on this tour, as he’s a true guitar virtuoso who has worked with artists like Bo Diddley, Raul Malo (The Mavericks), Vince Gill, Kid Rock and Br-549. He’s also a tremendous solo-performer whose latest album “The Chris Casello Trio” is a fabulous display of American roots music. Like everybody in this very special production, Chris has always been a huge Elvis fan and he’s really looking forward to playing all the Scotty Moore / James Burton licks on this tour. This remarkable show is not to be missed! |
