Donny Edwards has made a nice living for the past several years after becoming recognized as one of the world’s most popular Elvis impersonators. Not only does Edwards bare a striking resemblance to the original King of Rock and Roll, but he has perfected his voice and signature moves as well. Edwards will bring his tribute to Elvis to the Frank Venables Theatre in Oliver next Friday, Feb. 3. (Photo supplied)
“I started singing and it just started coming out of me.”
That’s how Donny Edwards, one of the world’s best Elvis impersonators, remembers the first time he got on stage to impersonate “The King.”
At the time, he was barely more than a young kid with an encyclopedic knowledge of, and striking resemblance to, Elvis Presley.
It was at an Elvis festival that a stranger put him on stage and asked him to belt one out. He didn’t really consider himself a performer and aside from wailing along to the radio, he didn’t really sing that much, but once Edwards started into “That’s All Right” his path was pretty much set.
Even when he was young, Edwards seemed to have Elvis running through him. His friends, teachers, even his principal constantly told him how much he looked like the superstar and Edwards was nothing short of a superfan.
And he did look a lot like him.
Once, on a whim, he went to a barbershop and got his hair cut short and wandered into an Elvis festival. Within minutes people were coming up to him asking him to sign things and pose for pictures.
It wasn’t too much later when he first got on stage, setting his impersonating career in motion.
Today, Edwards is one of the most highly regarded Elvis impersonators there is, with multiple awards and a Las Vegas stage show backing up the claim.
He’s been at it since the early 2000s, and over the years has refined his voice to the point where he can mimic Presley at various stages of his performing life.
It’s Elvis’ diversity that makes him so special, Edwards said, and it’s his own ability to capture him at different points in his career – the 50s and the start of rock n’ roll to the bombastic concerts of the 70s – that sets him apart from most other impersonators.
That, and his ridiculously deep knowledge about Presley, his life and his music. Edwards, who has toured with some of the same musicians who played with the real Elvis, is famous for knowing where they were on some nights they themselves don’t even remember.
Edwards said his career is a blessing. Not only does he get to embody his favourite musicians, he also gets to bring him to people across the globe.
“I can pay tribute to him, and at the same time … learn so much insight about Elvis through talking to people that knew him and talked to him and worked with him,’ Edwards said.
Mike Schell of Schell Shock Entertainment is responsible for bringing that show to Oliver.
He says Edwards is one of the most convincing Elvis tributes in the world, and that he “honours the memory of Elvis in “the most authentic way possible.”
He says the show is “bringing Vegas to Oliver,” with its top-quality Elvis tribute, as well as a special performance by Cassandra Friskie Frie as Marilyn Monroe.
The show is set for Wednesday, Feb. 3 at 7:30 p.m. at the Frank Venables Theatre.
Tickets, which have been selling quickly, are $40 and are available at the offices of the Osoyoos Times and Oliver Chronicle. Tickets will be sold at the door if the show isn’t sold out.
TREVOR NICHOLS
Regional Reporter
