Chattanooga Times Free Press music reporter Casey Phillips spoke with Elvis tribute artist Gene Hodge about why he loves Elvis, meeting people’s expectations and what he’d sing with Elvis.
CP: The first thing anyone sees when they come to your Web site is a statement in big, bold letters that you are “a tribute artist, not an impersonator.” Why is that an important distinction to make?
GH: I like for everyone to be sure when they’re coming to my show. I think most people expect this guy with dark hair and long sideburns and glasses and a jumpsuit. When they come, I want them to know before they come that that’s not what they’re coming for. I want them to be 100 percent satisfied with what they see when I walk out and am far from that. It’s really important that they’re satisfied and I’m satisfied.
CP: Do most people seem to accept that you’re a blond-haired, blue-eyed guy singing Elvis songs and not a look-alike?
GH: Yes, they do. I have a lot of fans and a lot of friends, and we communicate all the time through my shows and so forth. I always try to put that out, even when I talk to someone on the street, to make sure that’s not what they’re looking for. The people that come are really satisfied. Most Elvis fans are really dedicated and loyal fans. They’re just one huge family, spiritually, and they want to reach and touch anything that’s part of Elvis, whether that’s coming to a show or buying souvenirs. People just want to touch things that are associated with Elvis. It just catapults into a huge family and a rapport. It’s a loving situation.
CP: Do you find that your singing is under greater scrutiny because Elvis fans are pretty zealous?
GH: I’ve seen a lot of Elvis impersonators and talked to a lot of Elvis people, and they’re very liberal. They’re not going for the look-alike or the exact voice or the exact moves. The essence of it is that they’re for the spiritual thing that Elvis left behind.
CP: How do you satisfy that spiritual need?
GH: You know, I’m no actor and would never want to act as Elvis, but being so much into Elvis and loving Elvis so much and reading so much about him and studying him and listening to his music and talking to fans who have seen him, it’s a big association. It’s sort of like living the life.
On a personal level, I think I do a good Elvis song. I’ve had a lot of feedback as far as my voice that they really enjoy my voice. When I’m doing a performance, I always bring the audience in. With the audiences, they’re always ready to participate. When I do, it just makes us feel at the show like I’m the one bringing it out, but we’re all there having one good time. That’s the enjoyable part about it.
CP: How do you get the audience involved?
GH: Occasionally, on a certain song, I will remember a movie that Elvis did. He always had a lady that he sang songs to in every movie. In songs, like in “GI Blues,” he was singing to Juliet Prowse while going up the ski lift. I think he was singing “Pocketful of Rainbows.” So sometimes, I’ll bring a lady up and introduce her to the audience, and we’ll have a conversation. Then, I’ll say something like, “Since you’re such a great Elvis fan, I’m sure you probably would have liked to be in one of his movies.” Then, I’ll ask if I can sing this song to her like Elvis did. It’s things like that.
CP: Do you remember the first time you heard Elvis?
GH: Oh gosh. It was several years ago. I was just a small boy. I was in elementary school.
CP: What was it about the music that stuck with you?
GH: It was the difference. What resonated with me was the distinct voice that was different than anything I’d ever heard and his style. Then, when I saw his picture, it all sort of pulled together that, “Ah man, this guy is the epitome of coolness.”
CP: When did you start singing his music?
GH: I’ve been doing this probably about 15 years. Of course, I always loved Elvis, but I was singing some country songs, and then I would put some Elvis on the end of it because I loved Elvis myself.
The ladies always said, “Well, do more Elvis, do more Elvis.” So I did. That’s where my heart was anyway, and it seems my voice is more in the range of Elvis than it is many of the country singers. I’m more like the Ricky Nelson, that vocal range. It was easy to do that.
We were having so much fun with it, and it seems like whenever it comes Elvis shows or Elvis himself, it’s predominantly the ladies. Most of the shows I do are for the ladies. They might bring a husband or boyfriend, but when I’m out singing in the audience, I can see they’re not into it like the ladies are.
CP: Do you find people tend to have a pretty strong preconception of what an Elvis tribute should be or include?
GH: No, I don’t. If you want to use the expression, the “die hard” Elvis fans, they would go anywhere or most anywhere if someone is going to do an Elvis tribute, even if it was a country band doing an Elvis show. They would come in and support Elvis because they enjoy it and they love Elvis. Like I said before, anything that’s associated with Elvis, if you really love Elvis, and all of us fans do, it doesn’t matter.
CP: What is it about his music that has kept his fan base so strong even after he passed away so many years ago?
GH: I really believe it’s more than one thing.
First of all, Elvis was a very spiritual person. He grew up very poor, and he really knew what it was not to have anything. I don’t think he ever really got that out of his psyche. As he grew older, he was still like that, and he wanted to help, and he wanted to give, and he wanted to please. That was his nature. When he was singing and being interviewed and even in his movies, all that love he had and the caring that he had within him just came out. I don’t think you can really hide what you truly are, and that’s what he truly was.
When I put that together along with the fact that we have to admit that he was one of the best looking guys that ever lived. If you don’t believe me, ask any lady. To me, he also had one of the best singing voices that ever was and ever would be. He had a three-octave range. He could sing anything. I heard J.D. Sumner, who was his bass singer, say that he’d be singing bass and look back and Elvis would be singing bass with him. The tenor guys would say he could sing the high parts. He could sing any of it.
It’s all of that based together. It’s not just based on what a great looking guy he was or how great a singer he was, it’s based on the great guy he was. In the end, I read several times that he wanted to please his audience not matter how he felt. That was his primary goal. Many times, he’d go on stage even when he didn’t feel like. He wanted to please them because they expected it out of him. With that psychological make up, it carried over into his songs and his movies.
CP: You’ve had some pretty marquee moments as a tribute artist, including singing alongside one of his backup singers and performing at Graceland. What’s missing now? What would you consider a dream chance for you now?
GH: Wow. You just hit me in the dark. I haven’t really thought about it. Maybe to sing along with The Jordanaires.
CP: Does your repertoire cover the entire sweep of Elvis’s career or do you focus on a particular era of his music?
GH: I like to cover all of them. Elvis fans love him whatever he did, no matter what age he was. Some will lean towards the early years. Some will lean more toward the comeback years in the ’60s with the black leather. Some will lean toward the ’70s with the jumpsuit. It’s good to put it all in there. They really want it all.
CP: What are some of your favorite Elvis songs?
GH: He did a song in the movie “King Creole” called “Don’t Ask Me Why.” That just resonates with me. It’s such a beautiful song, and he did it so well. That’s probably my favorite, if I could say that I had one.
CP: Any others?
GH: That’s the only one that stands out above all the others.
CP: If by some magic means you and Elvis could sing a song together, what would you like to sing with him?
GH: Wow. Can I take a second on that?
CP: Sure.
GH: I think maybe the song I just mentioned, “Don’t Ask Me Why,” because it’s so beautiful.