In 1956, Elvis Presley was a skinny kid gyrating with raw, hyperbolic, rock and roll energy.
Almost two decades later, the King of Rock and Roll was a far cry from that revolutionary youthful image.
“I remember seeing Elvis in Las Vegas in the last years of his life,” said Villager Michelle Campbell. “He didn’t look good; he was overweight, sweating – but his voice was still great.”
Elvis died in 1977, but his voice lives on in the “One Night In Memphis” tribute show that came Thursday to a sold-out Savannah Center. It featured the 1956 versions of Elvis (Alex Swindle), Jerry Lee Lewis (Blair Carman), Johnny Cash (Neil Morrow) and Carl Perkins (John Mueller).
The production offered an early Sun Studio summit meeting in Memphis of the future Rock and Roll Hall of Famers. Swindle as Elvis is the one who shook things up, although Carman as Lewis also rattled and rolled with abandon.
Swindle presents a kind of scrawny, early Elvis. His suit seemed too big and the guitar seemed too heavy, but the kid swivels with the best of them. Swindle bumped and grinded his way through “Heartbreak Hotel” and elicited screams from the women in the audience.
But it was Swindle’s voice that sold him as Elvis. He turned up the vocal juice on “Baby, Let’s Play House” and “All Shook Up.” He was soft and tender on “Love Me.” He gave an authentic Elvis take to “That’s Alright Mama” and “Don’t Be Cruel.”
Carman was burning up with rockabilly fever during his set as Jerry Lee Lewis. He opened with “Real Wild Child” and followed that with another blast of ’50s’ rock, “High School Confidential.”
Carman has a lot of “The Killer” (Jerry Lee Lewis) in his stage antics. He often kicked out his piano bench to side of the stage during songs. He sometimes played the keys by banging them with his white shoes and he was doing musical acrobatics during “Great Balls of Fire.”
Carman also slowed things down with a soothing, instrumental version of Floyd Cramer’s “Last Date.”
“Thank-you, and God bless you, I’m Jerry Lee Swaggart,” Carman joked, talking about Lewis’ cousin, evangelist Jimmy Lee Swaggart.
There was country music when Carman covered Ray Price’s “Crazy Arms” and some hard-driving gospel on “When the Saints Go Marching In.”
Carman even took a break during his set to give a kiss to a fan near the front of the stage.
“She asked me for my bubble-gum,” he said, after combing his hair and returning to the banged-up piano bench.
Neil Morrow as Johnny Cash delivered the deep vocals with style. He opened with a rousing “Folsom Prison Blues” and followed that with a thumping “Big River.” He got into a rocking mood on “Get Rhythm” and then, in one of the night’s highlights, sang an obscure Cash song, “Rock and Roll Ruby.”
“Jerry Lee Lewis recorded that song,” Morrow said. Then he talked about a strange sight in The Villages. “I’ve never in my life seen so many golf carts with so many Shih Tzu dogs sitting in the front seats.”
Morrow then finished the set with a couple of Cash classics: “I Walk the Line” and “Ring of Fire.”
John Mueller as Carl Perkins was the glue that held this show together. His lead guitar work was stellar and his vocals shined on Perkins’ classics “Matchbox” and “Honey Don’t.” Then Mueller hit his stride on Perkins’ biggest hit, “Blue Suede Shoes,” as the packed house joined in.
“This music is so good people will always remember it and want to hear it,” said Duncan Campbell. “Elvis opened things up for everybody who followed.”
Morrow agreed.
“We’re here tonight – 60 years later – to celebrate the music of Elvis, Jerry Lee, Johnny and Carl,” Morrow said in his Johnny Cash voice. “And 60 years from now, we’ll still be celebrating their music.”
