EEN - Ralph Elizondo

	When he was a young boy, Ralph Elviszondo wanted to be like Elvis®. He listened to his music constantly, watched his movies endlessly and danced around the living room singing and playing his imitation guitar while Elvis® was performing on television. As his two sisters watched and cheered him on, little Ralph sang every word to every song perfectly. "I wanna be just like Elvis® when I grow up." During his early teen years Ralph began practicing as much as three to four hours a day on his drums and at seventeen he was playing the drums professionally. His father was a musician, who played in a band in Houston, Texas for years where Ralph was born and raised. As he frequently watched Elvis® movies Ralph studied his every move, perfecting his mannerisms and facial expressions. Then he began to learn his dance movements, gyrations as it was called. Lastly, Ralph began to focus his attention on Elvis®' words and voice. Listening to his records for hours on end, he deciphered every word, imitating even the slightest accent, and trained his voice to sound just like that of the King. Finally, at long last, he managed to capture the unusual but distinctive vocal style of Elvis®.
He also played the drums in a band. On August 16, 1977, Ralph was driving to band rehearsal when he heard the news that the King was dead. Devastated, he sat in his 1969 Ford Fairlane a long time playing the song "Don't Be Cruel" over and over in his head. That night he thought he had put the Elvis® Impersonator to rest. Besides, like becoming a singer back in the 50's wasn't the thing to do so Elvis® became a truck driver, becoming an impersonator in the 70's definitely was not the thing to do, whether it was impersonating the King or anyone else. So be it. Elvis® died and Ralph went to school to become a photographer. During the next ten years Ralph Elizondo became a well known wedding photographer throughout Houston and Dallas. His work was superb, and he had an extensive following. A perfectionist in his work, his time was filled with photo shoots and trips to the altar. Since most weddings occur on the weekend, specifically Saturday evenings, there wasn't much time for Ralph to think about impersonating, much less actually doing Elvis® impersonations. his photography business continued to escalate.
It wasn't until 1994 that Ralph finally decided he wanted to do more with his Elvis® impersonations. At that time he invented Elviszondo. Accepting only those photo shoots that would allow for more time in his schedule, he began appearing as the featured act for many events, in live concerts, at private functions and charity events. He participated in several Elvis® competitions and won first place, has been written up in the Houston Chronicle, 93Q Magazine, The Houston City News, The Asian-American News and several other periodicals. One of his favorite performances was a two-hour taped show in June of '98 at Spring High School. The show was entitled, "A Tribute to the King", and all the proceeds went to the Unity House to benefit foster children. Elviszondo was featured on all the local Houston TV stations when he added the gold lame outfit to his wardrobe and to his performances in January 2000. CNN took note and Elviszondo appeared on News Tonight.
Back to: [USA] [Texas]

Elvis® and Elvis Presley are registered trademarks of Elvis Presley Enterprises Inc. © 1998-2003 Elvis Entertainers Network

Elvis^® and Elvis Presley are registered trademarks of Elvis Presley Enterprises Inc.
© 1998-2003 Elvis Entertainers Network