The king of rock 'n' roll is gone, but professional entertainer David Lee shows fans what the king was all about.
"What we do is basically, in a nutshell, is we try to recreate what an Elvis concert would have been like," Lee said. "For either those people who went to one and want to relive some memories, or people who have never seen one and want to see what Elvis was like."
Opelika's Event Center Downtown will host Lee Jan. 27 at 7 p.m., and center co-owner Lisa Beck said they have already received some positive feedback.
"Somebody in the community had been telling me about him for a while," Beck said. "I think he is going to be great. I think he will put on a great show."
Originally from Birmingham, Lee said when he was a teenager most kids knew about Elvis, but his exposure came a little later.
"I wasn't that way. I wasn't exposed to it until my early 20s," Lee said. "The guy I worked with was a big--I mean big--Elvis fan. Eventually some of the songs started rubbing off on me, and I would go to lunch with him and he'd play Elvis every time I'd get in the car."
Lee eventually began collecting Elvis items and has amassed more than 10,000 pieces of memorabilia.
"One thing led to another and someone asked me about singing, and I didn't really sing," Lee said. "And then next thing you know I was singing and someone told me I sound like Elvis. So there I went from doing it at birthday parties and stuff just for fun to turning it into a career."
Lee began his career performing as Elvis in 1995 and has played in 43 states and many major cities including Philadelphia, New York, Pittsburgh and Biloxi, Miss.
"I've had people come to the show before that were drug by someone else and said, 'Aw, my sister made me come and I didn't want to come,' and end up loving it," Lee said.
Performances consist of Lee singing Elvis's top hits, but interaction with the crowd and dancing with audience members are commonplace.
"The main thing for me is to try and make it fun for the people coming to the show," Lee said. "I don't know all the songs word-for-word because he had over 800 and something, but I do know a little over probably 400 and something of them."
One of the most authentic qualities of Elvis was his original jumpsuits, and Lee incorporates them in nearly every show.
"Most people want to see the jumpsuit Elvis," Lee said. "Elvis actually had about 111 different jumpsuits."
Although Lee believes in performing just as the king did, he admits Elvis was a special individual.
"You could mix all of the Elvis tribute artists in a big bowl and still wouldn't come out with Elvis," Lee said. "We're just trying to carry on and relive his memory the best we can."
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