The King Is Dead, Long Live Ronnie
:: The King Is Gone ::
:: If Not For The Love Of Jesus ::
:: Walking Through Georgia In The Rain ::
:: Heartbreak Hotel ::
Here we go again. Another Deathiversary is upon us and so we pay tribute to the King. Or, at least, pay tribute to those who have paid tribute to him. This time around we’ve got Ronnie McDowell, who gained life through Elvis’ death. The Vietnam veteran was working as a nightclub singer when the King fell from his throne. He got together with a friend, Lee Morgan, and the two combined their songwriting powers to record a tribute, “The King is Gone,” two days after his death. The song, quickly released on this Scorpion label LP, climbed to the Top 20 of both the pop and country charts and sold more than five million copies. McDowell continued to write and record and scored a string of country hits between 1979 and 1986. His ability to mimic Elvis’ vocal style also got him tapped as the singing voice in a bunch of Elvis TV movies, including the ones that starred Kurt Russell and Don Johnson as the King. McDowell is still in action today – he often tours with some of Elvis’ original band members, Scotty Moore and D.J. Fontana, as well as members of the Jordanaires, in an Elvis tribute act.
Phil