Alan's Early Years


It was a hot summer night in July of 1971 when I ventured to a North Seattle Tavern for the talent contest that would change my life, the group of six promised I didn't have to enter the contest unless I was comfortable with the idea and the crowd. We were just going to watch. As we sat around the table surrounded by 500 hill folk and many Died in the Wool Elvis fans, the group of 6 at my table continued to coax while I continued to ask for a reprieve let's wait until next weekend until I can practice a little more. But I realized I'd already been entered in the contest, when the band leader announced. Our next contestant is Elvis Presley and I said gee thanks and I was stuck.
As I approached the stage looking all of 19 and wearing tight black pants a black shirt and a gold apache scarf I heard the commenting from the packed house on that Sunday talent night at Eagar's Tavern. I overheard many in the audience's say Oh! I'm sure Look at the Little Elvis. By the time I got up to the stage rather than being embarrassed I was pissed off and I sang better when I was mad.
I stared out into all their faces and told the band leader Let's do a little Blue Suede Shoes And I sang out Wull it's a one for the money. Their eyes were bulging out of their heads.
By the time I completed the second sentence Two for the Show everyone was elbowing their neighbor.
By the time I sag out Three to get ready now go cat go, but don't you step on my blue Suede Shoes they were screaming like babies for their mommas. That's the way it happened and I'll never forget it. That was the first time in my life I'd sang with a band. That was the first time in my life I'd sung for more than four or five people at one time. The crowd didn't stop applauding until finally the band leader announced I was the winner. I don't remember exactly how many songs I ended up singing that night as the crowd wanted more and began requesting their favorite Elvis songs. They couldn't name one I couldn't sing. Finally I dared them and they started thinkin’ hard. How bout Blue Moon of Kentucky one mountain man yelled! Before they could blink I'd belted out
Blue Moon . . . Blue Moon ... Blue Moon ya keep shinin Bri- yight. . . Blue moon ya keep on a shinin’ bright you gonna bring a me back my baby tonight. . Blue moon keep shinin bright Not only had I won the talent contest, but the club hired me to perform one night a week. The huge hairy bartended and owner who looked like he'd stepped out of Deliverance said I'll give ya 50 bucks to come back Wednesday and do the same thing you did tonight. When Wednesday turned out to have 500 people packing the joint he offered me a hundred to come in every Wednesday.
A few weeks later I took the house band into a small Seattle studio "The Have A Nice Day Recording Studio" and recorded an EP called Alan Sings "A Tribute To Elvis". It consisted of a medley of 7 of my favorite Elvis songs and I narrated between each song. While we sat listening to the first take I tried to decide on a title. It was an Elvis Medley said the guitar player, but that didn't sound descriptive of what we were hearing. It's more of a tribute my girlfriend Carol said! We settled on Alan sings a Tribute to Elvis" for the title to my little record. I decided to entitle all future performances "Alan a Tribute to Elvis". I'd coined the phrase based on merit, but the words "Tribute to Elvis" have become synonymous with impersonation and for that I say FUCK YOU! I took my record around to the Bill Stephan agency and he said you sound great, but I've seen acts that do Johnny Cash, Tom Jones and Elvis in their variety shows.
Then he asked. Who'd wanna sit and watch someone do Elvis all night? He was right except they were sitting and watching me all night and he said he was sorry, but he didn't see anything out there for me.
Disappointed I sat in Carol's living room and admitted he's right. She said take the record to a nice club and talk the manager into letting you pack his place on a normally slow week night. Impersonating a booking agent I stood at the office of Heinz Gainer, manager and owner of the Seattle Airport Hilton Hotel. I asked what was his slowest night and he said he didn't even open on Monday. While playing Heartbreak Hotel the into song from my "Tribute to Elvis" record on the portable record player that I'd purchased for the charade and sounding more like a booking agent than I'd expected I explained we can play 30 seconds of this record on the radio and then the DJ can break in and say:
"Wait a minute listeners, that's not Elvis. No this is really Alan and if you're an Elvis fan the Seattle Airport Hilton has the show you won't wanna miss. He looked at me puzzled and asked That's not Elvis?. I pulled out a black and white photo I'd had professionally shot and said this is how I look on stage. He looked impressed and he agreed to my promotional requirements and while sitting in his office asked if I could use his phone. Yes he said again looking confused and in a minute I had Bill Stephan on the phone and explained that I saw something for me out there. Impressed that I'd booked myself in one of his clubs for 100% of the door against the $500 advertisement budget Heinz agreed to and I had Bills attention. I promised Bill if he'd come out at 9 PM on Monday June 25th 1973 he wouldn't find a place to sit. . . While he remained silent I said and if you do find a seat. I'll never call you again Excitedly Bill asking You'll never call me again? I promised. Then he promised he'd be there and on June 25 when my show ended at 10:30 PM Bill Stephan was standing at the showroom entrance where he'd watched the entire show.



Sitting in Heinz' office that doubled as my dressing room Bill Stephan agreed to take over my career, but said It's not gonna be easy. I have some ideas now that I've seen you but of the two hundred clubs I book across the Northwest and Canada they've all seen impersonators and they'll all say the idea won't work in their upscale clubs. Bill explained he books top 40 bands and a few show groups like Gary Lewis and the Playboys Paul Revere and the Raiders and other past their prime groups from the 60s.
Bill continued, This is the most unlikely success I've ever undertaken, but now I believe you can pull it off and once you do they'll be no looking back" Agreed? he asked and Carol and I looked at each other nodding and I said Deal, but you can't let them call me an impersonator.
Then (Finally) in November of1973 a The Spokane House called Bill because (as a matter of fact) Gary Lewis and the Playboy's cancelled because of sickness and the proven acts were all booked. Bill convinced the owner of the top supper club in the Northwest "The Dolphin Room" to Showcase my act for the two weeks in mid November and with two feet of snow on the ground I'd filled the club every night, The newspaperman Jim Dullenty from the Spokane Daily New liked me and his review made me a celebrity in Spokane.
I was treated like a local hero upon my return to Spokane and this is the actual Review that Jim Dullenty wrote upon my return to Spokane.



Regarding his Spokane house engagement above:
"They really opened up their hearts to me in Spokane. They didn't even know how big of a break they were to me. It was my first true engagement! It was the first time a booking agent had ever booked me! I remember the add said "Direct from San Francisco The Original Copy. I have to admit I liked the phrase. I sat in my room counting how many cars were coming into the parking lot of the Spokane House. Snow was on the ground and I was worried if there would be a crowd. The funniest thing was I was never afraid of the crowd as long as it was a big crowd. By show time there was a line of people standing out the front door in the snow. They cheered me on to the best performance of my life. I was only on a two week vacation from John Fluke Mfg. in Seattle.

Select below to read a description of my show at the Spokane House
Spokane Performance


The owner was ecstatic and wanted me back for New Years Eve 74 and the two weeks that followed. . Unwilling to quit my job for a short career I told the owner I would not come back unless I had 8 weeks of bookings.
The Spokane House owner surprised Stephan when he flew in Jimmy Ginakes of the famed Town and Country Cabaret in Winnipeg along with the owners of Lucifer's in Calgary and Oil Can Harry's in Vancouver. The three club owners argued over who would get me first and the two month tour was booked. Jimmy Ginakes was the winner but Stephan got Jimmy to agree to a better routing scheme and I opened in Vancouver second week of January 1974 followed my Calgary and then Winnipeg.




The actual reviews in this scrapbook prove my story and have kept me honest through the years.



When they drove the brand new Firemist red Cadillac Eldorado up in front of the Spokane House, it was just like in the Elvis movie "Loving You". I never expected anything like this would ever happen to me. As I left my second Spokane performance in a month for a Canadian tour I promised the fans that I would be back for the Spokane 1974 World's Fair.
I opened at "Oil Can Harry's" in Vancouver BC. I can't describe how exciting this was. This was not only the top "Hot Band" nightclub in Vancouver. It was the most well known nightclub for 500 miles in any direction. After two weeks of sell out crowds I was off to Calgary. We drove through Banff and the Canadian Rockies’. My road manager Jim and I drove the Eldorado as my band followed Caravan style in the custom van I bought them and the road crew followed behind in the 20' truck full of the best sound equipment money could buy. My main concern was to always have good sound. Every night after the last show I stood up through the open sun roof of the Eldorado and signed autographs in front of the club.
Next we were heading across Saskatchewan to and played the small town of Regina since it was right on the way and Stephan believed routing was the key to a successful tour. . They were small towns but the people were great!

I'll never forget t Winnipeg Manitoba and the people there at the "Town and Country Cabaret". They became my biggest supporters ever and Jimmy Ginakes the owner treated me like a nephew. I got steak dinners after the last show every night, but the highlight of the Canadian tour was yet to come.

I opened in Winnipeg in the middle of February and it was too cold to even snow. But the crowd warmed up to me and the owner of the Town and Country Cabaret Jimmy Ginakes
gave me a warm greeting. He assured me he had promoted me in a big way and he had my name covering the Theater Style Marquee in front of his restaurant. He was in fact a
Greek Restaurateur but he became a Dutch Uncle to me. I’d love to tell you the story about my opening performance at the Town and Country and if your interested

just select below to read a description of my show at the Town and Country performance
Winnipeg Performance

I opened in Winnipeg in the middle of January and it was even too cold to snow. But the crowd warmed up to me and the owner of the Town and Country Cabaret Jimmy Ginakes gave me a warm greeting. He assured me he had promoted me in a big way and he had my name covering the Theater Style Marquee in front of his restaurant.
He was in fact a Greek Restaurateur but he became a Dutch Uncle to me.


When I got to the Friar's Club in Toronto I found out what it would be like to be a star. The reviews said I was the best "Elvis" in years and for a newspaper with a million plus subscribers that is saying a lot. I must have done two encores every night and the people treated me so good that the M.C. didn't even have to coax me back out. By the time I got to Thunder Bay it was June and I hadn't had a single open week. I was actually begged by many club owners to stay over an extra week but I was booked solid the whole tour with only enough time in between to travel.


When I opened at the "Turn of the Century" supper club and show room in Denver my career was moving on track a 100 miles an hour. Though I could only imagine just how and when I was going to perform in Las Vegas. Back then I was just starting to ask my agent when I would play cities like L.A and San Francisco. About a week into my engagement as I sat backstage waiting to come on for the second show I noticed my introduction sounded very different. "I guess we're all here for one reason" the voice said. The announcers voice had a very distinctive ring to it, and I almost had it placed as I herd the crowd going wild. Dick Clark had apparently been watching my 1st show incognito. As I stood in aw from my entry point I listened to my most exciting introduction. "Elvis is the concernment entertainer and it is a tribute to his overwhelming impact on the world of music that any entertainer would attempt to duplicate his style and vocal quality". "One such performer and the best I have ever seen is Alan".
All this seemed to make the crowd appreciate me more as I put on one of my best performances so far. Back in my dressing room after the show Dick said he wanted me to appear with his "Good 'Ol Rock N' Roll Review" in Las Vegas at the Flaming Hotel on New Years eve. All of a sudden the how and when was written into my future. Dick Clark Presents Alan

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