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Clearance Giddens is an Elvis impersonator called "Black Elvis". He performs sporting a pompadour, sideburns, and bright red jumpsuit. Giddens' Black Elvis act regularly appeared on national TV programs in the 1990s, and he was cast as Black Elvis in the 1992 film Honeymoon in Vegas.

Early life

Giddens grew up in Painter, Virginia and works as house painter. He received his first guitar as a gift from his mother. Upon leaving school, he worked in local fields to support his family. Giddens' parents are devout Christians and his mother was initially hesitant about his Elvis act because she considered it worldly.

Clearance Giddens's early influences are country and gospel music, specifically Elvis Presley, James Brown, and Roy C. His family didn't have a TV, so he only watched it at his uncle's house about once a month. He remembers being in disbelief in his early teenage years when he first saw Presley dancing and singing on TV since he hadn't ever heard a white singer with so much soul before. He recalls hiding in the closet to listen to Elvis because his strict Christian mother did not allow rock and roll in the house.

Before Giddens started his Elvis act, he was a member of a gospel group called the Gospel Specials who sang with artists such as Al Green and Solomon Burke. He is also credited as guitarist as well lead vocalist on two tracks by a group called Gospel Expressions who released an album, Good Times Bad Times.

Career

Origin of Black Elvis

Giddens learned to strum "Love Me Tender" because it was a favorite of his then-girlfriend, a devoted Elvis fan. As he was clowning around singing Elvis songs, she suggested he seriously pursue an Elvis impersonator career. He remembers thinking "Black Elvis? Nobody's going to buy that." Giddens mentioned the idea to his boss, who was so enthusiastic that he got Giddens a Saturday gig performing at a restaurant the crew had recently painted. Giddens was so nervous that his legs shook but the crowd roared and tipped him generously. A chef accompanied him on piano and lead guitar, and the room was so full that Giddens' friends had to watch through the window from outside. The duo continued getting gigs and the chef eventually quit his restaurant job. By 1987, Clearance Giddens was performing as Black Elvis across the Eastern shore of Virginia. His ex-girlfriend saw his success and asked for a portion of his earnings for inspiring him. He denied the request.

Television and film career

Giddens' Black Elvis performance attracted international media attention, and reporters noted his talent and "raw dynamism". For his first national TV spot, he faced his fear of flying to attend The Arsenio Hall Show in California but was so exhausted upon arriving that he slept through his performance. Shortly after waking up that evening, he answered a knock at his hotel room from Entertainment Tonight staff, who asked him to be on the show. He continued to receive TV appearance invites, and he performed for various programs including Hard Copy, Inside Edition, Viva Elvis weekend, and the Howard Stern Show. In one appearance on the Geraldo Show, a Black audience member told Giddens that imitating a white performer was betraying his race, and a different Elvis impersonator replied that what Giddens was doing was beautiful, causing the audience to applaud.

A Hollywood casting director reached out about a film role that involved parachuting out of a plane with other Elvis impersonators as part of a recurring joke in the 1992 romantic comedy Honeymoon in Vegas, which starred Nicolas Cage, James Caan, and Sarah Jessica Parker. Even though he said he couldn't get over his fear of jumping out of a plane, he was cast as Black Elvis and appeared in other scenes. In 1995 he appeared in the film Home for the Holidays shaking Jodie Foster's hand.

Live performances and music

In the early and mid 1990s, Giddens kept up a regular performance schedule. Memorable events include his Jailhouse Rock duet with Jimmy Buffet at the Jimmy Buffet Bar in Key West and the United States Postal Service-sponsored show in Washington D.C. in honor of an Elvis stamp. Clearance Giddens remained in disbelief as he became more and more successful, sometimes questioning his own talent. He once challenged a fellow Black Elvis impersonator named Robert Washington to a head-to-head showdown and did not get a response. Giddens struggled to book shows of his own despite his growing profile, and he made his act sound more intriguing by performing with a band called The Flamin' Caucasians (and later The White Trash Band). By 1994, he was earning about $2000 per show. After seven years of Elvis classics like Blue Suede Shoes, Clearance Giddens was ready for something new. He released singles of his own and subtly altered his look, trimming his sideburns a little bit and wearing cowboy hats.

Giddens became a father in the mid-1990s and realized he could not keep up with both parenthood and his touring schedule. He stepped back from the Black Elvis circuit so that he could be a dad. He has said he is proud of his daughter. In a 2014 interview, Giddens reported that she had grown up and was studying to become an obstetrician.

Reception

Giddens was generally praised for the personality he brought to his "Elvis" and his charisma on stage. He sometimes strayed from Elvis Presley's style, and unlike some other impersonators, he played the guitar on stage. He was compared to foundational member of rock and roll, such as Chuck Berry.

2000s

Clearance Giddens continued his Black Elvis career on a smaller scale, with Italian restaurant owner Franco Nocera booking shows and a keyboard player named Snowflake providing backup. In addition to regular appearances at local venues and parties, he makes appearances in various productions, such as a 2018 Apple ad that showed Elvis impersonators talking on a group Facetime calls. He still considers his life to be unbelievable. He appears in the book I Am Elvis: A Guide to Elvis Impersonators.

Discography

Filmography

Stage

References

1. The Free Lance Star August 15, 1991 Page 3, Scene, Elvis is everywhere Especially in Memphis, where wannabes compete by Woody Baird
2. The Enquirer January 24, 1993 No Ordinary Hunka-hunka Burning Impersonator As Black Elvis, Singer Clearance Giddens Has Appeared On TV And In A Recent Feature Film. By Cheryl Squadrito
3. Daily Press June 10, 1994 Elvis Has Left The Image, Well, Not Exactly, But Black Elvis Is Eyeing Nashville by Sam McDonald
4. Crutchley Enterprises Meet the staff, Clearance (Elvis) Giddens Archived 2015-07-07 at the Wayback Machine
5. ^ Spin August 1989 Volume Five Number Five Page 65, Black Elvis by Mark Mobley
6. Library of Congress Thunder Castle, State Route 607 vicinity, Painter, Accomack County, VA
7. ^ ABC 12 News Now December 19, 2014 Eastern Shore icon Black Elvis has 'one more tour left'
   Clarence Giddens, who earned fame as Black Elvis, is back on stage and performing after earning fame two decades ago in movies and on television Jennifer Cording, Eastern Shore News Archived 2015-09-27 at the Wayback Machine
8. ^ Elvis Information Network Eastern Shore icon Black Elvis has 'one more tour left'
9. The Free Lance Star, Thursday September 22, 1994 D2 from page D1 Elvis
10. ^ The Baltimore Sun September 16, 1995 Black Elvis: That's The Way It Is By Dail Willis
11. ^ Blue Virginia Monday, September 28, 2009 From the "Too Fun Not to Mention" File
12. ^ Secrets of the Eastern Shore, July 18, 2015 – Characters / Meet Black Elvis, the Pride of Itty Bitty Painter on Virginia's Eastern Shore – written by Jim Duffy
13. delmarva now, Dec. 18, 2014 – Va. Shore icon Black Elvis has 'one more tour left' – Jennifer Cording
14. Discogs Gospel Expressions – Good Times Bad Times
15. ^ Eastern Shore Post, October 23, 2018 – Do Drop Inn Celebrates 50 Years of Lifting Spirits By Stefanie Jackson
16. ^ The Free Lance Star September 22, 1994 Elvis Noir, The King borrowed from black musicians; now a black singer's borrowing back by Michael Zitz
17. ^ "Seeing Black Elvis perform is, well, astounding". The Daily Times. 1995-07-02. p. 22. Retrieved 2024-09-21.
18. ^ "Black Elvis still finds his career unbelievable". The Daily Times. 1995-07-09. p. 22. Retrieved 2024-09-21.
19. The Virginian-Pilot, Sunday, June 4, 1995 – THOUSANDS SIGHTED HONORING THE KING AT VIVA ELVIS WEEKEND – BY BILL REED, STAFF WRITER
20. Race and the Subject of Masculinities Harry Stecopoulos, Michael Uebel Page 205, All the King's Men
21. New York Times Honeymoon in Vegas (1992), Acting credits
22. Pittsburgh Post Gazette, Saturday, February 9, 1991 Page 17, People, Pages/Elvis By Any Name
23. Wounds of Returning: Race, Memory, and Property on the Postslavery Plantation Jessica Adams 51 – 52
24. Santa Cruz Sentinel February 10, 1991 Page 51, Whoah! That Isn't Elvis
25. ^ "Elvis has left the image". Daily Press. 1994-06-10. p. 78. Retrieved 2024-09-22.
26. "Black Elvis". Daily Press. 1994-06-10. p. 72. Retrieved 2024-09-22.
27. ^ ABC 12 News Now December 19, 2014 Eastern Shore icon Black Elvis has 'one more tour left'
    Clarence Giddens, who earned fame as Black Elvis, is back on stage and performing after earning fame two decades ago in movies and on television Jennifer Cording, Eastern Shore News Archived 2015-09-27 at the Wayback Machine
28. Shore Daily News, Dec 4, 2018 – Two Eastern Shoremen Make the National Media
29. Local Scoop – Black Elvis scooped by Mark Atkinson
30. Cherokee County Herald April 17, 1991 Page 3, Picking hits is science to trivia task Ethel Anne DeVare
31. Am Elvis: A Guide to Elvis Impersonators Edited by Marie Cahill I am Elvis: a guide to Elvis impersonators
32. The Free Lance Star September 22, 1994 – Elvis Noir, The King borrowed from black musicians; now a black singer's borrowing back by Michael Zitz
33. Spotify – Can You Feel the Flavor, Black Elvis
34. Channel X Viva Elvis Archived 2015-10-01 at the Wayback Machine
35. YouTube Viva Elvis (1991)- Part 4 of 7 #Channel 4 UK#
36. TV Guide – Honeymoon In Vegas, Cast
37. Los Angeles Times May 17, 1991 'Seoul House': Rap Opera to Social Commentary :
    Stage: Set in a Korean-owned store in a black neighborhood, the multimedia piece has found itself mirroring recent news events. by Diane Haithman

Links

• Delmarva Now: Va. Shore icon Black Elvis has 'one more tour left'
• YouTube: "BLACK ELVIS" The KIng is back... and he's black. 1996 WBFF TV
• The Free Lance Star September 22, 1994 article

• Elvis impersonators
• Singers from Virginia
• African-American male singers
• American male singers
• People from Accomack County, Virginia