Lou Vuto
Ultimate Elvis

He may make his living doing a musical tribute to The King of Rock and Roll, but Lou Vuto would be the first person to tell you-he's not Elvis. As he ambles into the lobby of Memories Theatre in Pigeon Forge for an interview with What's Showing, his jet black hair and mutton chop sideburns are the only telltale sign of his bond with Presley. Clad in jeans, a sport shirt and a white windbreaker, Vuto has, for the time being, shed his onstage persona as he leads us into the Memories Theatre office. Here, he is no longer a living incarnation of a gyrating heartthrob who sends the girls swooning and clamoring for sweat-soaked scarves. Rather, he's just good ol' amiable Lou, a regular guy who's just as big an Elvis fan as the people he performs for night after night.

That distinction is an important one for the Bronx, New York native, who doesn't want to be regarded as an "Elvis Impersonator." But while Lou Vuto lays no claim to The King when it comes to his day-to-day life, it's hard to watch his Ultimate Salute to Elvis without thinking that what you're seeing is as close to the real thing as it gets. Along with the rest of the Memories cast, Lou faithfully recreates snapshots of the past, revealing Presley's career through a musical timeline of sorts. From the innocent, snarly-lipped Elvis of the '50s to the rhinestone jumpsuit Elvis of the Vegas era, Vuto captures his subject with uncanny vocal and visual accuracy.

"Our show covers Elvis' full career," Vuto explains in his usual soft spoken manner. "We're not just limited to the Vegas era, which is what most guys with Elvis shows do." In fact, the Memories salute is divided into four major periods of Elvis' history-the 1950s, his movie career, his 1968 comeback and the Vegas years. Along with the different songs, several costume changes help gel the distinctions between the various show segments. As the '50s Elvis, Vuto dons a classic gold lame jacket, later swapping out for a black leather outfit typical of Presley '68 comeback days. However, says Vuto, "The Vegas era is probably the most popular, so it's the biggest part of the show."

One thing that Memories Theatre audiences can count on is that they'll rarely see the same show performed twice, no matter how often they attend. From show to show, Vuto, backed by the Memories Showband and the supporting vocals of the Three Inspirations, explores different combinations of the four Presley eras and also alters the song list within each segment. "even if I do a '50s section two nights in a row, it will be different both nights," Vuto explains. "I love that because it keeps everyone fresh-not just those of us on stage, but the audience as well."

For Vuto and the band, staying fresh is made a lot easier by the fact that their repertoire includes nearly 150 Elvis Presley tunes. "We try to pick the most recognizable ones," Vuto says, "but we do some obscure stuff that the real Elvis fans know and like." Does the daily shuffle ever present problems? Not according to Vuto, who makes the decisions regarding the show's lineup. "The band doesn't really need a lot of advance notice," says Vuto. "Sometimes they don't get the set list until the very last minute, but they're very versatile and very good at what they do." From one's seat in the audience, that versatility and skill bubble to the surface of every performance. The seven-piece Memories Showband, led by drummer Hank Miles, executes faithful renditions of all the Presley classics while The Three Inspirations, a trio of female vocalists, adds harmony and texture to each number. However, Vuto's supporting cast does much more than lay the foundation for his Elvis tribute. Each Memories show opens with a nostalgic field trip into the archives of rock 'n' roll; the band covers the kings and queens of oldies rock with mini tributes to artists like Jerry Lee Lewis, Fats Domino, and Aretha Franklin.

Also adding to the show's overall theme of remembrance is the inclusion of Charlie Hodge, a longtime friend, personal aid and band member of Presley's. Hodge kicks off the second half of the show with a relaxed, one-on-one chat with the audience. He shares, not only his personal recollections of his life and times with Elvis, but also several jokes and humorous stories that Presley had enjoyed hearing. "One of the great things that Charlie gives to me and the audience is the heart of Elvis," Vuto says of his colleague. Hodge later steps out of the role of raconteur and straps on a guitar as Vuto reappears to the majestic opening strains of the theme from 2001:A Space Odyssey. As Hodge backs up Vuto's Vegas set with guitar, vocals and comic banter, you truly begin to sense what must have been the magic of an Elvis Presley performance.

What's magical about Vuto's delivery in it's own right is that it creates the pervasive sense that Elvis is, indeed, in the building. As he portrays Presley through the decades with songs ranging from "That's Allright Mama" to "Suspicious Minds", Vuto shows he mastered every nuance of the man being paid tribute. The hips swivel, the arms windmill and the voice leaps from sultry crooning to soaring fervor in short passage. "Lou always strives for authenticity," says Dee Gallon, owner and general manager of Memories Theatre. "Charlie tries to keep that going too, Lou is always researching, researching with tapes, the videos and the books."

At 36, Vuto has had a few years to hone his skills. He became fascinated with the music of Elvis Presley at the age of ten. "The first record I ever bought was Elvis Live at Madison Square Garden in 1972," Vuto recollects. As a young teenager, that initial spark of interest was fanned when his cousin took him to see Presley live in concert. Vuto admits that in an era when the musical tastes of his contemporaries leaned toward the harder rock bands of the time, he was a bit of a loner. "I tried to get into bands like Foreigner, but to me, nothing else was as good as Elvis, musically."

Vuto's thorough indoctrination into Presley's performances has resulted in convincing live shows of his own. On a typical night at Memories, throngs of women rush to the edge of the stage, toting cameras and bearing gifts of stuffed animals, as Vuto launches into "Love Me Tender", just like the young ladies used to do in the Presley heyday. "Boy, do you look good!" one female fan blurts out unabashedly from her seat. Vuto then generously distributes scarves and kisses as he holds court for his loyal and adoring fans. If you ask him, he's likely to downplay the notion that the screaming masses are there to pour out their adulation on him specifically. "It really a matter of transferred feelings," he relates, following up his psychological take with a more down-to-earth evaluation. "It's an Elvis thing."

Dee Gallon supports Vuto's assessment. "The fans are vicariously embracing Elvis when they do those things," she says, but goes on to say that what often starts out as a transference of feelings about Elvis often becomes a genuine bond with Vuto. "The thing I admire the most is that he doesn't just focus on the cute girls in the audience when it comes to giving out scarves and kisses. It isn't a man-woman thing with him. It's about the fan-performer relationship." For Vuto, it's simply a matter of sharing Elvis' philosophy about entertaining. "Elvis had a tremendous sense of loyalty to his fans," he explains. "His attitude was that he was going to go all out to entertain them and give them more than what they paid for. And I feel the same way." For Memories audiences that means not just Ultimate Elvis, but a good dose of Ultimate Lou as well.

What's Showing Magazine
Volume 4, Issue 2

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