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Who would not like to sound like Elvis? I bet, aside from wishing to look like him, every guy out there wants to have that Elvis-like baritone voice that makes girls swoon. Dozens of Elvis Look-and-Sing-alike Contests are held throughout the world to honor Elvis, the King of Pop, and hundreds of impersonators usually join these contests. Even Freddie Mercury did a Queen-version of an Elvis Song, and Bruno Mars, when he was young, even impersonated Elvis Presley.
When it comes to singer’s who sounded or would like to sound like Elvis, I think there are many. The thing is, Elvis voice is not difficult to mimic, especially if you have that range of voice similar to his. Even I, for example, can mimic, in many instances, the voice of Elvis.
3 Singers Who Can Sing Like Elvis Presley
There is a big difference between those who mimic the voice of Elvis and those who really sound naturally similar to Elvis. Thus, for every excellent mimicker of Elvis’ voice, there are around fifty awful mimickers of him. Their number only shows that Elvis is a real icon, idolized even by his fellow singer’s. So, below is a list of singer’s who naturally sing and sound like Elvis Presley:
1) James Hodges Ellis
James Hodges Ellis—born by James Hughes Bell’s name on February 26, 1945—is an American Singer. He used the name Orion as his stage name. He sounded like Elvis, and if you listen to his album, you would think that it was Elvis who is singing. Moreover, his record company played on this fact, making many believe that some of his tracks were made by Elvis. Besides, it even went to a point wherein it claimed that Elvis did not die in 1977.
His vocals had a remarkable resemblance to the elvis voice type. Thus, in 1969, Shelby Singleton, who got the Sun Records’ back catalogue rights to Elvis recordings, other than those for the label’s recordings, released one of Ellis’ recordings of the early songs of Presley. These early recordings included “That’s All Right (Mama)” along with the Blue Moon of Kentucky.”
The label did not categorically say who sang the song but credited such recordings to someone anonymous. The rumor had it that the recordings were alternate takes derived from Presley sessions. However, you will notice that the recordings feature electric instead of a string bass.
Ellis died on December 12, 1998, murdered in his store. A filmmaker, Jeanie Finlay, made a documentary on his life entitled The Man Who Would Be King.
2) Barry Darcy
The first time I saw Barry Darcy was when he auditioned for Ireland’s Got Talent. He narrated his sad story before singing on stage, and as usual, people were not expecting him to sing beautifully. But when he got on stage, he started singing with a good baritone voice, a voice akin to Elvis voice. Impressed by his performance, he got the Golden Buzzer.
His story, of course, is very much inspiring to those who heard it. So, if you haven’t seen his Ireland’s Got Talent performance, you better check it out. In that performance, he sang the Wonder of You by Elvis Presley. The song is a fitting reminder of how his family supported him throughout his sickness.
The crowd and judges were taken aback by his performance, and the crowd gave him a standing ovation. Moreover, upon listening to Darcy, you would readily recognize that uncanny similarity between his voice and Elvis’s. He was 38-year old then when he made his debut on the show. Barry Darcy is a songwriter as well.
Read Adam Lambert Best male pop vocal performance by Become Singers.
3) Harrison Craig
Another singer who sounds like Elvis is Harrison Craig. Harrison first came to our notice when he joined The Voice Australia. In that audio audition, he sang the song Broken Vow and had all the four voice coaches turning around. He won the second series of that contest. Seal, a British Singer, coached him in that show.
Soon after, there is no stopping Harrison Craig, despite his stuttering problem. He had on the ARIA Singles Chart three top ten songs, and his cover single Unchained Melody reached No. 2. More Than a Dream, his original song, peaked at No. 2.
He released his first album More Than a Dream on 25 June 2013, while he released his second album on April 11, 2014. He also released his third album in November 2016. His influences include Elvis, Michael Buble, Andrea Bocelli, Nat King Cole, and many others.
In the finals of the Voice Australia, Craig sang the song Can’t Help Falling in Love by Elvis, and as you hear him sing, you will notice that he sounded like Elvis. Therefore, it is not superfluous to say that his voice and Elvis’s Voice are akin to each other.
Get more vocal information by visiting Become Singer Bruno Mars Vocal Range article.
Conclusion
James Hodges Ellis, Barry Darcy, and Harrison are only three famous singers who sound like the King of Pop. However, many other singers can sing similar to Elvis, and can mimic his voice. And mimicking the voice of Elvis seems relatively easy. Moreover, other bands, for example, like the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Monkeys, Beach Boys, Queen, and even ABBA have tributes to Elvis Presley.
Elvis Presley’s voice may be easy to mimic, as shown by countless singers who could sing like him. Nevertheless, Elvis as a person and as a performer is not easy to equal. His rendition and personality make him like a god when he is on stage. He was a complete performer who could mesmerize a crowd.
