It wouldn’t be Elvis Week without Ronnie McDowell.
McDowell will be back in Memphis to headline “A Tribute to the King,” which will be held at 2 p.m. on August 11th at Lafayette’s Music Room.
The show also includes special guest Amber Rae Dunn with The Royal Blues Band.
McDowell, whose songs include his chart-topping hits “Older Women” and “You’re Gonna Ruin My Bad Reputation,” says he’s going to do some of his records at Lafayette’s. One of them will be “The King Is Gone,” a 1977 song he wrote about Elvis. “Without Elvis I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing,” says McDowell, who lives in Nashville.
Growing up, McDowell used to listen to 78 rpm records that his sister brought home from the store. One of them was Elvis singing “Hound Dog” on one side and “Don’t Be Cruel” on the other.
His life changed when he heard “Don’t Be Cruel.”
“I ain’t been the same since,” McDowell says. “It was the way Elvis performed that song. He had taken his guitar and turned it over and was slapping the back of that guitar. And he was doing it on the back beat. And he was singing at the same time.
“Something in his voice was different from everybody else’s. There’s just something different. And to this day, I can’t put my finger on it other than the fact that it really touched and reached my soul.”
McDowell remembers the first time he watched Elvis on TV. He told his sister, “Wow, that guy is too pretty to be a guy.”
But he also could see the kindness in Elvis. “The camera bares your soul.”
McDowell was driving when he heard the DJ announce at 2:22 p.m. that Elvis died. McDowell wrote “The King is Gone” that afternoon. “In one week, that would sell a million records. And two weeks later I was on American Bandstand.”
He performs a duet to the Elvis hit “It’s Only Make Believe” with Dolly Parton on her Rockstar album. He’s also going to perform a version of it with the recorded voice of his buddy, the late Conway Twitty, on his upcoming album.
McDowell is a star in his own right, but, he says, “My total inspiration is Elvis Presley. Period.”
General admission tickets to “A Tribute to the King,” which will be filmed for an upcoming TV special, are $25. VIP admission is $100 and includes premium seating, a swag bag, and a meet-and-greet following the show.
Tickets may be purchased by calling 901-207-5097 or lafayettes.com/memphis/event-tickets, and in person at Lafayette’s Music Room.
A Tribute to the King, Lafayette’s Music Room, 2119 Madison, Sunday, August 11, 2 p.m., $25-$100.