Elvis Performer in Scottsburg
Scottsburg
Elvis performer
lands spot on TV’s ‘Sally’
Don
Ward,
Editor
(March 2002) SCOTTSBURG, Ind. - If you think Elvis sightings
are rare, then you haven’t been in Scottsburg lately.
Elvis – er, Travis Albertson – is quickly becoming a regular
performer at the new Scottsburg Jamboree. His impersonation is so good,
in fact, that on Friday, Feb. 22, he showed up on a taped national TV
broadcast of Sally Jesse Raphael.
Albertson, 32, landed the gig when his 9-year-old daughter, Lillian
wrote the show in response to a call for entries of parents’ talents
of which you are most proud.
“They called the next day after receiving the letter and the next
thing you know, Travis and Lillian were off to New York,” said
Lillian’s mother, Erica, 30, a Wal-Mart employee.
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Travis Albertson |
It was the first time in an airplane for both and the
first time to New York City.
“That plane ride was more exciting than anything else,” admitted
Travis, who is a stay-at-home father when he isn’t performing his
Elvis act.
At first, Travis was told to make up some words to the tune of “Hound
Dog” because of some possible copyright restrictions of his performing
the song on the show. But when he arrived in New York, he was told he
could use the actual lyrics, so he chose a different song to perform
– “Suspicious Minds.”
“It’s a long song, so I had to shorten it for the show,”
said Travis, who has been doing the Elvis act for nearly four years.
He said he was nervous when he took the stage, but soon the TV audience
“was clapping and screaming; they went wild.”
Other parents also sang or performed other talents for the taping of
the show, which took place in a studio in the basement of the Pennsylvania
Hotel in New York City. The father and daughter arrived on a Sunday
afternoon and went on the show on Monday and were home that night.
“I did it because I’m proud of my dad,” said Lillian,
a third-grader at Scottsburg Elementary School. The couple also has
two sons, Jesse, 7, and Kurtlin, 5.
Travis performs mostly for private parties and corporate functions but
has recently joined The Legends act at the new Scottsburg Jamboree,
which opened recently. He is scheduled for a full performance there
on March 8, beginning at 7 p.m. Private bookings start at $120 and up,
depending on the length of time.
He has also performed in Brown County, Ind., in Branson, Mo., and aboard
the Star of Louisville cruise boat.
“I saw his act at the Jamboree and it nearly floored me how much
he looks and sounds like Elvis,” said Bob McAdams, the Scott County
tourism director. “I felt like I was in the presence of Elvis.”
“He really gets into the character,” Erica said. “He
doesn’t just dress up and sing. He doesn’t even like to call
it an impersonation. He calls himself a tribute artist. He really becomes
Elvis.”
• To book Albertson as Elvis, call him at (812) 754-0869.