Clearance Giddens performs sporting a pompadour, sideburns, and bright red jumpsuit.
24 Facts About Clearance Giddens
1.
2.
Clearance Giddens grew up in Painter, Virginia and works as house painter.
3.
Clearance Giddens received his first guitar as a gift from his mother.
4.
Clearance Giddens' parents are devout Christians and his mother was initially hesitant about his Elvis act because she considered it worldly.
5.
Clearance Giddens 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.
6.
Clearance Giddens recalls hiding in the closet to listen to Elvis because his strict Christian mother did not allow rock and roll in the house.
7.
Clearance Giddens is credited as guitarist as well lead vocalist on two tracks by a group called Gospel Expressions who released an album, Good Times Bad Times.
8.
Clearance Giddens learned to strum "Love Me Tender" because it was a favorite of his then-girlfriend, a devoted Elvis fan.
9.
Clearance Giddens was so nervous that his legs shook but the crowd roared and tipped him generously.
10.
Clearance Giddens's ex-girlfriend saw his success and asked for a portion of his earnings for inspiring him.
11.
Clearance Giddens 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.
12.
In one appearance on the Geraldo Show, a Black audience member told Clearance Giddens that imitating a white performer was betraying his race, and a different Elvis impersonator replied that what Clearance Giddens was doing was beautiful, causing the audience to applaud.
13.
Clearance Giddens remained in disbelief as he became more and more successful, sometimes questioning his own talent.
14.
Clearance Giddens once challenged a fellow Black Elvis impersonator named Robert Washington to a head-to-head showdown and did not get a response.
15.
Clearance 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.
16.
Clearance Giddens released singles of his own and subtly altered his look, trimming his sideburns a little bit and wearing cowboy hats.
17.
Clearance Giddens became a father in the mid-1990s and realized he could not keep up with both parenthood and his touring schedule.
18.
Clearance Giddens stepped back from the Black Elvis circuit so that he could be a dad.
19.
Clearance Giddens has said he is proud of his daughter.
20.
Clearance Giddens was generally praised for the personality he brought to his "Elvis" and his charisma on stage.
21.
Clearance Giddens sometimes strayed from Elvis Presley's style, and unlike some other impersonators, he played the guitar on stage.
22.
Clearance Giddens was compared to foundational member of rock and roll, such as Chuck Berry.
23.
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.
24.
Clearance Giddens appears in the book I Am Elvis: A Guide to Elvis Impersonators.