The King is gone, but not forgotten. Richard Vickers is hanging up the authentic Elvis jumpsuit after nearly a decade of serious tribute performing across the country—from Memphis, to Nashville, to Las Vegas—but he still plans to be heavily involved in hosting and producing shows.
Vickers, who hit a milestone, turning 50 this year, feels good about the decision, even though the particulars are bittersweet.
“I really felt like me portraying Elvis during his Vegas years when Elvis was in his early thirties felt a bit off,” said Vickers. “I mean, Elvis died when he was 42. So I really felt like it was time.”
Although Vickers admits that being Elvis every weekend can be more than a bit physically demanding, it doesn’t really seem like that’s what has Vickers turning in the rhinestones. Frankly, he’s just ready for something new.
Vickers, who just accepted a time-consuming promotion as District Sales Manager at U.S. Foods, wants some of his free time back. “I could probably pull off doing Elvis,” said Vickers. “But the want to, the desire to, I was starting to dread the events. It got to the point where I’d rather have my Saturday watching football instead of setting up equipment all day long and doing two shows that night.”
For years, he’d fly out to Vegas on Friday night and back to Rolla on Sunday, living a sort of Clark Kent lifestyle. He remembers once doing three shows in one day. “Real artists don’t do that kind of schedule,” said Vickers laughing. “And we had to get up and go to work afterwards. We were the ultimate oxymorons—working musicians! We had day jobs, and not just day jobs—career day jobs.
It’s been a great ride for Vickers, but honestly, his “night job” took some poking and prodding to initially get him into, specifically from his daughter, Brittany. Things got serious for Vickers, who originally started doing Elvis at Eagle Heights Church in Oklahoma City in the late ‘90s as a sort of hobby/joke, in 2006 when he got a call from her. “The Missouri State fair has an Elvis contest,” Vickers recalls his daughter telling him on a phone call. “And I’ve already signed you up for it.”
Reluctantly, Vickers, who for most of his life had an absolute “disdain” for Elvis impersonators, donned his Elvis Halloween costume, spray painted his dress shoes white, and surprisingly, took third place in the contest, winning $400. “I thought, ‘Wow, there’s actually some money in this,'” Vickers said.
The director of the contest was so impressed that he told Vickers he’d pay his entry fee into the Oklahoma State Fair, if Vickers would use his prize money to reinvest in his costume. His competition had been steep. Guys there were donning $4,500 authentic Elvis jumpsuits, $300 rings. One performer had even taken karate lessons from the same guy the real Elvis took karate lessons from.
Vickers took his advice. He didn’t quite have money yet for an authentic jumpsuit, but he got his suit tailored, bought a nice belt, and put a little more effort into his hairstyle. That night, he won first place.
“From there, it was just like a roller coaster,” said Vickers. “The bookings, the gigs, and the invitations to go and perform just started rolling in. It became much more than a hobby. It was apparent that I had stumbled onto the fact that I knew enough about theatre and the performing arts that I could act the part, I could sing, I had a baritone voice that was similar in pattern to Elvis, and I was able to capture a little bit of an audience. And from there, the invitations to Las Vegas and Branson and Memphis and Nashville… they just kind of happened.”
The crowning moment of his career was in 2007. Elvis Presley Enterprises, who had initially shunned Elvis impersonators for the very same reasons Vickers initially disliked them, was bought by CKx, the same company that owns "American Idol," and started a real-deal Elvis Presley tribute competition, realizing the free marketing and promotion they were missing out on. By this point, Vickers was bringing the goods. He’d acquired an authentic uniform, head to toe. That night at the Civic Center in St. Louis, out of 24 Elvis big league contestants from around the world, Vickers once again took first place.
“It was a big deal,” said Vickers. “There were television cameras there. It was a huge, huge event. And that night, I took first place. Still even thinking back on that, it was really surreal.”
But Vickers got his start here in Salem, and some of his other band members included Steve Connors and Collin Nash on guitar, Richie Key on bass, Dennis Parker singing bass, Jo Walter of Rolla on keyboards, Patty Connors singing tenor, his wife Tammy (who often plays Marilyn Monroe alongside him) singing alto, Janeece Sutterfield singing soprano, and his drummer, Bubba Schettler. Del Hobson was the group’s sound technician. Michael Connors, who used to play with the band, left for Nashville, and Richie Key wasn’t far behind him.
One of their first gigs was a fundraiser for the Salem Area Community Betterment Association. Two shows were held at the High School gym and both sold out. “The event was a lot of fun for our committee to work on,” said organizer of the event, Sherry Lea. “Especially since we were doing it with a Salem entertainer doing what he loved to do.” Reserved seats that allowed the audience to get closer to the concert were very popular and sold out quick. There are still a lot of Elvis fans in the Dent County area.
Vickers is quick to acknowledge just how much his band helped him out. Sports always get a lot of love in Dent County, but when local musicians can rock, Rich and his band proved that they can bring the townspeople out in droves as well. “It was exciting because people got to see so much talent on the stage with this Branson, Nashville-type show,” said Vickers. “And all these people are from right here locally.”
Vickers remembers circling Steve Connors’ house numerous times working up the courage to go inside and ask him to be in a “cheesy” Elvis band. Connors remembers that it didn’t turn out all that cheesy.
“I said, well let’s get together and play and if it’s cheesy we won’t play, and if it’s pretty decent, then we will,” said Connors. It turned out to be better than they ever imagined. “It was one of the hottest, maybe the hottest band I’ve ever been in, in my life,” said Connors. “Just something seemed to really be special. Even musicians who would come to hear us had some pretty good things to say about us.” Connors said he’ll miss most his bandmates, made up of mostly family and a few friends, sitting down for a meal and a few laughs after a late night show.
And Vickers fans will most definitely miss him. Vickers recalled how once at a show for Summerfest in Rolla they rented a limo for him to pull up in. Before he could exit to his intro music, two forty-something female fans broke in and snapped a selfie with him. But even with such adoration, Helen Moreland of Vichy, mother to the chiropractor, Dr. David Moreland in Rolla, might be his biggest fan. She was in tears when she heard Vickers was calling it quits.
“I called Rich and left a message and said, ‘Please call me,’” said Moreland. “And I was crying. I can’t help it. I’m such an Elvis fan anyway. There’s a spot in my heart…I will say this about Rich. He was number one in my heart for doing Elvis. That’s just the way I feel. He was very, very good.”
She’s seen him perform as Elvis upwards of 15 times, and she says she’d be up for 15 more.
“I will say this, there will never be another Rich Vickers doing Elvis like he could,” said Moreland. “I’m going to miss it.”
But Vickers won’t be gone for good. He has a stable of young guys that he’s mentored in the business, and he’s ready to pass the torch. He plans to plug them into spots as he produces now and then.
“The Elvis thing has been good to me,” said Vickers. “I’m still a fan. I’m still going to be singing; I’m still going to be performing. I’m going to be doing a lot more hosting and emceeing shows, but I’m just going to step back away from the whole Elvis gig. Get my Saturdays back, and then I can pick and choose. ‘Hey, we want you to fly out in December and host this show.’ Then I don’t even have to think about it. I’m there.”
Who knows? Things might still get all shook up, one last time.
