Theres an amount of serendipity inherent in selling antiques, so it should come as no surprise Mayberry Antique Malls celebration of the late Elvis Presley just all fell into place. The celebration was held to commemorate the 80th birthday of the King of Rock and Roll.
Owners Sally and Marty Adams explained dealers are always bringing in new items with new stories. When they began discussing a tribute to Presley the staff and others became more excited with each new conversation.
Because a lot of what we do is nostalgia, we wanted to do some little something, said Sally Adams. The more we talked about it the more excited we got. She noted early on the stores window display was bringing in customers off the street, sometime to pose for pictures with the display items.
Adams said staffer Joe Dellinge started the ball rolling about getting an impersonator. Taylor Vaden of King, locally known as an entertainer, songwriter, singer and Elvis impersonator, just happened to be in the store shopping that day. He spoke up and said you all must be talking about me.
What we are doing here today is informal and kind of thrown together. It all comes from the connection people still have, Adams said. People love Elvis. Our business is dealing with old and new things. Elvis is still very relevant. We were thrilled with Taylors participation. A multi-tiered yellow cake with white icing from Miss Angels Heavenly Pies was the centerpiece at the refreshment table with the cake cutting held at 11 a.m. Saturday.
Youd be surprised at the 20- to 30-somethings who come in and buy albums, Adams said. We have such a wide range of customers. Its a neat business. Adams said their stock and trade boils down to allowing people a connection to nostalgia and the ability to sell memories.
Mastering the music charts just wasnt enough for the Elvis. His 1956 big screen debut was Love Me Tender, and he made more than 30 films over the course of his career. Vaden was hooked by Presleys sound and charisma at the age of 6 when his grandfather played him one of the Kings songs.
Vaden later sang and danced at a second grade class talent show and went on to the second grade talent show and sang Girls! Girls! Girls! A teacher later called his mother to say how much she enjoyed him singing. The family remained supportive. Later came a chance to perform at Reynolds auditorium. After a brief hiatus in high school for sports, Vaden was asked to perform in the high school show and he was back, so to speak, in Presleys shoes. Bear in mind, Vaden kept his faith at a time when Elvis wasnt considered cool.
With social media these days I really dont think anyone can be that big again, Vaden said. The excitements not there. The excitement of getting to see him on live television (then) was so much bigger. I think sometimes social media, which is a blessing for people at my level, has watered down the excitement.
He also noted the big-hearted performer didnt publicize his charitable side for self-promotion.
He pointed out when Elvis was inducted into the U.S. Army in 1958, he felt he would be forgotten as the big studio system went on to the next big thing. Vaden said the light focused on us now by social media didnt exist then and Elvis dropped off of the radar before he returned to engineer his comeback.
Its been fun. I dont know where itll take me next, Vaden said of his work. Im biased. His charisma was out of the roof and you dont see that now days. I can remember being embarrassed playing Elvis in my car (in high school). At that time people picked on you. They didnt think Elvis was cool. I saw it differently. I have listened and watched him so much, sometimes I feel like I know him.
David Broyles may be reached at 336-415-4739 or on Twitter@MtAiryNewsDave.
Source: http://www.mtairynews.com/news/home_top-news/51014882/Mayberry-Antique-Mall-celebration-marks-Elvis-Presleys-birthday
No comments:
Post a Comment