Music in the Park Steve Roth: Elvis tribute shakes up park

Elvis impersonator Steve Roth left La Cañada all shook up June 29 during his Music in the Park performance. For two hours Roth serenaded the packed Memorial Park crowd with hit after hit from the king of rock and roll. Roth not only got those in attendance to dance—sometimes reluctantly in their lawn chairs, but always dancing—but he also handed out scarves during more sentimental tunes and teddy bears to the younger members of the crowd.

As one of the most respected Elvis impersonators in Southern California, Roth did more than deliver great hits and gifts, he also educated his audience. His two-part act alternated between Presley’s songs and history lessons on Presley, teaching an attentive audience everything from how Elvis was first influenced by music he heard played in poor neighborhoods in Memphis to the fact that Presley didn’t like being called “The King.” Roth did all this, he said, in hopes that Elvis fans of all calibers would “come away with a different appreciation of Elvis and his music.”

Almost as stunning as his singing and knowledge of Elvis trivia was his attire. Roth entered his first act, which consisted of Elvis’s early songs, wearing a tight blue polyester jumpsuit sprinkled with gems. For the second act, his outfit had changed to an almost identical and equally uncomfortable white one.

The suit sure seemed to put him into character as he performed Elvis’s favorite tour songs, some of which were originally done by other artists, such as Ray Charles, Peggy Lee, and John Fogerty of Creedence Clearwater Revival.

The July 6 Music in the Park concert features the All American Wranglers, a classic country western band. Members of the All American Wranglers have performed with such country big names as Dolly Parton and Dwight Yoakam. The Los Angeles-based group will start performing at 6 p.m., and immediately after their performance, at 8 p.m., the movie “Transformers” will be shown in the park.