'Elvis' alive and well in Cowanshannock
An Elvis Presley tribute artist living in Cowanshannock is crooning his way to the top of some big national competitions and into the hearts of fans near and far.
With his glossy black pompadour hairstyle and chiseled good looks, Kelly Hylton is a dead ringer for the late king of rock and roll.
He performs locally and has won dozens of awards at Elvis tribute competitions across the country. One of his favorite wins is his best vocal award from the 2011 Reflection of the King competition in New York, where he won a plaque and a white custom-made jumpsuit called “The Comet.”
“I do all the '50s, '60s and '70s songs,” Hylton said. “But my favorite album is still the ‘G.I. Blues.' ”
He discovered that album in his father's collection as a kid in the early 1980s.
“I listened to it every day. I was more interested in listening to it than I was in watching TV,” he said. “I woke up one day and started singing the songs and sounded just like Elvis.”
He discovered he could do a pretty good Elvis impersonation while an elementary school student in Tucson. It was Halloween. His mom had gussied up a white shirt for him to wear, sewing little stars along the line of buttons. She popped his collar and he stepped out to sing “Blue Suede Shoes” before an audience of students and teachers.
“I'm singing and wiggling around. The audience was yelling and cheering and I got nervous and shouted for them to be quiet,” he said, smiling at the memory.
He continued to sing and perform Elvis' music since then, getting gigs at weddings and parties while driving big rig trucks for a living. That was before he took his talents on the road and became a full-time performer about 10 years ago.
Hylton and his wife, Susan, are from California. Hylton lived in Kentucky and Arizona, and they moved eight years ago to Armstrong County, where they live with their dogs, Lefty, Duke and Alex.
Susan — who is Hylton's manager, sound technician and trims his rockabilly hair — works at DiMaio's Market in NuMine.
People kid her about being married to a celebrity.
“They say things like ‘Hey, how's Elvis doing?' or ‘I saw Elvis mowing the lawn,' ” she said.
Hylton keeps his hair combed in Elvis' signature style on and off stage.
At home this week, he was dressed in black and wore a white belt.
“He's just like the original,” said Shirley Campbell of Kittanning Township, who saw Hylton perform at a recent event. “He has the black hair, the satin jacket and does all the moves. He has it all.”
Brigid Beatty is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. She can be reached at 724-543-1303 or bbeatty@tribweb.com.
