Thursday, December 17, 2009

Can I Call You Elvis?


Over the years, various people have called me "Elvis." It's no secret that I think he was and will always be the quintessential artist of all time. My friend, Steve, had trouble remembering my name and always called me by the King's first name. The other day, I received an email and noticed that his moniker for me was "Elvis."
My first name is so common, there are always at least three John's in any given room. I've never particularly liked to be called "Big John." When I first started going to karaoke the first guy who turned a song in for me, put that for the name and it stuck on me for a good while.
There are several "Big Johns" who are very unsavory characters including one associated with Beach Music. When it comes to that genre, with the exception of some that crossed over into mainstream charts by the Drifters and such, I need to write my own answer to "I Love Beach Music," which would be "I HATE Beach Music."
Since about 2004, I have begun going by my last name. I am comfortable being ROEBUCK. I AM Roebuck.
So, the other night, a huge Elvis fan came up to me and asked my name. I told her, "Roebuck." She mispronounced it a few times and we went through the Sears explanation and she finally said, "Can I call you Elvis?"
My response was, that I am not close to worthy of having that name, but if that's what she wanted, I already look around if someone calls his name out.
I guess while emulation is a strong form of flattery, being called the name of one of your heroes is right up there with it.
So now, I'm off to have a banana sandwich. "Uh, Mama, don't forget to put extra mayonnaise on it, okay?"

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