WELCOME TO THE
Harvey was born in 1955, in Houston, Texas. He grew up on Elvis music and was
a big fan at an early age. His parents had several Elvis albums including,
“Elvis’ Golden Records Vol.1”, which he almost wore out playing so often.
For Christmas, 1965, Harvey received, “Elvis’ Golden Records Vol. 3, which
became his all time favorite album.
In 1973, Harvey joined the Navy, entering the submarine
service in Hawaii, shortly after Elvis’ “Aloha From Hawaii” concert.
Elvis died on Harvey’s second wedding anniversary just prior to he and his
wife, Sharon, leaving Hawaii. The king was gone but when Ronnie
McDowell came out with his debut song about Elvis just a short time later,
Harvey begin to feel the magic of Elvis once again.
In 1982, Harvey had the pleasure of meeting Jimmy
“Orion” Ellis. Jimmy was not an Elvis Tribute Artist at the time but
he sounded so much like Elvis, many people thought he was Elvis. Meeting
Jimmy inspired Harvey to impersonate Elvis at a Halloween party that same year.
He sang acappella in a pieced together outfit but won first place and the
admiration of his friends. The Navy kept Harvey busy, but in his travels
he collected as many soundtracks as possible, and in 1993, rented a jumpsuit and
sang at a friend’s going away party in Florida. The crowd responded
wonderfully, greatly encouraging Harvey to break out and do more. Due to
his Navy job and traveling so much, Harvey didn’t get the opportunity to
perform as Elvis for a long while. He kept it in the back of his mind
though and dreamed of future possibilities.
Retiring from the Navy in 1995, Harvey returned to his old
high school as Naval Junior ROTC instructor. He visited Graceland for the
first time in 1996, returning home with a new zeal and determination. In
1997, he sang, “Unchained Melody” for the 1600+ student body at the
Homecoming pep rally. The students and staff went wild and when several
told him they thought he was lip-synching, he knew the doors were beginning to
open.
Harvey continued to sing at school but was encouraged even
more when he sang at a friend’s retirement party in 2000, which included many
people that didn’t know him. A few weeks later, he met impersonator Lou
Vuto and long time Elvis friend, Charlie Hodge in Tennessee. Now that was
inspiration! This was topped off by a tour of Sun Studios and a second trip to
Graceland.
Harvey ordered his first jumpsuit and sang at several
events in 2000. This included the big test – a Christmas concert at a
local hospital where the patients and staff had never heard of him. The
response was fantastic and Harvey knew it was time to really get started.
This lead to a busy year of concerts in 2001 which included 2 benefit shows, 5
paid engagements, and 1 wedding reception. Another highlight included
having two of his songs played on Elvis Tribute Artist Radio in Canada in June
and December.
2002 has included several performances including Harvey’s
first contest in the Elvis In Dixie Land Contest in Birmingham, Alabama.
Harvey placed 14th among the 20 performers but was told by the contest host,
David Lee Roseberry, that he was among several contestants separated by just one
or two points. David also told Harvey that he performed quite well, 
especially
considering this was his first contest. Another highlight for 2002 was
Harvey’s assisting in the formation of the Texas Elvis Explosion, founded by fellow ETA, Mike Powell of Sugar Land, Texas.
The group’s web site is: http://www.texaselvisexplosion.com
VIDEO CLIPS: click
HERE
(936) 377-2185
P.O. Box 744
Pointblank, TX 77364
HSM75_US@yahoo.com
You
can also enter information in Harvey’s guestbook in this web site.
