Blelvis (the "Black

Elvis Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Presley's sexuall ...

") is the performing name of Rondy Wooten, a

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, street entertainer who claims to know the words to every one of the 1,112 songs ever sung by

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

. He also claims he is able to relate any given word to an Elvis song. Wooten describes himself as an "Elvisologist" rather than an

Elvis impersonator An Elvis impersonator is an entertainer who impersonates or copies the look and sound of American musician and rock singer Elvis Presley. Professional Elvis impersonators, commonly known as Elvis tribute artists (ETAs), work all over the wor ...

. He has been referred to as a local legend, and has been profiled by the ''

Washington City Paper The ''Washington City Paper'' is a U.S. alternative weekly newspaper serving the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area since 1981. The ''City Paper'' is distributed on Thursdays; its average circulation in 2006 was 85,588. The paper's editorial ...

'' and ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

''.

Early life

Wooten is a native of Washington, D.C., born in 1966 at

Georgetown University Hospital MedStar Georgetown University Hospital is one of the Washington, D.C. area's oldest academic teaching hospitals. It is a not-for-profit, acute care teaching and research facility located in the Georgetown neighborhood of the Northwest Quadrant ...

. By coincidence, he and Elvis share the same birth day, though not the same year. He grew up in the

Petworth Petworth is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Chichester (district), Chichester District of West Sussex, England. It is located at the junction of the A272 road, A272 east–west road from Heathfield, East Sussex, Heat ...

neighborhood of D.C. His parents disapproved of Elvis, believing him to be racist, so he had little experience with him until the age of 11. On August 16, 1977, the day Elvis died, every radio station was playing Elvis tracks in tribute to him. It was the first time that Wooten heard Elvis's music, and he wound up listening to it all night. In 1987, he stumped a record-store owner with his extensive knowledge of Elvis's discography. Soon after, he adopted the name Blelvis and began to perform at small local gigs and cable TV shows. At the same time, he developed an addiction to

crack cocaine Crack cocaine, commonly known simply as crack, and also known as rock, is a free base form of the stimulant cocaine that can be Smoking, smoked. Crack offers a short, intense Euphoria (emotion), high to smokers. The ''Manual of Adolescent Sub ...

that derailed his career as a truck-driver and rendered him homeless. He left D.C. to study the Bible in

Billings, Montana Billings is the most populous Lists of populated places in the United States, city in the U.S. state of Montana, with a population of 117,116 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located in the south-central portion of the state, i ...

, then lived in

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

before returning to D.C. In a 1997 interview, he stated that he has not used crack cocaine since 1995, although a 2007 profile notes that he abuses alcohol instead. Wooten now rarely plays shows, but continues to perform as a street entertainer.

Personal life

Wooten married 27-year-old Cathy Grooms at the age of 18, just after he graduated high school. They had four children during their twelve-year marriage. The eldest two, Elvison and Elvisa, are named after Elvis. Wooten's obsession with Elvis, capped by Grooms's refusal to give their younger children Elvis-inspired names, was a significant factor in the deterioration of their relationship. They divorced in 1996.

Notes

Living people 1966 births Musicians from Washington, D.C. Elvis impersonators {{US-entertainer-stub