Shawn Klush (born June 17, 1969,

Pittston, Pennsylvania Pittston is a city in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is situated between Scranton and Wilkes-Barre in Northeastern Pennsylvania. The city gained prominence in the late 19th and early 20th centuries as an active anthracite coal ...

), is an American

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

who regularly tours around the world.

Early life

Shawn Klush was born and raised in

.
www.shawnklush.com He graduated from Seton Catholic High School (Pittston, Pennsylvania), Seton Catholic High School in Pittston in 1988. Klush's love for music led him to begin imitating his musical idol,

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

. Klush's father was a radio disc jockey. From an early age, Klush listened to Elvis singing. He studied guitar, and eventually joined a local band called Night Moves, with members Joseph Bruno, Dan Gardner, George Guman, and Charlie Newcomb.

Early career

Klush first began performing as an Elvis tribute artist at resorts in the

Poconos The Pocono Mountains, commonly referred to as the Poconos , are a geographical, geological, and cultural region in Northeastern Pennsylvania. They overlook the Delaware River and Delaware Water Gap to the east, Lake Wallenpaupack to the north, W ...

region of Pennsylvania. During a tour of Canada, he entered and won the $5,000 prize in the “Worldwide Elvis Competition” in Montreal. He was hired by the producers of the

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish language, Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the List of United States cities by population, 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the U.S. state, state of Neva ...

show ''Legends in Concert'' to star as ‘Elvis’ in the company's Branson, Missouri production in 2004. He also alternated in their Las Vegas and Atlantic City show rooms. Each January he stars in the “Elvis Birthday Tribute Tour,” an Elvis show with Elvis’ original musicians, singers, and closest friends, in multiple cities. Klush also performed at Burnley Mechanics and performed at the Bolton Arena with Justin Shandor, Gordon Hendricks,

Steve Preston Steven C. Preston (born August 4, 1960) is currently president and CEO of Goodwill Industries International, the organization that works to help individuals achieve greater independence through employment, with programs for youth, seniors, and v ...

, DJ Fontana, and

The Sweet Inspirations The Sweet Inspirations were an American R&B girl group mostly known for their work as backup singers on studio recordings for other R&B and rock artists. A founding member of the group was Dionne Warwick, who was later replaced by her aunt, C ...

Personal life

Shawn is no longer married and has two children, Shelby and Troy.

Competitions

As well as winning the “Worldwide Elvis Competition” in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

mentioned earlier on January 6, 2005, just two days before Elvis’ 70th birthday, Klush became grand champion at the $25,000 “World Elvis Tribute Artist Competition”. (Potawatomi Casino Contest). That year he received “The People's Choice Award” from

Gibson Guitar Gibson Brands, Inc. (formerly Gibson Guitar Corporation) is an American manufacturer of Guitar manufacturing, guitars, other musical instruments, and professional audio equipment from Kalamazoo, Michigan, and now based in Nashville, Tennessee. ...

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and t ...

as “Best Concert Elvis”. In 2007, Klush was named the international champion of

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's Flagship (broadcasting), flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News ...

's orld's Greatest Elvis Competition in the United Kingdom by BBC1 Network U.K. Klush was chosen by Graceland as the winner of Elvis Presley Enterprises first ever Ultimate Tribute Artist Contest in Memphis, Tennessee, and is the only Elvis tribute artist officially endorsed and approved by Elvis Presley Enterprises. According to Klush in a rare interview "I've won every one (Elvis Presley tribute artist competition) I ever attempted. I don't like them. I don't feel Elvis felt like he was in competition with anyone. (However) I graciously accept the awards (for winning) but I never stop working on my craft." Klush has many times been dubbed by the news media as "The closest to The King in concert" including The Chicago Tribune, The Las Vegas Sun and Newsweek Magazine.

Television

In 1999 Klush appeared in the VHI and NBC mini series "Shake Rattle and Roll" as Elvis. In 2013 Klush appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman at the end of the show as a featured performing musical guest singing the Elvis song 'Suspicious Minds' as part of the promotion of his Las Vegas show, a recreation of the original Elvis Presley performances at the Las Vegas Hilton. In 2016, Klush appeared in an episode of the HBO series ''

Vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from viny ...

'' playing Elvis Presley.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Klush, Shawn Living people People from Pittston, Pennsylvania Elvis impersonators 1969 births