Lifelong Singer Harnesses 'Wonder' of Elvis

Original reporting by Theresa Katalinas

John Ekey has been singing all his life. But, he actually only found his voice in the '90s.

Whether he’s crooning romantic ballads, or belting out upbeat rockers, that voice sounds an awful lot like the King, Elvis Presley that is.

Ekey’s interest in karaoke in the '90s spurred his interest in the man whose name has become synonymous with countless impersonators, or, as Ekey prefers, Elvis Tribute Artists.

“I would do Elvis songs and people would say how I sounded like Elvis,” said Ekey, 65, who on stage, is better known as "Elvis Pretzel." 

“When you really delve into finding out about the man and his music it’s hard not to fall in love with him.”

And Ekey did just that 12 years ago when he began his stint putting a new “twist” on Elvis.  

“I was a fan, but I wasn’t big until I got into him,” said Ekey, a former long-time Upper Moreland Township resident and current Willow Grove Lions Club member. “Now I’m really big.”

The semi-retired Ekey performs regularly in Upper Moreland Township, Hatboro and Horsham. He sang recently at Masons Mill Park and was a common face–bell bottoms and all–at Hatboro’s First Friday events. He has a show coming up at his regular Horsham stomping ground, Otto's Brauhaus, on Aug. 18 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

In all, Ekey dons his flashy get-up about 50 shows per year, including weddings, graduations and even doing Elvis singing telegrams.

Singing professionally was something that, like his interest in karaoke, Ekey said he stumbled into.

As a sales representative at Nabisco, Ekey said he incorporated singing into his regular routine.

“I thought of bringing karaoke into the market and pushing my product. I was the only one doing that that I can ever think of,” he said. “I called myself cookie and had a pink coat on.”

When he left Nabisco in the 90s and soon after started at Snyder’s Pretzels, Ekey said he again looked to “bring these shows back into the market.”

About that same time, Ekey said a potato company had offered a national contest to help stimulate sales.

“They were looking for a theme,” Ekey recalled. “I thought of Elvis Pretzel. I did my show around my pretzel displays.”

Ekey won second place.

“It was a big hit,” he said. “It was all over the country.”

Someone who saw Ekey’s performance called the store where he sang and asked for his contact information.

“He said, ‘who is that guy? I want him for my wedding,’ “ Ekey said the store manager told him. “I did his wedding a month later. That’s what got it started."

Fast-forward a dozen years and Ekey is retired a year from Snyder’s and is focusing solely on his Elvis Pretzel efforts.

“This is what I love to do,” said Ekey, who performs as a one-man band. “This is me, myself and I right now. I don’t even have an agent. Right now I’m doing it on my own.”

Of course, Ekey, who draws inspiration from Presley and lists “The Wonder of You” as his favorite to sing, has had a little help along the way.

“This is keeping me young,” Ekey said, adding that, like Presley, he’s learning karate. “I’m getting better with his moves. It’s great. I love it.”

For more information on John Ekey, aka Elvis Pretzel, click here to visit his Web site.