Book Description
This book is an in-depth exploration of the worldwide phenomenon of Elvis impersonators. There are believed to be between 10,000 and 30,000 people who say they are Elvis peformers from among the over 10,000,000 fans in every city in America, and every country in the world. For more than ten years, Chicago based photographer Patty Carroll has traveled across the globe to photograph over 300 Tribute Artists. The fruit of the singular obsession of this self-described "normal person" is a fabulously funny, totally engrossing portrayal of a slice of life of consuming interest to millions of people throughout the world.

The book is a vivid, exciting, richly colorful series of portraits of 75 Elvis Tribute Artists in full costume- ready in every way to have their fifteen minutes of fame. The portraits are presented together with commentaries and written responses about themselves and their relation to Elvis drawn from interviews by the photographer. The book highlights the diversity of people who perform in Elvis mode, and represents the ultimate realization of years of research, photography, interviewing, talking, listening, hanging out, observing, and being totally immersed in the world of ETA's for more than ten years.

There is no end in sight for this amazing culture - it continues to expand too fast to ever really document them all. The impersonators are a diverse, unregulated, self-obsessed and self-promoting group of people who all have the same fantasy of being like Elvis. These men, women, and children range in age, size, girth, nationality, race, religion and profession, and include every type of person imaginable! Impersonators are at the core of a worldwide phenomenon in which Elvis Presley continues to be adored, admired, and imitated since his death in 1977.

About the Author
Patty Carroll is a photographer living in Chicago, currently teaching photography at The School of the Art Institute and Columbia College. Previously, she taught at the Royal College of Art in London, and at the Institute of Design at Illinois Institute of Technology. Her other books include "Culture is Everywhere" with Victor Margolin, published by Prestel in 2002, "Spirited Visions" with James Yood, published by the University of Illinois Press in 1991, and among others is included in "Women Photographers, Changing Chicago." Other popular culture projects include her digital Faux Film Posters, shown last summer at the Art Institute of Chicago.

Living the Life: The World of Elvis Tribute Artists