Blelvis (the "Black

Elvis 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 ...

") is the performing name of Rondy Wooten, a

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, 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), 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 ...

. 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. 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. The ''City Paper'' is distributed on Thursdays; its average circulation in 2006 was 85,588. The paper's editorial mix is focused ...

'' and ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

''.

Early life

Wooten is a native of Washington, D.C., born in 1966 at Georgetown University Hospital. By coincidence, he and Elvis share the same birth day, though not the same year. He grew up in the

Petworth Petworth is a small 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 ...

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 smoked. Crack offers a short, intense high to smokers. The ''Manual of Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment'' calls ...

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 largest city in the U.S. state of Montana, with a population of 117,116 as of the 2020 census. Located in the south-central portion of the state, it is the seat of Yellowstone County and the principal city of the Billings Metrop ...

, then lived in

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

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