Who Is Johnny Seaton?

First, I’m not Elvis Presley. Elvis has left the building but I’m still here. Sometimes I act like Elvis  but I’ve turned down more offers to play Elvis than I can count. There’s much more to me than another Elvis look-alike and sound-alike. Here’s more about me.

When I Was A Kid

I come from a very musical family. When I was just a kid growing up in the Washington D.C., Baltimore suburbs, my mother helped pave the way for me to become an ambitious young artist. She played all her L.P.’s for me, the greats: Frank Sinatra, Jerry Vale, Johnny Mathis and many others. And my two older brothers influenced me with Elvis, The Beatles, and all the other pop music of the day. When I was five years old, I got my first taste of performing in front of an audience. I sang “Red Roses for a Blue Lady” by Wayne Newton. I was standing on top of a bank teller’s desk, singing for the president of the bank! Those were the days.

My Teen Years

By the time I was in my early teens, I knew that singing, dancing and acting would be my life. My friends encouraged me to sing all the time, wherever I went.  I always had the act of being the class comedian. I performed in talent shows in Maryland, singing Elvis songs. To my surprise, I won every contest I entered. In 1976, when I was a sophomore at High Point High School, I performed in a talent show with my good friends singing “All Shook Up.” 

I also found the creative outlet of drawing, painting and sculpture. I designed the bicentennial bronze emblem for Prince George’s County, Md., and it was displayed at the Smithsonian Institute in our nation’s capital, finally to be placed in a time capsule in the National Archives.

In my senior year, I performed with my first rock-n-roll band at the annual “Blue and Gold” talent show at High Point High. Our show was a hit with the students and the teachers. My principal arranged for me and the band to perform at other schools. We raised thousands of dollars for various charitable organizations.  The recognition catapulted me into a Department of Defense (USO) tour. I performed all over Europe, Portugal, Germany, Greece, Crete, Sicily, Italy and Spain, singing everything from Top 40 to my signature Elvis Presley tribute.

A Blossoming Career

When I returned to the U.S., my reputation as an entertainer had blossomed. I was asked to appear on local news broadcast and radio talk shows. This got the attention of promoters, and I was asked to perform in a show called “The World’s Greatest Tribute to Elvis,” where there was a crowd of 18,000 fans at the Capital Centre in Maryland. 

But I’m More than Elvis

Although impersonating Elvis was a great experience, I have to confess I became frustrated with the constant comparison. I started writing my own music, and went on to win the D.C. “Battle of the Bands,” receiving a $10,000 first prize. In the early 1980’s, I formed my own record label, “Renegade,” and released my first album “Uptown” featuring guitar great Danny Gatton. It got favorable reviews and landed me a European distribution deal and a concert tour in Holland. After touring “Uptown,” I was in New York City, and auditioned for an off-broadway show about Elvis. I was once again asked if I would play the part of Elvis. Thinking I could possibly help my career, I accepted the role. In 1984, “Elvismania” became a smash hit in the Big Apple.

A Great “Reaction”

After the “Elvismania” year, in 1985, I signed a record deal with Rounder Records on the American music series. The title “Reaction”, again featuring Danny Gatton, with nearly all selections written by me was praised by many critics as one of the best Rockabilly/Roots Rock records ever recorded. Billboard magazine and Cashbox magazine gave “Reaction” very high marks as well. Both “Uptown” and “Reaction” are now in the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville.

And Then Back To Elvis

In 1988/89, I auditioned to play “Presley” in the mega musical “Elvis an American Musical.” This time I worked with some very talented and creative people: Patricia Birch, director and choreographer of “Grease” fame, and Phil Ramone, record producer for Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand, and others. With this incredible staff and a wonderful cast approved by the Elvis Presley Estate, how could I turn this down? “Elvis an American Musical” played to sold-out crowds in major cities across the U.S. and Canada, including the showroom at the Las Vegas Hilton, where Elvis himself had performed. No show before that time, except Elvis himself, had sold out this room except “Elvis an American Musical” 11 years after Presley’s death in 1977.

Legends, Joseph and “Tribute to the King”

I landed the lead part in John Stuart’s “Legends in Concert” in Las Vegas. I toured in Communist Russia (St. Petersburg, Riga and Moscow) on a diplomatic concert tour with “Legends in Concert” in 1991. After leaving “Legends” in early 1992, I landed the part of Pharaoh in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s broadway show “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” starring Donny Osmond as Joseph. “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” had the largest box office receipts of any theater show running during that time frame. The show played to sold-out crowds and fans from Toronto, Vancouver, Chicago, Minneapolis, Boston, Detroit and many other places through late 1997. The reviews were stunning. I’m featured as Pharaoh on Webber’s "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" CD, which went Platinum six times more than six million copies sold!

In 1995, I took some time off from “Joseph” to write, co-produce (Seaton/Glidewell Enterprise) and star in “Tribute to the King” at the Orpheum Theater in Memphis, Tennessee.

A Birthday to Remember for Bruce Willis and Me

In 1999, I signed at the MGM hotel and Casino in Las Vegas under a company called “One Night with You.”  I performed three shows a day, five days a week, singing Elvis songs as well as cover songs and my originals. This became one of the most popular daytime shows to see in Vegas until 2002. After completing my run at the MGM Grand, I traveled and performed in Canada; Branson, Myrtle Beach and Atlantic City.

What I’m Doing Now

From the beginning, I’ve been focused on designing and producing music and that’s what I’m continuing with now. I’ve been a guest on many major national TV shows the Today Show, Good Morning America, CBS Early Show, Entertainment Tonight, Showbiz Today and The Regis and Kathy Lee Show. I have had the privilege of working with some of the biggest stars in the business: Carl Perkins, Roseann Cash, The Jordanaires, and many others.

But what I’m most proud of is designing and producing music. I designed all the artwork on “Uptown” and “Johnny Seaton Sings the Music of Elvis.” I also co-produced or had a major production role in all my CD’s.

Now I’m working with Rob Stoner (guitar player and writer for Bob Dylan), Joan Javits (producer) and Sandra Hochman (writer of “Year of the Woman”) on a project called “Elvis Unbound.” This show will be a unique take on Elvis’s life from the age of 35 until his death. I just recorded a new CD, “Johnny Seaton Sings the Music of Elvis,” and I’m currently working with my “All Star” band on the East Coast.