A man who for more than 10 years chased a career as a romantic southern crooner with a love of rockabilly and nostalgic love songs. With fans more interested in seeing "Kemo Sabe" rather than Jimmy Ellis, he spent the next few years focusing more on his business affairs than his music career. It is old and worn just like it should be. * Released After Jimmy Ellis's death in 1999. Oh well, it is publicity!! Singleton then persuaded Ellis to start appearing as "Orion", wearing a small mask with dyed hair and in similar clothing to that worn by Presley. Thats the special since the regular price is $12.95. compilation added to various unofficial releases page. EIN: Bobby, is there anything else you would like to say to our readers and Jimmy Ellis/Orion fans? Jimmy grinned sleeplessly and said: Ill show you how this works. 'Elvis: From Louisiana and Memphis 1976' FTD In-depth Review: FTD continues their extensive look at Elvis' performances in 1976 with three July 1976 concerts. I have to say I was floored. The music industry is filled with many strange tales of artists whose lives took unexpected turns on the winding road to success, but the saga of singer Jimmy Ellis is perhaps one of the weirdest of them all. Real Name: James Hughes Bell Profile: James Hughes Bell (February 26, 1945 - December 12, 1998), stage name Orion (based on the character from the same-titled book by Gail Brewer-Giorgio ), was an American singer. How many Elvis tribute artists have had 10 Top 100 hits on the Country Music Chart? With an outlandish fictional identity torn from the pages of a pulp novel, the backing of the legendary birthplace of rock n roll Sun Records and a voice that seemed to be the very twin of Presleys himself, the scheme concocted in the months after Presleys death exploded into a cult success and the Elvis is alive myth began. Get the latest updates on NASA missions, watch NASA TV live, and learn about our quest to reveal the unknown and benefit all humankind. And, you wonder if helistened to "Ebony Eyes" and the rest of the LP. Happy Birthday EIN EIN turns 100 a retrospective! Of the thousands who in some way look(ed), perform(ed) or sound(ed) like Elvis there is one performer who stands well apart from the rest. [13], "Orion (musician)" redirects here. The book has been a huge task with 12+ years of research. In its way, the story underscores some of the dark, disturbing aspects of image-making, music marketing, and how the music industry builds stars but destroys individuals. EIN: Did he come to resent the Orion character and if so, how strongly? Which memorial do you think is a duplicate of Jimmy Ellis (19214)? 26th. Original Name James Bell Birth 26 Feb 1945. At that point Shelby was done with their arrangement and so was Jimmy. After his "unmasking" more and more fans accepted Orion was not Elvis, and for those who could not let go of the King a new theory took form - yes the original Orion wasn't Elvis but the real (still alive) Elvis was replacing Jimmy Ellis on stage at various concerts! While in Germany, met my future wife, the daughter of a Major, fighter pilot stationed at the same base. An album featuring the duet came out and the controversy really heated up when Good Morning America had the Friends voice scientifically scanned and analyzed and concluded that it could be no one but Presley. December 1998. It has 408 pages, harcover and a CD included with some of Jimmy's finest performances and also unreleased gems from the archives of Sun Records. The story of Orion, the singer whose voice bears an incredible likeness to that of Elvis Presley, is an interesting and unusual one to say the least. It is the story of Jimmy Ellis, a singer from Alabama who was cursed with having a voice identical to that of . His natural voice was very similar to the voice of Elvis Presley, read more That was December 4, 1998 - The Nightlife Theatre in Nashville, TNwhat a show!!! At first with all the attention he was getting, Im sure he had fun with it but he really wanted to be known as himself and not try to fool people into thinking he might be Elvis Presley. You can make comments on the tab provided, or on Facebook at "Orion Jimmy Ellis Fan Club" or "Orion Jimmy Ellis Group". Even before the Orion phenomenon had really taken off he released a self-penned single on the small Boblo label, I'm Not Trying To Be Like Elvis. She was 16 going on 21 and I was 21. More recently, one of the few remaining groups in the once prolific and infamous (so-called) 'Elvis Underground' has stated that Jesse (aka the 'still alive' Elvis) believes some of the Orion/Jimmy Ellis recordings are actually him (Jesse) singing. EIN: Listening to My Special Angel and Hes Got You it is apparent that you also have a singing voice very similar Elvis. Is that your natural singing voice? 'The Wedding' Elvis & Priscilla EIN special Spotlight: 'Elvis In Ottawa' Spotlight & Elvis Interview: 'Elvis: Live at the International' Book Review: Elvis By Special Request '71 At 40 (Book Review): "Kissed By Elvis" Janet Fulton Interview: "ReBooked At The International'- in-depth Review: 'The Elvis Files Vol. Giorgios book had just come out, so Singleton decided to cash in on its popularity and transform Jimmy Ellis into the mysterious Orion who had phoned the author earlier that year. How many Elvis tribute artists have several websites devoted to them. the story behind Bobby D's friendship with Jimmy Ellis, how Jimmy felt about his "Orion" character. When autocomplete results are available use up and down arrows to review and enter to select. EIN: There are conflicting reports of who else was with Jimmy at the time, some reports say his fianc, others say his ex-wife. Scan of the cassette release BY REQUEST, ELLIS SINGS ELVIS. In their illuminating examination of the infamous 'Elvis Underground' and activities around the belief Elvis did not die in 1977, Professors R. Serge Denisoff and George Plasketes addressed the Orion phenomenon. He was standing before the display counter in his Jimmy's Pawn and Package Store just after noon Saturday when the gunman burst in and, in seconds, turned the quiet shop into a slaughterhouse. Think of it as an online flash mob. Join the OrionThunderclap, and you and [], "If Elvis is alive, One of them is Orion's Reborn LP and he plays a snippet of "Washing Machine" written by Jimmy Ellis. Interview conducted by Nigel Patterson, EIN (July 2014), Read: EIN's 2014 "Jimmy Ellis/Orion" article. Brewer-Giorgio's novel, Jimmy Ellis' career aspirations, and Shelby Singleton's business converged to create Orion, the masked singer who allowed Jimmy to essentially perform as Elvis Presley for those grief-stricken audiences who wanted to believe he was still alive. Could you clarify who was working with him that day? Kenneth Dokkeberg. was courted for a baseball career and a tryout with the Milwaukie Braves but turned it down. ORION: The Man Who Would Be King, a film by Jeanie Finlay tells the story of Jimmy Ellis an unknown singer plucked from obscurity and thrust into the spotlight as part of a crazy scheme that had him masquerade as Elvis back from the grave. Learn more about merges. So, I have kept the site going since 1998. He said: man you may make it before I do. Sundance Selects acquires Orion: The Man Who Would Be King for US Theatrical release. Dradco will release a 6 CD set in 2018 to commemorate the 20th anniversary since Jimmys passing. [6] His album Reborn, showing the singer emerging from a coffin, was released on gold-colored vinyl on the Sun label in 1978. For the next 10 years Jimmy would balance music and his business interests. The other lady fell to the floor with blood on her and played dead while Jimmy tried to crawl behind a computer desk. Our biography book on Jimmy Ellis is now available here on this website! Jimmy Ellis - If I Can't Have You The terrain is 2.5 and difficulty is 2 (out of 5). He left Sun Records, never again appearing to the public as Orion. 5 1969-70' Book Review: 'From Hawaii to Las Vegas' FTD CD Review: 'Young Man with the Big Beat' In-Depth Review: 'Fashion For A King' FTD in-depth Review: The Music of Elvis Presley - Australian Radio Show, Elvis Presley In Concert "downunder" 2006, Graceland - The National Historic Landmark. Orion recorded a single, Ebony Eyes, for Sun in 1979, which became part of his debut album, Reborn. They are remembered for their hit single "Disco Inferno" (1976). Jimmy Hodges Ellis (born Jimmy Hughes Bell, February 26, 1945 - December 12, 1998), who used the stage name Orion at times in his career, was an American singer. Later, we met a guy named Jimmy Youmans also a student. Bobby D.: Actually, I know there are bootleg ones out there, but Im not familiar with all of them. EIN: You operate the official Jimmy Ellis/Orion website. Given you have a great singing voice why didnt you pursue a recording/performing career? Also like Elvis (surviving twin), he experienced an early life major event when, at the age of 4, he was adopted by Robert and Faye Ellis. Only Jimmy Ellis/Orion can lay claim to these remarkable achievements (and he could only be categorised as an Elvis tribute artist in his final years, well after his seminal period as the masked man, Orion). The records were endorsed as genuine Presley recordings by the song's co-writer Doc Pomus, the music journalist Roy Carr, and the TV show Good Morning America which undertook a voice comparison test of the song against Presley's voice. In 1979 Jimmy Ellis finally merged with an identity, but it still wasn't himself. Jimmy really liked my version of My Special Angel that we listened to for the first time while riding around in Nashville. There is a new film about Orion being made by the talented moviemaker from England, Jeanie Finlay. His voice was similar to Elvis Presley's, a fact which he and his record company played upon, making some believe that some of his recordings were by Presley, or even that Presley had not died in 1977. Some listeners believed that Orion was, in fact, Presley, who had supposedly faked his death. Im on the upper deck of our cabin in the picture here (see photo above). Anyway, he got that voice from somewhere in his original family.not from Sears, as he once said. Jimmy Ellis 1937-2012 It is with deep sadness that we report the passing of our friend and original lead singer, Jimmy Ellis, on Thursday, March 8, 2012 in Rock Hill, South Carolina. On Monday I carried his CDs to work and played them throughout the day. The shooter is in jail with a death sentence. Jimmy Hodges "Orion" Ellis Sr. I do miss playing live. Running time: 86 minutes in full colour. Stay Away LIVE (Elvis Presley Photo Compilation), Elvis Presley - Suspicious Minds (Viva Elvis), Don't Count Your Chickens / Love Is But A Love, There Ya Go / Here Comes That Feeling Again, There You Go / Here Come's That Wonderful Feeling Again, I'm Not Trying To Be Like Elvis / Games You Been Playing, Save The Last Dance For Me / Am I To Be The One, Washing Machine / Before The Next Teardrop Falls, Stranger In My Place / It Ain't No Mystery, Crazy Little Thing Called Love / Matchbox, Honky Tonk Heaven / Morning, Noon And Night, I'm Saving Up My Pennies (1982) / I'm Starting Over, One Hundred Pounds Of Clay / Because He Lives, Thank God For America / I Make The Livin', Sunday Father / Thank God For America (1986), I Want you, I Need You, I Love You / Plastic Saddle, Love It Back Together / If That Isn't Love, Honey / Lover Please / Got You On My Mind / Mona Lisa / Before The Next Teardrop Fall / Ebony Eyes / Washing Machine / Baby, I Still Love You / You Can Have Her / Lonesome Angel, Moody Blue / Return To Sender / Hurt / Kentucky Rain / Can't Help Falling In Love / It's Now Or Never / Burning Love / You Don't Have To Say You Love Me / My Way / Love Me Tender / Mean Woman Blues / Teddy Bear, Secret Love / You Can't Judge A Book / San Fransisco Is A Lonely Town / Then I'll Be Over You / I Heard You Talking With Your Eyes / Stranger In My Place / I Hear you Knocking / Turn Around, Look At Me / Baby You Got It / It Ain't No Mystery, Texas Tea / Faded Love / What Did I Promise Her Last Night / Green Green Grass Of Home / Crazy Arms / Send Me The Pillow You Dream On / Help Me Make It Through The Night / Release Me / Please Help Me I'm Falling / The Long Black Veil / Am I That Easy To Forget, Rockabilly Rebel / See you later Alligator / Suzie Q / I'm Gonna Be A Wheel Someday / Rockin' Little Angel / Crazy Little Thing Called Love / Long Tall Sally / Memphis Sun / Peggy Sue / Matchbox, Where He Leads Me / Sweet Hour Of Prayer / I Surrender All / Peace In The Valley / It Is No Secret / I Believe / He Touched Me / Softly And Tenderly / Where No One Stands Alone / Just A Closer Walk With Thee, There's No Easy Way / Baby Please Say Yes / Born / If I Can't Have You / Ain't No Good / Some You Win, Some You Lose / Look Me Up (And Lay It On Me) / Old Mexico / Rainbow Maker / Anybody Out There, Feelings / No One Will Ever Know / I Love You Because / What Now My Love / Somewhere My Love / I Can't Stop Loving You / He'll Have To Go / Snowbird, Snowbird (1981) / Save The Last Dance For Me (1978) / Honey (1978) / Please Help Me I'm Falling (1979) / Feelings (1981) / Help Me Make It Through The Night (1980) / Am I That Easy To Forget (1980) / Mona Lisa (1978) / Before The Next Teardrop Falls (1979) / I Love You Because (1981) / Faded Love (1980) / Crazy Arms (1980) / Release Me (1980) / Green Green Grass Of Home (1981) / Secret Love (1979) / He'll Have To Go (1981) / What Now My Love (1981) / No One Will Ever Know (1981) / I Can't Stop Loving You (1981) / Somewhere My Love (1981), I Need You In My Life / Lay Around And Love On You / Sunday Father / America / Never Too Old To Rock And Roll Sweet Mississippi Memories / Back On The Street / Old Time Rock (re-recording) / I Can't Get Used To Sleepin' By Myself / The Way My Dog Loves Me / Her Memory Just Won't Let Us Lay Down / Down In Mississippi, Only A Woman Like You / Love It Back Together / Lookin' For A Way / She Wakes Me With A Kiss Every Morning / We Can't Go On Living Like This / Plastic Saddle / I Want You, I Need You, I Love You / Hooked On A Feeling / Separate Ways / If That Isn't Love, Feel Right / Since I Met You Baby / Slow Hand / Nothing Short Of Dying / Love Is In The Air / That's The Thing About Love / At This Moment / It Only Hurts When I Cry / Tips Of My Fingers / Treat Me Nice, Just A Closer Walk With Thee / Amazing Grace / Where Could I Go But to The Lord / You'll Never Walk Alone / I'll Fly Away / Lead Me, Guide Me / Peace In The Valley / Stand By Me / Because He Lives / Precious Memories, Restless / Lay Around And Love On You / I Need You In My Life / Out Of The Blue / Memories Won't Let Us Lay Down / Dream On Me / Can't Get Used To Sleeping By Myself / Sunday Father / Old Pipeliner / Old Time Rock, Steady As She Goes / He Has His Hand On Your Heart / Love Is The Only Way Out / Between Hello And Goodbye / Rock Your Baby / I Know Where You Are Coming From / My Boogie Wants To Boogie With You / The Power Of Your Love / If You Ever Want A Fool Round / Starting Over, Here Comes Santa Claus / I'll Be Home For Christmas / O' Little Town Of Bethlehem / Blue Christmas / Santa Bring My Back Back To Me / Holly Leaves And Chistmas Trees / Silent Night / Santa Claus Is Back In Town / Jingle Bells (re-recording) / It Won't Seem Like Christmas Without You, Christmas Memory / A Christmas Filled With Love / The Funny Little Man All Dressed In Red / An Old Fashioned Christmas / Christmas Spirit / Christmas Eve / The Fireplace / You're All I Want For Christmas, Stuck On You / Don't Be Cruel / Crying In The Chapel / All Shook Up / Are You Lonesome Tonight / Teddy Bear (re-recording) / If I Can Dream / I Want You, I Need You, I Love You (re-recording) / That's Al Right (re-recording) / Follow That Dream, "Save The Last Dance For Me" (duet with Jerry Lee Lewis), "Sweet Little Sixteen" (duet with Jerry Lee Lewis), "I Love You Because" (duet with Jerry Lee Lewis), "Cold Cold heart" (duet with Jerry Lee Lewis), "Hello Josephine" (duet with Jerry Lee Lewis), "It Won't Happen With Me" (duet with Jerry Lee Lewis), "What I'd Say" (duet with Jerry Lee Lewis), "Good Golly Miss Molly" (duet with Jerry Lee Lewis), "Be Bop A Lula" (duet with Jerry Lee Lewis), "Good Rockin' Tonight" (duet with Jerry Lee Lewis), "Gentle As A Lamb" (duet with Charlie Rich), "Sittin' And Thinkin' (duet with Charlie Rich), "Gone, Gone, Gone" (duet with Carl Perkins), "It's All In The Game" (duet with Andy Lee Lang), "Puppet On A String" (duet Andy Lee Lang). Then he started the tape recorder and put the little microphone down by the record player and sang with the song overlaying Elvis voice with his. He released the Country, Rockabilly, and Glory albums in 1980, along with Trio Plus, which featured Orions voice overdubbed on old cuts with Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Charlie Rich. Ellis was born in either Pascagoula, Mississippi,[2] Orrville, Alabama,[3] or Washington, D.C.,[1] United States, into a single parent home. EIN: Given you have a great singing voice why didnt you pursue a recording/performing career? Other LP/CD's Featuring Jimmy Ellis/Orion, Other LP's/CD's featuring Jimmy Ellis/Orion, Other LP & CD's Featuring Jimmy Ellis/Orion, Stargem/Kardina/Southern Tracks Promo Photos. During that same year, with record in hand, I took Jimmy Ellis to Macon to meet Bobby Smith at his recording studio. How & where do I sell my Elvis collection? A few weeks later, some guys asked me to come down to their room where they were playing music so I decided to go. He then dropped the gun, fled the store and drove off in a car with two accomplices, authorities said. New 2016 DVD release of the award winning documentary on the life and career of Jimmy Ellis. That voice!.While he had a natural Elvis-like singing voice, throughout his adult life Jimmy strove to be recognised as a serious artist in his own right, a person who was inherently a wonderfully talented and gifted entertainer whose magical presence touched many people.That talent was genetically pre-determined and embryonically, DNA dictated.its essence was not because he sounded remarkably like Elvis! A lot of the people traveled many miles to see himsome were on a tour of Nashville from England andGermany andhad made the trip to see Orion. He appeared as Orion Eckley Darnell, the character created August 16, 1977, by a Marietta [Georgia], housewife Gail Brewer-Giorgo. Ellis recorded an album under his own name, Sometimes Words Just Get In The Way, for a small label in . The leader singer of The Trammps. The CDs are offered on the official web site: www.orionjimmyellis.com. : Aloha From Hawaii - The Concert 2013- EIN Exclusive, Elvis at Madison Square Garden 40 Years Ago. Adios till we meet again! His first two singles were covers of two of the Kings former hits, Thats All Right and Blue Moon of Kentucky.. Ellis appeared with many . Scans of sleeves and labels would be of real interest as would track listings of further foreign releases. Links to Orion / Jimmy Ellis sites. [12] It was released theatrically in the US by Sundance Selects on December 4, 2015. It is hold together by a stitch in the upper left corner. It will be presented at this years Las Vegas Elvis Fest at the LVH formerly the Las Vegas Hilton on July 11th. We have just received an intro and preview clip of the up coming documentary "Orion The Movie". Bobby D.: Jimmy's story and music is important- he was very talented - and these releases will celebrate his life and career. Ellis hailed from Orrville, Alabama and began his recording career in 1964. Shelby Singleton of Sun International decided to disguise Ellis' identity on his first Sun single, "That's All Right (Mama)"/"Blue Moon of Kentucky" (Sun 1129), leaving listeners to speculate that the songs might be alternate takes of Elvis' first first two songs. James Burton Interview - Rick Nelson & Elvis: Elvis Drummer Jerome "Stump" Monroe EIN Interview: Elvis in 1969 - Ann Moses & Ray ConnollyInterviews: Ernst Jorgensen interview about 'On Stage' and Elvis' Legacy in 2010: 'The Nation's Favourite Elvis Song' Spotlight. ..replaced with a completely new cover and no coffin! He had perfect pitch, automatic vibrato, and wide range in his voice. He was professionally known as Orion, and his double-edged claim to fame was that his natural speaking and singing voice sounded almost exactly like that of Elvis Presley. In a town steeped in strange success stories, hidden agendas, and dashed dreams, Orion's tale is one of the most curious ever to originate in Music City USA--which is saying something. The book has been a huge task with 12+ years of research. HEARTBREAK HOTEL By the time he was a teenager, it was clear that Jimmy Ellis had two talents: singing, and inadvertently sounding almost exactly like Elvis Presley. EIN:One of the incredible things about Jimmy and his Orion alter-ego is that there were around 150 bootleg recordings of his studio and live recordings released. I am always on the lookout for Orion/Jimmy Ellis concerts that I dont have. The Kissin Cousins movie was on at the local theater, and I had seen it recently. [3], On December 12, 1998, Ellis was murdered during a robbery in his store, Jimmy's Pawn Shop. http://www.orionstc.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Jimmy-Ellis-Early-years-PROMO.mp3. Popular Ellis/Orion bootleg releases included titles such as Crazy on the Blue Danube and Jimmy In A Viennese Cellar. Scans of the orange label version of the CD single SUNDAY FATHER on the Lanier Records label. We have a limited supply of this1979 hardcover version of the book "Orion" by Gail Brewer-Giorgio. Bobby D.: I suppose I just want to continue to help get Jimmys name and talent out there for people to enjoy what was missed. Informacin detallada del sitio web y la empresa: fanoscoatings.com, +62218463662, +62218463274, +622189841479, +62231320713, +623185584958 Home - FANOS ASIA The . EIN: Jimmy Ellis, the person.away from the stage or recording studio. So, thats how Jimmy Ellis and I met and became lifelong friends. The girls went wild. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________. Many years later, I recorded four songs at Stargem Studios in Nashville, the same studio Jimmy had also recorded at earlier. Shawn. It will focus on his early years before he became the masked singer Orion. They wrote both of the songs. Super rare memorabilia from the start up of the singing career of Jimmy Ellis! The Elvis Information Network has been running since 1986 and is an EPE officially recognised Elvis fan club. After winning a state fair competition, his first professional performance was in a Demon's Den nightclub in Albany, Georgia.