Joe Forrester knew at an early age that he had the gift to imitate.
His impersonations of celebrities began in elementary school in his hometown of Baltimore, Maryland in the 1960s.
As he grew older, his good looks, pitch-black hair and his versatile vocal chords allowed him to hone in on one celebrity in particular. Elvis Presley.
Even though he has made a successful career in sales, Forrester has maintained a successful Elvis act.
It’s something he enjoys, and it is something he will share with Indianola in February.
Forrester will perform two shows at the Brindley Theater, one on Feb. 22 at 7 p.m. and a matinee the following Sunday at 2 p.m.
The performance is presented by the Mid-Delta Arts Association. Non-patron tickets are $10, starting Feb. 4. Patrons can begin picking up their tickets at the Crown on Feb. 7.
Forrester was one of eight children, and he was exposed to Elvis early in life through his older siblings. Sadly, he never got to see Elvis perform live.
“The last time he was in Baltimore was actually about a month-and-a-half before he died,” Forrester said.
He was working for his father, who was a plumber, and as they drove into downtown Baltimore, he could see the long line of people waiting for tickets to go on sale.
Getting the tickets would have required him camping out all night, however.
“My father said, ‘you’re not staying down here overnight. You’ll get killed,’” Forrester said. ‘You’ll get him next time.’ “Then of course he died two months later. I never got a chance to see him live.”
It was that same year that Forrester began his Elvis act.
He had just graduated from high school.
“I put myself through college doing Elvis in nightclubs around the Baltimore area,” Forrester said.
Forrester said that he studied Elvis’ live shows, and he continues to do so today.
“What I do on stage when I’m doing Elvis are things that I’ve heard and seen him say,” Forrester said. “I’ve studied a lot of his live footage.”
In the years following Presley’s death, Forrester would perform late night shows, but pretty soon he sought to get away from the nightlife.
“I thought, I’m going to get a job where I’m home all the time,” Forrester said. “So, I got into sales, and I’ve done nothing but travel for the last 30 years.”
General admission tickets will go on sale Feb. 14.
Forrester was working at a Pennsylvania-based seafood company in 2018, with no intention of changing jobs or moving, when he received a call from Jack Perkins and David Allen at Delta Pride Catfish.
“One thing led to another, and I talked to my wife, and she said, ‘hey, let’s go for it,’” Forrester said.
The new job put Forrester just a couple of hours away from Elvis’ birthplace in Tupelo and Graceland in Memphis. For him, it seems like destiny.
“It does seem that way,” Forrester said. “It seems like the Lord, in his infinite wisdom, has a plan for us each, and I guess his was for me to be in the Delta.”
Not only has Forrester gotten to personally connect with some of the rich musical history of the Delta – much of it influenced the music of Elvis - he has been able to continue his craft, with several performances so far in Sunflower County alone.
In a few weeks, he will make his theatrical debut at the Brindley.
Expect his show to begin with a tribute to Elvis’ 68 Comeback Special.
This was the first time Elvis had performed a live show in eight years, Forrester said, and as his show progresses, costumes will change, and the act will showcase the evolution of Elvis from 68 until his untimely death in the late 70s.
Forrester said he does his best to switch up songs and outfits, so that anyone who sees him more than once, will likely get a different show each time.
“I try to give them 110 percent, like he did,” Forrester said.
It’s hard for Forrester to pick one Elvis song that is his favorite. He has favorites from the King’s blues, rock, gospel and country ballads, and he will share those and more during his February performances.
