‘I kept thinking, I know how Elvis must have felt’

Ray Covey enjoys performing as an Elvis tribute artist.

“When I was young, I used to climb a tree in the front yard and sit up there listening to my little GE radio. I remember thinking that one day, I’m going to sing a song. I’m going to go to a recording studio. I really didn’t know if I could sing or not. I’ve just always loved music, especially Elvis.

“In 1989, there was a huge Halloween party at a club on Westheimer in Houston. If you were wearing a costume, you got in free. I came dressed as Elvis. My wife had fixed up a shirt and made it all sparkly with a high collar, and I had these nice pants and belt. When I walked in, the place went crazy. I was pretty surprised.

“It was so crowded that even the men had to wait in line to go to the bathroom. So I was standing there at one point when the security guards saw me. They told me that I didn’t have to wait, and they took me and bypassed everybody else right to the bathroom. There was a guy getting ready to go into a stall, and they pulled him out and said, ‘Sorry, but Elvis has got to go.’ I was so embarrassed.

“But it was pretty wild. I had women buying me drinks all night long, and I was dancing with all of them. I’m normally a pretty shy person, so that was a shock to me. But I kept thinking, now I kind of know how Elvis must have felt.”