Smile

What makes Roy Reynolds smile? “My wife, Julia,” said the Noblesville resident who celebrated their 51st anniversary this year. Roy and Julia Reynolds present “The Roy E. Reynolds” Show from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. today (Saturday) at the Noblesville Jim Dandy. The performance will take place as patrons are dining. For nearly 50 years, Reynolds has been performing Elvis songs for private and public events, and he also performs his own show of favorites. Reynolds’ passion for Elvis began as a child, growing up in Noblesville. “I was 6 years old (in 1956). I remember my sister, more than anything, going crazy for this guy. For the longest time, I was buying records. I was hiding them in the bedroom, listening to Elvis music, learning the songs,” he said. In 1972, he and his wife, Julia, then 5 months pregnant, saw Elvis in concert at the Indiana State Fair Coliseum in Indianapolis. “He rocked the house,” Reynolds recalled. That same year, Reynolds saw “Little Elvis” Gary Gillespie performing “an Elvis routine,” but he didn’t look much like Elvis. So, Reynolds asked his wife what she thought about him doing his own Elvis tribute, since he knew all of the songs, had the moves and kind of looked like the King of Rock and Roll. Reynolds’ first gig was a Christmas party for an insurance company using 8-track tapes of Elvis music and singing over Elvis’ voice. He went on to perform Elvis tributes in a band. He still does his Elvis tributes but has come full circle, now performing again to pre-recorded music; although he brings along his Elvis guitar. Other upcoming gigs, after tonight’s show, in Noblesville include “The Elvis Sighting” at 1 p.m. Oct. 21 at the Noblesville Senior Citizens Organization; and at 6 p.m. Oct. 22 at Noblesville Lakeview Wesleyan Circle of Hope Church with pitch-in snacks at 5 p.m. Reynolds still has a full head of hair and his own sideburns (like Elvis). He said that he’d continue performing “as long as I can sing a song.”