Navajo Elvis salutes the King

By John Christian Hopkins
Diné Bureau

TUBA CITY — You ain't nothin' but a ... sheep dog?

Man, things would have been a lot different if Elvis Presley had been a Navajo!

"I like to imagine what it would be like if Elvis was Navajo," said Will Foster, of Tuba City who proudly bills himself as Navajo Elvis.

Instead of fried peanut butter and banana sandwiches, The King probably couldn't help falling in love with frybread; and maybe he'd trade his blue suede shoes for blue mush. Elvis would also probably favor muttonchop sideburns.

The King and I
Like Elvis, Foster is a truck driver, working for BHP; he still remembers the day in 1974 when he wandered into an antique store in Bentonville, Ark., and was all shook up when he found himself face to face with the King of Rock and Roll.

"I heard people talking and when they came out of the other room I thought it was him," Foster said. "I wasn't sure until he stopped and talked to me."

Today would have been Elvis' 72nd birthday. Were he still alive, there is no doubt his magical voice would still hold legions of fans captive; but his hips would probably snap if he tried to swivel like he did in his heyday.

Born in Tupelo, Miss., on Jan. 8, 1935, Elvis died at 42 on Aug. 16, 1977 at Graceland Mansion, his Memphis home.

Foster was born in 1956 the year Elvis stormed onto the national stage, grabbing the record charts with his earliest hits, like "Heartbreak Hotel," "I Want You, I Need You, I Love You," "Hound Dog" and "Don't Be Cruel."

Ironically, Foster's favorite Elvis songs are from later in his career, such as hits from his Vegas years "American Trilogy," "Burning Love," "My Way" and "Moody Blues."

Foster tells the story like it just happened yesterday. He was standing in the store when a group of people neared him and he found himself face to face with rock royalty.

"He said 'Hey, how you doing, man?' " Foster recalled. "He said 'If you see anything you like, these people will take good care of you.' "

That was the day Elvis became his good luck charm.

He began to perform, his way to pay respect to The King. It was his way of bringing Elvis to reservation for the people who couldn't see him perform, Foster said.

Reigning on The King's Parade
What would evolve into rock and roll began in the late 1940s when country music legend Hank Williams Sr. began melding traditional country with blues, gospel and ushered in the beginning of rockabilly.

The south was heavily segregated at the time and record producer Sam Phillips would lament that he could make a $1 million if he could find "a white boy with a black voice."

Elvis went to Sun Records to make a record for his mother and Phillips found the voice he longed for. Elvis' first hit was "That's All Right," in 1954. For the next year and a half he grew to become one of the most popular acts in the south except at the Grand Ol' Opry, where he was told to stick to driving a truck. Then again, the Opry once fired Hank Williams.

Elvis soon grew too big for Phillips to handle, so his contract was sold to a former carnival huckster, Col. Tom Parker.

The RCA label bought Elvis' contract for a then-remarkable sum of $35,000. The gamble paid off beginning in January, 1956, when "I Was the One" started climbing the charts only to be overtaken by the record's flip side "Heartbreak Hotel."

Elvis became the first singer to top the country, rock, pop and R & B charts at the same time.

It was a magical year for Elvis and he followed it up with an even bigger explosion in 1957 with monster hits like "All Shoop Up," "Jailhouse Rock" and "Teddy Bear."

At the height of his career, Elvis was drafted and served two years in the Army.

His Kingdom for a Hearse
When he returned from serving in Germany, Elvis again hit the charts with more romantic melodies, such as "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" and "Now or Never." Gradually, he withdrew from public performances and began making Hollywood films throughout much of the 1960s.

"I liked a lot of his movies," Foster said. "I liked 'Blue Hawaii', 'Love Me Tender', 'Viva Las Vegas' with Ann Margaret and 'Clambake.' "

Because his films became formulamatic, many critics said Elvis couldn't act. Elvis himself wanted to be known as an actor and was keenly disappointed when his manager nixed his chance to star with Barbra Streisand in "A Star is Born."

In his later films, Elvis tried to do movies with fewer songs. One of these was "Charro" a western that Foster counts among his favorites.

Elvis had another connection with the Navajo Nation: he played a Navajo rodeo rider in "Stay Away, Joe."

As Elvis grew withdrawn and deeper into a world of amphetamines, pain killers fresher musical acts The Beatles, Rolling Stones, the Doors came along and pushed the King off his throne.

But as the turbulent 60s drew to a close, Elvis decided to try for a comeback.

It was a smashing success, and Elvis found himself back on the pop charts for the first time in nearly a decade.

But the demons that the Memphis Mafia had kept hidden from the world for nearly 20 years, were about to escape the gilded cage. Elvis was set to begin another tour, when he had a restless night; he played raquetball, took his usual heavy dose of medications and still unable to sleep decided to go into his bathroom to read.

It was Aug. 16, 1977, and The King returned to his sender.

"I remember that day. I was very sad," Foster said. "I felt like I had lost a big brother."

Where There's Will, There's a Way
Will Foster has made two visits to Graceland Mansion, the second most visited private residence in the country. (The White House is first.) He doesn't try so much to mimic Elvis, as to provide an interpretation of Elvis as Navajo.

"I'll say 'What would it be like if Elvis was Navajo?' I'll sing 'Hound Dog' in Navajo, or pretend I'm Elvis at a squaw dance," Foster said.

He mixes humor with the music and the audiences love it, Foster said. Because of his job. his performances vary, he said. He has done shows for the Isleta and Navajo police departments, and is sometimes booked for graduation parties, weddings or birthdays.

Often he gets a call at the last minute and will try to accommodate the event.

He has some help from his wife, Rosie, and his daughter, Lynn Bitok, who help set up for his shows or act as emcees.

"I kind of like Elvis," Rosie Foster said. But, it's her husband that she loves tender.

What was it that made Elvis such an icon?

"He touched all, people, all races," Foster said. "I think he was a common guy. He grew up poor and became rich, but he never forgot where he came from."

For more information, or to book a show with Will Foster, call 505-716-3180.

John Christian Hopkins can be reached at hopkins1960@hotmail.com or by calling 505-371-5443.