Eric Bressi of Mount Vernon performed tribute show on anniversary of Elvis Presley's death

COSHOCTON − More than 45 years after his death, Elvis Presley is still considered the King of Rock 'n Roll and one of the most enduring pop culture icons of all time.

Wednesday marked the 46th anniversary of Presley's death at the age of 42 at his famous Memphis, Tennessee, mansion known as Graceland. Tributes were held around the country, even in Coshocton County.

Eric Bressi, billed as Elvis' Lost Brother, performed some of Presley's best remembered hits at the Coshocton Senior Center. While the center often has presentations and entertainment before lunch, this was Bressi's first time at the facility.

Bressi, of Mount Vernon, has performed around the region with some recent shows at Paradise Ice Cream in Waldo, the Newark Farmers Market and Troyers of Apple Valley in Mount Vernon.

Bressi wears a copy of Presley's trademark white jumpsuit and has his hair in a pompadour with long sideburns. It's the 50th anniversary of the Aloha From Hawaii concert where Presley wore the white jumpsuit and cape. The belt Bressi has is an exact replica made by Mike McGregor, who made belts for Presley.

When asked what endures about Presley today, Bressi said it's his charisma and kindness.

"That's what turned me on to Elvis was his kindness, the person he was. He was just a happy, loving man who enjoyed his music and, with it, he changed the world," Bressi said. "Elvis had a major impact on our entire world of music. I believe his goal was to make people happy."

Bressi remembers being a child and watching Presley on "The Ed Sullivan Show" on a 13-inch black and white television his family picked up off the street because you had to pound on it to get the vertical to hold. It made a lasting impression.

"I saw Elvis on the screen and said 'he seems like a cool guy, I want to be like him,'" Bressi said. "My brothers went out and played baseball. I was in the bathroom, trying to sound like Elvis. My mom wanted to know why I wouldn't date anybody, because I was trying to sound like Elvis."

Bressi has been performing his tribute to Elvis for 42 years. He felt it was always meant to be as his birthday is June 26 and that was a date that kept popping up in Presley's life. It was the date he bought Graceland in 1957, the date of his last concert in 1977 and the date his father, Vernon Presley, died in 1979.

Bressi has performed in Las Vegas, alongside Presley's contemporaries such as Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash and Carl Perkins and has made appearances on "The Montel Williams Show" and "Late Night with David Letterman." In fact, it was Williams who gave Bressi the nickname of "Elvis' Lost Brother." He's lived in Ohio for about 10 years and does shows at about three nursing homes a week, among other venues.

While Bressi sings a variety of Presley's best known hits from across the decades, his favorite is "How Great Thou Art." He has a gospel show called "Through the King, He Met the King" Bressi performs free at churches. There's a video presentation with every song and Bressi talks about how Elvis impacted his life and his own journey to finding salvation.

Elvis' Lost Brother can be found on Facebook and can be emailed at bookingelvislostbrother@gmail.com.

Leonard Hayhurst is a community content coordinator and general news reporter for the Coshocton Tribune with more than 15 years of local journalism experience and multiple awards from the Ohio Associated Press. He can be reached at 740-295-3417 or llhayhur@coshoctontribune.com. Follow him on Twitter at @llhayhurst.

This article originally appeared on Coshocton Tribune: Elvis's Lost Brother gets all shook up at Coshocton Senior Center