Elvis arrives in style
Steve Elliot has become a mainstay on the stage at the Langley Good Times Cruise-In, part of the show for the past six years
While the Langley Good Times Cruise-In was the first car show to ever hire Steve Elliot of Elvis Elite a half-dozen years back, it's opened up all sorts of doors in the car community and heightened his appreciation for classic cars. He now performs at car shows throughout the Lower Mainland, and all over B.C. and into Alberta.
Photograph by: Submitted photo , for Langley Advance
Elvis had a pink Cadillac, and for no other reason so must Elvis impersonator Steve Elliot.
Elliot - who has performed his tribute act to the king of rock 'n' roll at the Langley Good Times Cruise-In for the past six years - will be more than happy to show off his pride and joy at Saturday's car show. Elliot, known as Elvis Elite, will have his new wheels parked near the main stage.
He's unsure whether the bright pink car or his matching outfit will be more eye-catching. Either way, though, he's confident both will stand out in the crowd of 1,700-plus vintage, classic, muscle, and custom cars and upwards of 100,000 people expected to fill the streets of downtown Langley.
He purchased the 23-foot-long, 1966 pink Cadillac Coupe Deville in June, swapping out a 1956 Ford shortbox.
"It's more Elvis," plain and simple, said the Chilliwack resident, who jokes that Langley is his home away from home given the number of shows he performs here each year - the Cruise-In one of his all-time favourites.
"I've always loved stuff from the '50s and '60s," and his car is just one more object of that affection.
The vehicle was used in the 1990s filming of a Blues Brothers movie, and at the time boasted a hunter green exterior with matching lighter green interior.
The exterior was painted out pink almost a decade ago now, but when Elliot bought the Caddy in Abbotsford earlier this summer, the inside still needed to be transformed.
Like Elvis' Caddy, this one needed to retrofitted in black, Elliot insisted.
"I've done nothing for two months, except this," he said.
"I'm not mechanically inclined at all." But he is an artist, and painting and detailing the inside was a project made for him.
"It was great to watch it come to life," Elliot said, proud of the job he did swapping out the green and adding bobble head dolls and a lot of bling.
While Elliot has been driving the car around and happily showing it off since he acquired it, Cruise-In will be the first time the completed product will be part of his show.
He describes it as the perfect advertising vehicle for what he does, noting just the other day a trucker pulled him over on the highway and hired him to perform at his mother's wedding - all because of the car.
Most entertainers might be spending their spare time leading up to a big show like Cruise-In rehearsing. But not Elliot. He admits he's devoting much of his time this week to buffing up the car and getting it ready for its reveal.
He's confident fans of the King, along with Elite followers, will all be anxious to see his new car and have their pictures taken standing by or sitting in the classic vehicle.
"They expect us every year," Elliot said, the car is just an extra bonus.
His Caddy will be located next to the main stage at Saturday's car show, near Fraser Highway and 56th Avenue. And Elvis Elite is on stage at 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.
rhooper@langleyadvance.com
While the Langley Good Times Cruise-In was the first car show to ever hire Steve Elliot of Elvis Elite a half-dozen years back, it's opened up all sorts of doors in the car community and heightened his appreciation for classic cars. He now performs at car shows throughout the Lower Mainland, and all over B.C. and into Alberta.
Photograph by: Submitted photo , for Langley Advance
