Tortelvis

Tortelvis
Tortelvis in 1989
Background information
Born	1961 (age 62–63) Newport Beach, California, US
Genres	Reggae
Occupation	Elvis impersonator
Instrument	Vocals
Years active	1989–2016
Formerly of	Dread Zeppelin

Greg Tortell (born 1961), known better as Tortelvis, is an American singer and Elvis impersonator. He was the lead singer for Dread Zeppelin, a reggae tribute act to Led Zeppelin.

Career

Greg Tortell, who was born in Newport Beach in 1961, attended Arcadia School (graduating in 1979) and is of Italian ancestry. He began his Elvis singing career long before Dread Zeppelin. He performed as Tortelvis in a group called "Pete the Butcher". Tortell met Gary Putman, Joseph Ramsey, and Curt Lichter of The Prime Moversin 1989 after he rammed his milk float into the back of the trios car. His favourite Led Zeppelin song is "Thank You".

Tortelvis was perceived more as a fictional character; he used to claim that he was created by aliens and was told by Elvis himself to carry on his career shortly before his death in 1977. He joked that he was programmed to die at age 42 like Presley, although he has lived on from that age. On stage, an assistant rushes to Tortell, towels off his sweat and places a Lei around his neck. In 1995, Tortell co–founded Cash Cow Productions. Tortell, who was one of the longest serving members of the band, was in the novelty reggae group until they performed their last gig in 2016. Tortelvis has been described as a "Elvis, Dracula, and Liberace". Tortell lives in Sierra Madre, California.