David Menconi, Staff Writer
As R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe might put it, David Muggeridge spends a lot of time "goofin' on Elvis." Except the 35-year-old
truck driver from Mount Airy is a lot more serious about it than most people, and it's starting to take him places.
It began a couple of years ago, when Muggeridge did his Elvis Presley impersonation for a few friends who goaded him
into entering a contest. So he did, at an Elvis convention in Canada. Muggeridge won the contest, but the
encouragement he received from other Elvis impersonators was just as important.
"I was around guys who do it really seriously," he says. "They kept telling me, 'You can't stop. You just started and
you're already in the top 10 percent of performers doing this.' So I kept it up."
Now he's at a whole other level -- the finals of the Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist Contest, an official sweepstakes
sponsored by Elvis Presley Enterprises. After qualifying at a regional competition in Canada last month, Muggeridge is
off for Memphis this weekend to compete for prizes including $5,000 cash, a $5,000 shopping spree at Graceland and
a contract to perform on an Elvis Cruise over Labor Day weekend.
Muggeridge is one of 24 finalists, a field that includes Donny Edwards ("the spittin' image of Elvis in 1956," Muggeridge
says) and Vegas-era specialist Trent Carlini. Muggeridge also pays tribute to Presley's later jumpsuit period.
"More and more impersonators are attempting to do '50s Elvis," he says. "But that's hard. Britney Spears might lip-sync
when she does all that choreography, but the tribute acts have to sing live even though they're moving around just as
much."
To sample Muggeridge's act online, go to aknightstribute.com. For more about the contest, see
elvis.com/ultimatecontest.
It's Elvis faux ever for Mount Airy truck driver