Orion tells the story of Jimmy Ellis – an unknown singer plucked from obscurity, and thrust into the spotlight as part of a crazy scheme that had him masquerade as Elvis back from the grave.
With an outlandish fictional identity torn from the pages of the novel Orion by Gail Brewer Giorgio, the backing of the legendary birthplace of rock ‘n’ roll Sun Records and a voice that seemed to be the very twin of Presley’s himself, the scheme – concocted in the months after Presley’s death exploded into a cult success – and the “Elvis is alive” myth was begun.
Our story revels in the manipulative schemes of the music industry, the truth and lies at the heart of the story, the allure of fantasy and the eternal search for identity.
Orion proves that fact is indeed ‘stranger than fiction’. This is the story behind that story. Who was that masked man?