Joe Marino & All The King's Men

Elvis has definitely not left the building

He was Elvis Presley, he was Buddy Holly, he was Ricky Nelson ... and the list goes on and on and on.

Joe Marino is a man of many voices, most of which were heard at Blu Fusion restaurant in Marco Town Center Mall on Monday evening as he performed to a packed house. All the King's Men is Joe's band, including Billy Rosenthal on drums, Rick Davidson on standup base and bass guitar and Barry Johnson on guitar. They are not just excellent musicians but are equally good as backup singers. Rick called it an "out-of-body experience." I haven't seen a group have this much fun in a long time.
Known mostly for performing Elvis tribute shows, Joe gives a Las Vegas-caliber performance of what he calls the Legends Voice Show. "It's not just a show where I do a young Elvis Presley, but a show where I play the different voices that I have cultivated and practiced all my life," he said. "Since we are primarily a '50s rockabilly band, I do Richie Valens, Jerry Lee Lewis, Gene Vincent, Frank Sinatra and a plethora of others," he said, "16 voices in all."

The thoroughly entertaining show took the audience on a musical journey of songs and performers from 1954 to 1967. When Joe did Buddy Holly, he donned a black-and-white checkered jacket and black horn-rims with a duplicate guitar that Buddy used (a 1954 Fender Stratocrester). When he was Elvis, he gyrated as he played a duplicate of Elvis' first guitar from the '50s (a Martin D28).

And the audience went wild!

According to Joe, the type of show that he and his band do is unseen in Naples. "I like to think we are unique to Naples and the Southwest Florida area because we are not a bar band. We are a show band, and a tribute band at that," he said. Joe noted that the type of show they perform at the Stardust Hotel in Las Vegas is what the audience gets in Southwest Florida. It incorporates a lot of costume changes, introductions to songs and voices and narratives about the particular artist portrayed. Joe said they like to tell a story, and that they do. Each song was introduced with a bit of history, such as the performer Joe was going to do, in what year the song was performed or was made famous and sometimes for whom it was written. The show is full of authenticity.

In addition to being entertaining, the tribute to these great legends was musically enlightening for those in attendance who didn't know some of the artists. It certainly brought back fond memories to a number of people from that era, who were either dancing, swaying, clapping or just doing a shake, rattle and roll.

Raised in a '50s-type environment, Joe learned to love the music. When he was eight years old, he put together his first Elvis tribute show at Avalon Elementary School in Naples and has been performing tributes ever since.

Talented with the guitar, piano, drums and upright bass, Joe says he never took a lesson in his life. He had a lot of willpower to live the life, talk the talk and walk the walk to get where he is. Does he look like Elvis? Well, he certainly has the hairdo of a true greaser. His mom says, "If you got it, flaunt it." Joe always wears the Elvis hairdo and, yes, he does drive a pink 1956 Cadillac Coupe de Ville. He wasn't kidding when he said he lives the life.

The band came together in 1996, after Joe copyrighted and registered the name All the King's Men. "I wanted to have something denoted as royalty as well as connotations of Elvis," Joe said. The original members have gone their own way, and the new members are great additions who thoroughly enjoy their gigs. Joe Marino and All the King's Men truly bring back the days of rock and roll.

When he isn't performing, Joe teaches tai chi, tai kwondo and muay Thai kickboxing in his Streetwise Martial Arts Academy studio in Naples.

Joe Marino and All the King's Men will appear at the Waterside Shops on May 2 and at Blu Fusion during the summer months. Check your local listings for dates and times.

For bookings, visit www.elvisentertainment.com or call 588-0079.

Phyllis Bator grew up in a musical family. Her father had a band, her brother played the accordion and she learned to read music before she could read words. Music has always been a part of her life. Bator can be reached by e-mail at phyllisbator@earthlink.net.


©Marco Island Sun Times 2003
- Phyllis Bator

Rockabilly Hall Of Fame
June 2003

JOE MARINO & All The King’s Men

By Barry M. Klein

Another "class act" that I first saw about two years ago in Naples is Joe Marino, who describes himself as a "rockabilly voice impressionist." Joe certainly made an impression on me the first time I saw him perform. At 6'2" and 190 pounds with dark, wavy hair, he certainly looked like a young version of Elvis. When he approached the stage, he was accompanied by four uniformed guards, which I found out later was part of the act.

Joe Marino's backup group is called "All the King's Men", which currently boasts two former key members of a longstanding southwest Florida rockabilly group called The Crestliners. These two recent additions to Joe's All the King's Men are Barry Johnson on lead guitar, who I feel is the best rockabilly guitarist in southwest Florida, and Bill Rosenthal on drums. I have known Bill for a few years and visited his home about three years ago, during which time I found that he had an amazing collection of old, rare rockabilly and other old rock and roll vinyl 45's and LP's, rare original posters for Alan Freed's old rock and roll shows, as well as an astonishing video collection which includes, among other things, all of Ronnie Dawson's live television performances.

Not only does Joe Marino's voice, appearance, and mannerisms remind us of Elvis, he is an accomplished musician, playing guitar, upright bass and drums. He has mastered the piano as well, and during his shows, Joe will also do tributes to, and great impersonations of, the likes of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, Jerry Lee Lewis, Gene Vincent, Ricky Nelson and others.

Anybody who doubts that this guy is rockabilly should know that his email address is rockabillygreasr@aol.com! Joe's web site, www.elvisentertainment.com, is impressive and contains no hyperbole about his wealth of repertoire. For more information about Joe and Elvis Entertainment, Inc., you can call (239) 793-1353 or email joemarinonetmail@netscape.net. Joe recently performed at the band shell at Cambier Park in Olde Naples, Florida and played to 3,000 who gave him thunderous ovations.

On May 2, 2003, Joe Marino put on a 2+ hour show in front of hundreds of people at the Waterside Pavilion Shops in Naples, Florida with an 86† setting sun shining in his face at this tiny outdoor mall anchored by Saks (remember, my day job is that of a shopping center executive). Joe and All the King's Men were awarded with loud applause throughout their performance. Joe is a very unselfish person, and he knows his band has talent, so he will turn to Barry Johnson to sing Carl Perkins songs and demonstrate his talent on the axe. Ditto for Bill Rosenthal on drums and Rick Davidson on bass. Barry wowed the audience with an excellent performance of "It's Only Make Believe". Incidentally, Barry Johnson, Bill Rosenthal and Rick Davidson played together as a rockabilly trio called The Magnatones for a spell in 2002, before joining Joe Marino’s band.
- Barry M. Klein