A popular fixture during Ocean City's First Night Celebration, treatment associated with a malignancy has forced Ted Prior to cancel his scheduled New Year's Eve appearance.
AC Weekly sends its prayers out to Ted Prior.
An iron-man run of towering proportions has sadly come to an end, as Ted Prior, who’s been performing spot-on renditions of Elvis for more years than Elvis was alive, will be missing his first Ocean City First Night Celebration since the New Year’s Eve tradition began.
A Galloway resident born in Atlantic City, Prior has been musically active for about 50 years, and has been a highly popular fixture during every First Night Celebration. Unfortunately, treatment associated with a recent brain cancer diagnosis has forced Prior to cancel his scheduled appearance this Dec. 31.
“The hardest thing about all this is having to miss a show,” said Prior in a media release. “That’s never happened to me before. I can recall performing with a 101 [degree] temperature at the Split Rail Tavern in Cardiff. The bartender revived me between sets with shots of ginger brandy.”
During his early music career, Prior played dance parties and formed a group with longtime boyhood friend Jim Albertson called the Other Brothers (a spin-off of the Everly Brothers). He was steered him toward a career impersonating “The King” through his personal love of Elvis’ music, and through the encouragement he received from others when he performed Elvis’ songs live.
“I studied Elvis’ movies, his moves, and eventually developed an Elvis a style of my own,” said Prior, who is exacting in all aspects of his performances, from the sound system to his mannerisms and interaction with audiences.
A skilled guitarist, Prior was a “barracks balladeer” during a two-year stint in the U.S. Army. After his discharge from the service he was hired to lead a touring band that performed coast to coast. He was a touring musician for 15 years, playing with many of the nation’s most outstanding musicians.
“I’m amazed at his many abilities,” says Prior’s manager, Neil Regina. “He has memorized hundreds of songs, and other musicians contact him frequently about arrangements. He leads three groups — Teddy and the Riptides [a ’50s rock band], Early Morning Reign [a folk ensemble] and his ‘El-Live’ Elvis tribute show. He sings every song by memory and is much more than just an Elvis performer.”
Prior has recorded numerous albums of both Elvis favorites and original music he penned himself. He has a recording studio in his home with an extensive music library. According to Regina, Prior’s fans hope he will be back soon and have been extending well wishes during his trying period of inactivity.
Fans wishing to send their regards can mail them to: Ted Prior, 50 Aspen Court, Galloway, N.J. 08205. Joe and Margo Dailey, Prior’s friends who perform a variety of country classics and oldies music, will fill in for him at Ocean City’s First Night Celebration.
If you have not heard about TFIA, there's a good chance your children know some of their songs.
ATLANTIC CITY — This year I have felt a lot like Glynn Turman’s character Leroy “Preacher” Jackson at the end of the film Cooley High. I have found myself having to come up with words to remember several friends who have died, in most cases before their time. I want to dedicate this debut “Music Beat” column to several people. Ted Prior, who passed away May 15, was an Ocean City performer who kept Elvis Presley’s memory alive and well. Prior’s music was important to people who loved Elvis but who, like me, never saw Elvis perform live. Through Prior we got a living glimpse of history. He and I hit...
A list of events happening this weekend in Ocean City
The 68-year-old Prior was more than a local star in the southern New Jersey area, especially in the family resort of Ocean City, Cape May County, where he was a constant on the scene for his Elvis Presley-inspired performances at the beach town resort's many special events.
Do you give to charity? Do you wish you knew more about local non-profits so you can donate your time and/or money?
The Ocean City Baby Parade started in 1901 when 46 babies competed for cutest, prettiest and fattest baby. Guess people were less fitness crazed in 1901. Still, it’s a summer spectacle that Ocean City would repeat 99 times. This Thursday at 10:15am on the Boardwalk between the 6th and 12th sts., the city goes for an even 100.
Put Some Fest into Your Caroling Like many events in Ocean City, the name it's given barely starts to describe the event. Take the city's annual Carolefest, to be held Sat. (Dec. 20). Sounds like a ...
While we should be aware of environmental issues and global warning year round, Ocean City presents its Earth Day Celebration on Sunday, April 20, from noon to 4pm at the Bayside Center. The event wi...
Ocean City will ring in the New Year with the city's First Night celebration, a non-alcoholic, family friendly event with a wide variety of music options at multiple locations beginning at 4pm, rides...
If your favorite sports team is breaking your heart this season, maybe a good comedy about a baseball team and its fans in the cheap seats will lift your spirits. The Fool Moon Theatre Company presen...
� What's That? Click here to find out. 100 Years Young When the ribbons were cut earlier this week at Richard Stockton College's new Carnegie Library Center -- the 100-year-old building that for many decades served as Atlantic City's public library -- a new chapter opened for both the college and the city. The beautifully refurbished three-story building, empty for the past 20 years, will offer Stockton's undergraduate and graduate students a new educational facility with state-of-the art technology, a 75-seat lecture hall, 50-seat conference room and 22-seat computer lab. The center will also bring some culture back to the city known mostly for its gaming and nightlife. Stockton officials hope the short walk to the Boardwalk from the midtown location will not only entice students, but organizers of business workshops, professional retreats and fundraisers as well. Stockton, the CRDA and the city collaborated on the $5.5 million restoration project, the final result of which is worth seeing even if your college days are behind you. One note of interest: An indentation in the shiny stone floor on the second level of the building was intentionally preserved as it marks the spot where, for 80 years, patrons stood at the library's circulation desk...
� Smokin' Jimmy Cliff hasn't lost a bit of his charisma or showmanship in the more than 40 years he's been a world-class reggae performer. Last weekend, he turned Trump Marina's Grand Cayman into a little corner of Jamaica, performing many of his classic hits and several new ones from his current CD, Black Magic. While the aroma of ganja wafted up from the crowd on several occasions, the security guards were polite. They did, however, insist on a "smoke-free" environment. Cliff, however, backed by his dynamic band, was smokin' on stage, presenting such tunes as "Many Rivers to Cross," "The Harder They Come," "I Want, I Do, I Get" and "Vietnam." Before singing the latter, his anti-war song, he told the crowd, "I want to say to President Bush and Tony Blair, don't let Iraq become another Vietnam." -- Lori Hoffman Soupy's Pie The Ocean City Public Relations Department trekked to New York City last week to join Soupy Sales and a cast of characters at Joe Franklin's Comedy Club. The event promoted Ocean City's upcoming Doo Dah Pieasco (April 9), which will honor the famous comedian, and the annual Doo Dah Parade (April 16). At the event were Elvis impersonator Ted...
Captain Beefheart: 1941-2010 Roughly a month before he would have turned 70, Don Van Vliet, better known as his adopted stage name Captain Beefheart, has passed away after a long battle with multiple sclerosis. The disease had crippled the avant-garde musician and painter by the time of his death in a northern California hospital on Friday, Dec. 17. Van Vliet had kept himelf out of the public eye since retiring from music in 1982. His painting, however, continued and there were several exhibitions of his work. As a BBC remembrance states, Van Vliet’s “work, whether in music or drawing, was never mainstream and only ever gained a relatively small following, but he was a larger-than-life character who pushed the boundaries of his art in a way which influenced many who followed in his wake.” Captain Beefheart’s music, played with...
If keeping it local is more your N.Y.E. style your options are plentiful. Here are a few ideas for having a fun night out at your favorite local hangout, some of which offer shuttle service or have arrangements with the local cab companies to keep you and others safe
Auld acquaintance of 2011 may best be forgot for many — and how better to clear the cache and ring in a fresh slate of calendar dates than by partying like there’s no tomorrow? In Atlantic City the choices on New Year’s Eve are nearly endless.
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