“You will instantly like this guy!”
Introduction
My first meeting with Dan Lentino was at the 2019 Collingwood Elvis Festival. Shawn Klush was on my list of ETA interviewees, and accompanied by Dan, he met me in the media area. Scheduling was tight at the festival and it was clear that there would not be enough time for an in-depth interview. The few minutes I had with Shawn, therefore, needed to be meaningful. I briefly explained the goals of SIDEBURNS Magazine and spent the rest of the time engaged in friendly conversation. Shawn was as delightfully funny and charming one-on-one as he is on stage in front of a large audience; and Dan, who had been quietly standing by keeping a close eye on the time, was pleasant and professional.
As Shawn and Dan were leaving the media area, Dan handed me his business card and said to contact him about a full interview with Shawn.
Over the months since that first meeting, and while doing research in preparation for Shawn’s interview, I came across some interesting articles about Dan. In summary:
Dan on balcony in Puerto Varas, Chile.
Long-time musician and businessman, Dan Lentino, is one of the top ETA agents in the business. Dan has been connected to the ETA world since the early 1970s when he and his band performed backup for several Elvis Tribute Artists. From his on-stage vantage point, Dan saw first-hand how and what audiences responded during a performance and this insight helped him in marketing and managing ETA careers. Over the years, Dan has guided and managed the careers of some the world’s most successful Elvis Tribute Artists.
There is much more to Dan’s interesting story, and who better to tell his story than Dan himself.
It is such a pleasure featuring Dan Lentino, long-time friend and business manager of actor, singer, recording artist and Elvis Tribute Artist, Shawn Klush, in SIDEBURNS Magazine. As blogger Mark Damon said about meeting Dan for the first time, “You will instantly like this guy.”* I full heartedly agree! Please enjoy…
Introducing: Dan Lentino
Entertainment Impresario and Ambassador
Dan as Master of Ceremonies.
A professional entertainer since the age of 10, Dan Lentino, along with his brother and 2 boyhood friends, formed a band called the Fabulous Ambassadors and became extremely popular, even opening for huge entertainers such Johnny Cash and June Carter and many others until the novelty of their ages wore off. Dan then decided to form a rock ‘n’ roll revival band covering the great hits of the 50s and 60s which became successful all over the Midwest. The band released a record called Mac is Back and the Rumble Boogie with Dan on lead vocals which gained airplay in both the US and Europe.
Dan became involved with the Elvis world in 1972, the first time he saw Elvis perform live. He saw a young man at a local Boys Club carnival that looked just like Elvis. He put him on stage the very next night and the audience went crazy. His name was Rick Saucedo. Dan became his manager and 5 years later, just after Elvis passed away, Dan brought Rick and the band to New York where Dan co-directed the Broadway show ‘Elvis the Legend Lives’ which ran at the famous Palace Theater in NY for 16 weeks. The show incorporated Elvis’s own backup singers, the legendary Jordanaires, as well as some of Elvis’s own musicians like his original drummer DJ Fontana. The show toured the US and Canada for a number of years which included a successful run at the Stardust Hotel in Las Vegas. Following that show, Dan co-produced and directed a series of highly successful tours including The Elvis Memorial Concert Tour, Heart of the King on Tour, The Las Vegas Elvis Fest at the LV Hilton, 3 Faces of the King, the highly successful Elvis Tribute Artist Spectacular in celebration of Elvis’s birthday and the Elvis Tribute Artist World Tour, the most popular Elvis tour in the UK.
Dan with Joe Esposito.
Dan is highly respected in the Elvis world and formed over 40-year friendships and business associations with The Jordanaires, DJ Fontana and so many others that worked with, and many who lived with Elvis. That is much longer than they knew or worked with Elvis. Dan also formed close friendships and business relationships with the late Joe Esposito, Elvis’s right hand man and road manager. Joe was undisputedly the man who was closest to Elvis. Ambassador Dan exclusively manages and books The Sweet Inspirations, Elvis’ very own female vocalists who performed over 1000 shows with Elvis from Vegas up until the time of his death. Dan also worked with the late Joe Moscheo and Terry Blackwood of Elvis’s Imperials, the late Charlie Hodge, Elvis’s Stamps Quartet including JD Sumner and the late Joe Guercio. Dan has become very close with Jerry Schilling who was Elvis’s lifelong friend and close member of his inner circle.
Besides the US, Dan tours the shows regularly in the UK, South America, Europe, Australia and Canada where the response has been unbelievable, exposing Elvis’s music to new generations and markets.
Dan has produced 7 Elvis Tribute albums and has participated in, been consulted on numerous Elvis related books and films. Dan was asked to review the CBS TV movie ‘Elvis’ and works closely with a network of 120 Elvis fan clubs worldwide and continues to work closely with Elvis Presley Enterprises on many events. Dan was the consultant on numerous TV shows including ‘Elvis Day’ on Oprah Winfrey, Maury Povich, BBC1’s World’s Greatest Elvis TV Show, ‘Elvis Week’ on The Late Show with David Letterman and the HBO series ‘Vinyl’ produced by Martin Scorsese and Mick Jagger. Dan was recently involved on the pre-production of a new Elvis bio pic due to be released in the Fall of 2021.
Dan and Cody in Vegas.
Currently Dan produces, directs, acts as musical director and consultant for some of the largest Elvis Festivals in the world. He exclusively managed and started the careers of the world's most successful Elvis Tribute Artists: Rick Saucedo, the late Trent Carlini, Ryan Pelton, and Justin Shandor. He also books and advises Dean Z and several others. Dan is exclusively, the career long manager of Shawn Klush, the most popular Elvis Tribute Artist in the world today, and Cody Ray Slaughter, who starred in the Tony Award winning Broadway tour of Million Dollar Quartet. Dan Lentino continues to be the ‘go to man’ in the world of Elvis Tributes.
For more information, please visit:
Ambassadorshows.com, ElvisTributeArtistWorldTour.com and ElvisTributeArtistSpectacular.com
Bio provided by Dan Lentino. Photos are credited to Dan Lentino and photographer Eva Brand. Editing by Carolyn MacArthur, Editor, SIDEBURNS Magazine.