Ryan Pelton didn’t know much about Elvis Presley when his mother dared him to enter an Elvis impersonator contest in 1998.

Not only did he not know any songs by the King, he had never even sung in public.

He nonetheless accepted the dare, cobbled together some outfits, wrote the lyrics on his hand and won the contest. The rest, as they say, is history.

“It’s one of those things that picked me; I didn’t pick it,” he said.

Pelton will appear with The Elvis Tribute Artist Spectacular Tour at 8 p.m. Jan. 17 at the Paramount Theatre in Aurora and at 8 p.m. Jan. 19 at The Venue at Horseshoe Casino in Hammond.

Elvis Presley was born Jan. 8, 1935, and this show is an Elvis birthday tribute concert that celebrates all the eras of Presley’s music: early rockabilly, the military years, the movie era, the ’68 comeback special and the Las Vegas concert years. It stars Pelton, Shawn Klush and Cody Ray Slaughter with special guests Rick Saucedo, the Blackwood Quartet and the Fabulous Ambassadors.

After winning the contest, it became evident to Pelton that he needed to make a decision — pursue Elvis Presley or stick with his day job of building websites?

“Everybody and their mother thought that was the stupidest thing in the world — you can’t make a living doing that,” he said. “But there was something in my gut that said, ‘I don’t want to be 90 years old and look back and say, “What if?” ’ I decided to go down that road. I knew how green I was, so I knew I needed to get a job in a production show where I could do this six nights a week and be onstage and put in the hours.”

He got a job call in Louisiana performing two shows a night, six nights a week.

“I did Elvis, I did the Blues Brothers, I was Buddy Holly, I was the Indian in the Village People, I was part of the Temptations tribute — it was a great experience learning how to be an entertainer,” he said.

That ultimately led to auditioning for Legends in Concert, which opened other doors for him.

“I’ve been blessed throughout it all,” he said.

In 2001, Pelton won the Worldwide Images of the King Contest in Memphis, Tenn. He appeared in an all-Elvis version of the show “The Weakest Link,” where he walked away the winner of the second-largest total ever won on the show in the United States at the time.

For a long time, Pelton did the ’50s Elvis. Slowly, he progressed to the movies-era of Elvis, then the leather, then the jumpsuit version.

“I can still do all the eras, ’50s through the ’70s, but at this point in my career I’m getting older and I can’t do the moves like Elvis did them anymore,” he said. “We got a kid on tour — Cody Ray Slaughter — and he’s a young buck and he’s incredible. He’s about the age I was when I started, and it’s really incredible what he does and how he does it.”

Each performer takes an era of Elvis, he said.

“It’s almost like different characters. The way music was approached, the way he sang, the way he looked, his mannerisms, his confidence — all that was different,” he said. “The ’50s were raw. The movies were kind of campy and fun. The ’68 special is sexy and the ’70s were about his big, powerful voice. There are all these different elements. It’s basically a chronological walk-through of his career.”

Pelton enjoys doing a tribute to Elvis from the movie “G.I. Blues,” he said.

“It’s a great chance to recognize veterans (who) grew up listening to this music and loving this music,” he said. “They’re in the audience … and it’s a great chance to pay tribute to those veterans through the vehicle of ‘G.I. Blues.’ ”

He will come back later in the black leather for the ’68 comeback special, he said.

“No matter what era of Elvis you like, you’re going to enjoy the show, because every era has hits,” he said. “But the most stunning or meaningful compliment you get is when some guy comes up after the show and says, ‘Man, my wife drug me here. I didn’t want to come but I had a great time.’ I feel like it’s the kind of show you can enjoy and you don’t even have to be an Elvis fan. The guys in the show are legitimate entertainers … and connect with the audience. You’re going to have a good time. It’s a positive celebration.”

Annie Alleman is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.