Rick Saucedo has been Elvis Presley longer than the King himself.

Today would have been Elvis' 81st birthday. He may have died in 1977 at 43 years old, but Saucedo has kept his glory years alive as a tribute artist since then.

"Elvis is timeless," Saucedo said. "It wasn't just his looks. He had the voice, the style, the charisma. That's what made him a legend, and it will continue even when I'm no longer here."

Saucedo dates his admiration for America's iconic musician back to 1967. As a 12-year-old, he was learning guitar and watching the King's theater performances.

Five years later, a night of jamming out introduced a 17-year-old Saucedo to the career he's held for 44 years. The young Elvis lookalike from Chicago stepped into a restroom, slicked back his hair, emerged on stage and belted out "Hound Dog."

The crowd loved the act, so he stuck with it. That led to even more gigs for his band, The Ambassadors. Those were the days before the Internet, YouTube sensations and "American Idol."

"We had to work from the basement to the garage to our first job," Saucedo said. "We had to work at our craft to become legends. It didn't happen overnight. Those days are so precious. They were the building blocks of rock 'n' roll."

After a chance performance in Canada, Saucedo earned a spot on Broadway. He starred as Elvis in the musical "Elvis: The Legend Lives On" in 1978, the year after Elvis died. Then, he took the show to the Stardust in Las Vegas, and even turned down the lead acting role in "Elvis," which Kurt Russell eventually filled.

He became the original Elvis tribute artist well before hundreds of people began impersonating the King.

Saucedo has retained that role throughout the years while producing several records of his own. He prides himself on staying true to Elvis' character. He uses old-fashioned amps and guitars to savor that "garage band" sound that raised him.

As a history buff, Saucedo said he hopes his act bridges a gap between fans who were alive to hear Elvis and those that weren't. As he puts it, being Elvis is much more than putting on a costume.

"Just watching film doesn't give you the knowledge of Elvis," Saucedo said. "We grew up with this. You have to go back to old school to rekindle what you've forgot. I've always been old-school about it."

But there's one part about Elvis that Saucedo doesn't want to copy. The 60-year-old animal rights supporter became a vegan about four years ago so that he could continue performing at a high level.

In fact, the change of diet has him feeling like it's the 1980s again, even though he has outlived some of the venues he's performed in.

"Unfortunately, Elvis self-destructed," Saucedo said. "I don't want to follow in those footsteps. I want to live in his prime."

Saucedo performs about 100 shows per year, mostly sticking to the northern part of the Midwest. In addition to Elvis gigs, he plays in his own band, the Rick Saucedo Show Band. All in all, he's all about carrying on the King's legacy.

"Elvis is very sacred to me and always will be," he said. "I will honor his legend; what he was made out of. When it's my time, I want to know that I did what I was supposed to, that I preserved what he meant to all of us."