SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KTIV) -
With words to live by, and beats to move to, music can bring you back to a place in time, a momentous milestone or a sad occasion.
For one Sioux City man, it's the famous artist who made music that's been a source of inspiration.
Now, he's actually living out his life on stage.
Brad Hedlund is a Sioux City man who moonlights as the King of Rock n' Roll.
"I just thought it I'm going to anything, I'm not going to join a band or sing at a bar, and the only music I ever really sang was Elvis," said Hedlund of why he performs as an Elvis tribute artist.
He took his love of Elvis to the stage five years ago, performing throughout the Midwest and Las Vegas. However, last year, his life sounded more like a sad country song.
"I lost my life, I lost my job, I lost my dog, and I lost my wife," said Hedlund.
A year ago Hedlund's life changed.
"I died. My heart stopped. I was dead," Hedlund explained.
Hedlund does remember much about the moments before and after he collapsed on the concrete floor at work.
"When he got there, he found me on the floor purple. No pulse, no anything," said Hedlund of the paramedic that saved his life, after trying for eight long minutes to resuscitate him.
"They didn't think I'd be here today. They didn't think I was going to make it. They thought if I did I'd be in a nursing home," pointed out Hedlund.
Despite a lot of therapy, Hedlund found himself without a job. So now, he's concentrating on his act, hoping to make that his day job.
"How many people can say the job that they do they love?" asked Hedlund.
Hedlund's always found inspiration from Elvis's life, "He pushed the limits of music and what he got away with on stage," explained Hedlund, who was nine when the King died.
Now it's his own life that others may find inspiring.
"You've got to value every minute your here, because you never know when it's going to be your last," said Hedlund.
Though he has no plans to leave the stage anytime soon.
Hedlund has planned a concert to mark the one year anniversary of his brush with death.
You can see him perform as Elvis on Saturday, March 10th at 7:30 inside the Castle on the Hill at 610 13th Street.
