Ronnie McDowell, the Elvis-inspired country singer who performs this weekend at Horseshoe Casino's Bluesville, never thought much about gas prices. But when a friend tried to sell him one of the cars he had repossessed from people who couldn't afford to drive anymore, he knew things had gotten bad.

So late one night this summer, the Portland, Tenn., singer jumped out of bed and in 20 minutes wrote "Hey, Mr. Oil Man," a plea for a little relief at the pump.

"Hey, Mister Oil Man, we sure could use a break," McDowell sings on the chorus. "Ole Glory's cryin' how much more can we all take/ Well our savings are gettin' thinner, while yours are gettin' fat/ and me and all my neighbors, are mad as hell about that."

McDowell hastily recorded the song, and a few weeks ago Bill Cody of Nashville radio station WSM played it on the air.

"The first time it was played the phone lines lit up," McDowell remembers.

In just five weeks "Hey, Mr. Oil Man" has gotten over 35,000 plays online. The response has been so strong, that Curb Records hastily made it the title track on McDowell's already completed next album, due in stores any day now.

"It's become like the national anthem," says McDowell, who complains it costs him $1,200 to fill up his tour bus. "I mean young kids who are 18 that are just getting their licenses and grannies that are 80 driving to church. It's truckers and farmers. Everybody's affected by this."

This is not the first time McDowell has struck a chord with the Zeitgeist. In 1977, just weeks after Elvis Presley's death in Memphis, the unknown singer released his self-penned Top 20 memorial "The King Is Gone." The song launched McDowell's career.

To many, McDowell is a popular classic country performer, best known for such '80s hits as "You're Gonna Ruin My Bad Reputation," "Watchin' Girls Go By" and his Jerry Lee Lewis duet, "You're Never Too Old To Rock 'N' Roll." On his last album, he even teamed with Bill Pinkney's Original Drifters on an album of beach songs.

At the same time McDowell, who bears a physical and vocal resemblance to Elvis Presley, fosters a career as the original Elvis tribute artist. Not impersonator.

"No jumpsuits for me," he says. "I just sing the songs."

By his count, McDowell has been the voice of Elvis in a dozen movies, 29 commercials and an episode of "The Twilight Zone." But the highlight of his year, he says, is getting to come to Memphis for Elvis Week, the anniversary of the entertainer's death.

On Friday and Saturday McDowell will perform his "Tribute to the King," a show that teams the singer with Elvis cohorts like backup singers the Jordanaires and Millie Kirkham and drummer DJ Fontana for a night of story and song.

McDowell will make appearances around the Mid-South as part of Elvis Week. Today he will be on WREG's "Live At 9" performing "Mr. Oil Man" and an Elvis song with Fontana. Saturday at noon he will be at the University of Memphis for George Klein's free annual Elvis memorial.

Also Saturday from 1 to 3 p.m. McDowell will be at Marlowe's on Elvis Presley Boulevard to sign prints of his latest Elvis tribute, a painting titled "Reflection of a King." The work of art, the original of which hangs in the Elvis birthplace museum in Tupelo, Miss., depicts a young Elvis in overalls strumming his guitar before a mirror reflecting the adult Elvis.

"It's my favorite thing I've ever done in my life," says McDowell, who has been painting since the first grade.

Showtimes for "Tribute to the King" are 9 Friday and Saturday nights. Tickets are $45 at the Horseshoe box office or through Ticketmaster, by phone at (901) 525-1515 and online at ticketmaster.com.

Casino 'Celebration'

In 1980, the R&B ensemble Kool & the Gang scored what would prove to be the only No. 1 hit of their 44-year career, "Celebration," a song that surely ranks as one of the most brilliant in pop music history, if not artistically, then certainly commercially.

With unspecific lyrics about "a party going on right here," a notion reinforced by the group's horn-driven groove, the song has become a staple of celebrations -- weddings, birthdays, holidays, bar mitzvahs -- around the world. Its sheer ubiquity, and the attendant royalties, should mean they never have to play live again, but the group -- minus "Celebration" vocalist James "J.T." Taylor but with founding bassist Robert "Kool" Bell -- continue to churn it out. They'll appear at 9 p.m. Saturday at Harrah's Tunica. Joining them is Grammy-winning singer Stephanie Mills.

Tickets to Kool & the Gang with Stephanie Mills are $50 and $60 at the Harrah's box office and through Ticketmaster. For information, visit harrahstunica.com.

Kung fu fighting

One of the fastest growing sports in the world, mixed martial arts returns to Tunica this weekend with a local spin.

Fisher's ATA Black Belt Academy, a martial arts school in Horn Lake, Miss., debuted "Bang! Fighting Championship" to sold-out crowds last spring. Saturday the event returns to Sam's Town's River Palace Entertainment Center with the spotlight on Team Torment, Horn Lake's MMA team.

The first match starts at 7 p.m. Tickets are $25 and $35 at the Sam's Town box office and through Ticketmaster.