Skip Griparis’ 1970s and Olivia Newton-John show at Joliet park is set for Oct. 14.

A couple of weeks ago, Skip Griparis was putting old strings on his old guitar with the notion of playing “Please Mister Please” in “the way it used to sound,” he said.

Griparis, a member of the Illinois Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, was part of Olivia Newton-John’s touring band from 1975 to 1978.

After stringing the guitar, Griparis took a nap.

“When I woke up, I had all these messages on my phone that she had passed,” Griparis said. “It just hit me like getting run over by a train. I could hardly process it.”

At 7 p.m. Oct 14, Griparis will present his all-ages “‘70′s Heroes of Rock” show at the Billie Limacher Bicentennial Park and Theatre in Joliet. The show is rescheduled from Aug. 27 due to Griparis testing positive for COVID.

Griparis is a comic rock impressionist of more than 100 voices, according to his website. His shows include “fun stories and big hits from Billy Joel, Steely Dan, Elton John, The Eagles, The Doobie Brothers, Earth Wind and Fire, James Taylor, Cheap Trick and Bruce Springsteen,” according to a news release from Bicentennial Park.

The event will include a tribute to Newton-John and feature Annie Aiello, who has sung Newton-John’s song since she was 7 and now performs a tribute show called “Always Olivia,” according to the release.

Griparis said his show is “high energy.”

“Of course, I do all the voices for the people that I do,” Griparis said. “No tracks. Nothing fake. No special effects. Just my one acoustic electric guitar and my voice.”

Performing with Newton-John

Griparis said Crest Hill native Bernie Pershey, a drummer with Newton-John’s band, recommended Griparis when the band needed someone to finger-pick an acoustic guitar and sing in the backup band.

Once Griparis was accepted, he had five days to memorize all the songs, he said.

“I didn’t meet Olivia until the sound check the night of my first gig with her,” Griparis said.

Griparis plans to share stories of those touring days at Saturday’s show.

“I’ll be playing the same guitar that I played for Olivia with the same high-string tuning. Nashville tuning, it’s called. It has a very ‘ringy’ sound,” Griparis said. “And I’ll be playing ‘Please Mister Please’ with that. So I’ll be bringing that out of storage to recreate, as well as I can, what it was like back in the ‘70s with Olivia.”

Griparis said Newton-John was “down-to earth, sweet, very warm, personable, and was always very sweet to me.”

“I did a good job for her,” Griparis said. “I played difficult guitar pieces while singing.”

‘50 different artists in each show’

Griparis is the former lead singer and guitarist for Chicago’s New Colony Six, and he played Monte the Colorman in “Major League” and “Major League II,” according to the release.

He’s also toured comedy clubs in the U.S. for more than 20 years, “headlining and doing satirical impressions,” he said.

With all Griparis’ talent, why not write and perform original material?

“There’s not a big market for original music for somebody of my age, which is very sad,” Griparis said.

Furthermore, people really love his shows – and so does he, Griparis said.

“People my age, they don’t want to hear a satire of their favorite people. They want to hear the real thing, or as close to it as possible,” Griparis said. “I’ll never do an all-night of Neil Diamond, for example. I do about 50 different artists in each show. So I’m not pretending to be somebody.”

Griparis said people love that he gives the impression of a full band when it’s just him and the guitar, which is “a big compliment to me,” because the music he performs is challenging to sing and play.

“I feel gratified to meet that challenge,” Griparis said.

Tickets to Skip Griparis’ “‘70′s Heroes of Rock” are $15. To buy tickets, visit BicentennialPark.org or call 815-724-3761.

For information, visit skipgriparis.com.