Danny Turney is not an average Joe anymore, he now earns $500 per gig as an Elvis tribute artist.
34-year-old Danny Turney from Bedfordshire, England, is an average Joe and has been a warehouse supervisor for the last 15 years. His work mainly involved stacking and moving product palettes around.
But he’s quite fond of singing and once his wife casually recorded him singing in his kitchen while preparing a cup of tea during the COVID-19 outbreak.
She shared the video on Facebook, where it was liked and appreciated by many. Since then, his life has had an amazing turnaround, according to the Good News Network.
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Impressed by Turney’s perfect portrayals of Elvis Presley in the past, one of his friends secretly sent a video of his performance to a talent agent, which led to him now earning $500 per act.
He became a fan of Elvis Presley as a child, thanks to his grandmother as she introduced him to the King of Rock and Roll.
She had a room that was like “a shrine to Elvis, with gold records and everything” when he was a little child.
While she was ironing, she would play Elvis’s songs, and Turney would practice holding a microphone and singing along.
The 34-year-old said, “I didn’t want it up there on social media; that’s never my thing.”
He first did an Elvis-inspired show on his beloved grandma’s memorial, who passed away from cancer, with a fully sequined suit and all. Turney believes his grandma is now his guardian angel.
That’s when a friend secretly recorded his performance and later on, he received several missed calls from an unknown number.
His friend had emailed agents at MK Promotions a video of him performing live without his knowledge.
He eventually called the number back and they said, “I want to give you some work, I’ve seen your videos.” Unaware and surprised, Danny enquired about the videos as he was unaware of the situation.
Soon he started getting many offers of gigs and performances which paid him well too. That’s when Danny quit his job after realizing he could always go back, get back on a forklift, and work his way up if necessary.
He now performs under the stage name “Danny Graceland” and has even performed for eighteen concerts in a single weekend.
The father of two explains, “it was never ever the plan to be a full-time Elvis tribute artist” due to responsibilities of his wife, two kids, and a mortgage.
However, he now performs and charges anywhere between $500 – $600 for each show all over the UK. He has recently finished a nine-week contract in Cyprus performing the King of Rock and Roll’s greatest hits.
Despite his overnight success, the humble man sees himself as an average Joe who loves playing darts and coaching football during his free time.
He claimed that his nine-year-old daughter believes he is famous because of his TV appearances.
The title song of the tribute album he recently recorded with his live band is, “If I Can Dream,” which has some of his favorite Elvis songs. He looks forward to making the most of the golden “opportunity” while it lasts.
