Although Danny’s hectic schedule as a fundraising auctioneer, professional master of ceremonies, and CFCW Morning Show co-host demand most of his time, he still makes time to entertain with his band The Honky Tonk Heroes.

Having recorded nine albums and produced four CMT music videos in the past, Danny has not recorded a new album since 2003.

A message to my fans…

Hello everyone!

Many people are wondering what I’ve been up to as far as my music career is concerned. Well, I haven’t been writing or recording since 2003, when I co-produced ‘31 Days in Austin’ with my good buddy (and former guitar player for Merle Haggard) Redd Volkaert. We cut that album at Wire Sound in Austin, Texas, and it produced a couple of good hits (Blue and Broken Hearted, We’re Not Even Talking).

By late 2003 I was winding down our hugely successful Danny Hooper Classic Country Hall Tour (CCHT). When we came up with the idea for that tour in 1999, we all agreed we’d let it run for five years, until 2004. We went like gangbusters the first few years. I think we managed to play every little dance hall in Alberta, plus a good number of State and County Fairs in the U.S. The CCHT was so successful I was able to buy a big shiny Prevost tour bus in Nashville. What a way to travel and see the sights! But I wouldn’t own another bus!! Way too expensive!!!!

I have a million wonderful memories from the CCHT years, and absolutely loved filling those little halls every Friday and Saturday night with people who just wanted to hear ‘real’ country music. Most of our earlier shows (1999 – 2003) sold out a month or two in advance!

But by 2004 I could sense things were changing. As I think back to the earlier days of my music career, live music was at one time an easy sell. Folks in the country wouldn’t think twice about driving 50 miles to a good dance. People were starved for entertainment. But then came satellite dishes and tougher drinking and driving laws. And suddenly it was becoming a real challenge to sell out those halls and theatres while at the same time trying to feed my family and the families of my musicians and road crew. I was starting to question my future in the music business, a business that can be impossibly difficult at the best of times.

And then God intervened. During a freak April snowstorm I lost visibility and drove my bus into the ditch just north of Calgary while pushing when we shouldn’t have been, trying to make a show that night up in Grande Prairie. There were hundreds of vehicles in the ditch between Calgary and Olds; it looked like a warzone! They couldn’t close the highway to let them tow our bus out for three whole days, so there I sat. The band’s wives had come to pick them up the day we hit the ditch, but I had to stay with the bus in case a wrecker showed up to pull us out. So I had those three days to sit and do some serious soul-searching.

After all those years on the road and the nights away from my home and family, I realized it was time for a change. I got to thinking that maybe it was time to shift gears and change direction, something I’ve done many times during my career.

And so I sold the bus, and decided to focus on my fundraising auction business, emceeing, and speaking.

And though I made the right decision, I’ll never quit the music business completely. I still perform up to 25 nights a year, mostly for private corporate functions. In fact, I’m already getting excited about celebrating my 35th Anniversary in the music business in 2010. Maybe we’ll do a big BBQ and concert at the Gainford Hotel where I earned my first dollar (actually $60!) playing music. I was 16 and my dad convinced the owner to let me sneak in with my guitar and amplifier on a busy Saturday night. I remember thinking ‘Wow, you can get paid doing this?’ What a great memory!

I’m also working with my old friend Derek Stremel (co-writer of The John Deere Tractor Keys) to record a single just so I’ll have a new song on CFCW! Derek is an incredible songwriter and producer who has enjoyed great success with Tracy Miller and Tiffany Dowhan. So stay tuned for some new Danny Hooper music on the radio soon!
And if you have a special event coming up and need a great live band, give us a call.