“It was just a dream in my dad’s heart…  A young man not more than 23…
Who’d have known that old guitar would someday become a legacy”.

These words are from the title track of Danny’s debut solo album The Legacy and an excerpt from his life.

Danny Hooper was literally brought up on music.  Out on a station in the Mid North of South Australia, his entire family would sit around the kitchen table regularly and sing, flat out.  Through this musical upbringing, Danny was destined to be a singer.

The legacy of music, through an old guitar, was handed to Danny at an early age of 10 by his father.  Kingsley was the first from his family to nurture the gift of music and guitar playing, and so by handing down this beautiful gift to his son, the Legacy was born. 

Over the next years, Danny began to develop his guitar playing and singing skills and soon, he and his guitar became quite a close-knit team.

At the age of 18, Danny put his hand to song writing.  His first song, like many other writers, was about love, but as his experiences broadened so did the content of his writing. 

1987 was the beginning of his venture into country music, when he began to enter many competitions.  The results proved very fruitful over the next few years, as each competition he entered would see him with awards for both song writing
and vocals.  Awards for Best Duo with partner, Lea, were also very prominent at this time.

In 1992, a CD entitled Talkin' Bout Love was produced as a duo debut.  The CD consisted of mainly original material, gaining quite a lot of sales and airplay over the next few years.

1994 became the year that Danny decided to have a big crack at the country music industry.  He entered the Toyota Star Maker in Tamworth with two of his own songs, Talkin bout love, and Just thought you’d like to know.  Danny was selected as a Top Ten Grand Finalist.

That same year, he entered the Australian Songwriters Association, National Song Competition in Melbourne becoming the winner of the Acoustic Section and Song of the Year with his song, I Left You.  The competition, being open to all genres of music, finally gave Danny recognition for his songwriting.  He was invited back the following year to present awards.

Following several bouts of moderate success, Danny and his wife Lea began to build a family.  This understandably changed Danny’s point of focus as he became a house Dad while Lea continued with full time teaching.  His dream of becoming a Country music star had to be temporarily placed on the back burner.

However, this didn’t curb his creativity and Danny continued to write songs over the next ten years.  In 2004, the ball started rolling again, seeing him with awards both nationally and internationally.

In January 2004, he won an award for Country Song of the Year in the ASA National Songwriting Contest with his song Up, which coincided with his newfound level of determination.  As a result, over 90 radio stations Australia wide added Up to their regular play lists.

To add to this success, Danny also won an award in the Song of the Year competition in Houston Texas.  His song, Dreamland, was winner of the Country category for January 2004, and went on to win overall Country Song of the Year.

2005 was also a year of note, as it saw Danny picking up three prizes at the ASA awards in Sydney.  His song, Dreamland, became the winner of the Spirit of Australia category.  He received finalist status in the Country and Contemporary Ballad sections with The Legacy and I believe in you.

While this was happening, Danny was well into his 12 month holiday around Oz with his wife Lea, and three children, Jace, Courteney, and Tom.  During their travels Danny penned several new tracks for his debut solo album to be recorded in 2006.
As promised, on his return home, Danny began negotiations for this recording.

Following several months of planning, his new album, The Legacy, was finally produced.  The CD, which consists of 12 of Danny’s own, was recorded in Terrigal NSW, and produced by the legendary Rod McCormack using some of the best hand-picked musicians this country has to offer.

Danny is absolutely fired up about where this album will take him and is looking forward to its release, early 2007.  Look out for The Legacy.  It is truly a ripper!

“The dream stood strong as the years rolled on and the journey never ends”.

Cd Cover