My name is Jon Daker
{{Short description|Viral video}}
"My Name is John Daker" is an internet viral video of an Easter recital at First United Methodist Church in Peoria, Illinois, in 1990 that was broadcast as part of a public access TV program on WTVP.{{Cite web |last=Aigner |first=Jonathan |date=February 21, 2022 |title=His Name Was Jon Daker, and May He Rest in Peace |url=https://www.patheos.com/blogs/ponderanew/2022/02/21/his-name-was-jon-daker-and-may-he-rest-in-peace/ }}{{Cite web |last=Taylor |first=Justin |date=2010-02-25 |title=My Name Is John Daker |url=https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justin-taylor/hello-my-name-is-john-daker/ |access-date=2023-11-13 |website=The Gospel Coalition |language=en-US}} It has been viewed more than 5 million times on YouTube. In the video, an amateur singer, Jon Daker, is accompanied by a pianist as he sings renditions of "Christ the Lord Is Risen Today" and "That's Amore." While performing he uses unusual phrasing, sings in a pseudo-operatic voice, and forgets song lyrics.{{Cite news |last=Renken |first=Leslie |date=2022-04-04 |title='My name is Jon Daker': Awkward performance immortalized Peoria singer with internet fame |newspaper=Peoria Journal Star |url=https://www.pjstar.com/story/news/local/2022/04/04/jon-daker-peoria-singer-stumbled-into-internet-fame-dies-82/7158315001/}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.dailynebraskan.com/culture/youtube-pick-the-incredible-singing-of-john-daker/article_53c8d112-debb-11e6-941d-4b8519c9384d.html|title=YouTube pick: The incredible singing of John Daker|first=Jake|last=Larsen|date=January 20, 2017|website=The Daily Nebraskan}}{{Cite web |last=Taylor |first=Justin |date=February 12, 2010 |title=My name is John Daker |url=https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justin-taylor/hello-my-name-is-john-daker/}}{{Cite news|date=April 14, 2022 |title='My name is Jon Daker' |work=Pekin Daily Times (IL) |url=https://www.newslibrary.com/newspapers?sort=dsc&formType=basic&alltext=%22john%20daker%22}}{{Cite news |date=April 13, 2022 |title='My name is Jon Daker' |work=Daily Ledger (Canton, IL) |url=https://www.newslibrary.com/newspapers?sort=dsc&formType=basic&alltext=%22john%20daker%22}}{{Cite news |date=April 13, 2022 |title=Awkward performance immortalized singer with internet fame |work=The Times Record (Aledo, IL) |url=https://www.newslibrary.com/newspapers?sort=dsc&formType=basic&alltext=%22john%20daker%22}}{{Cite news |date=November 1, 2012 |title=25 Awesome things... and Bacon |pages=82–83 |work=Group Magazine |url=https://ymlibrary.com/download/Youth-Ministry/25%20Awesome%20Things%20-%20And%20Bacon.pdf |archive-url=https://archive.org/details/25-awesome-things-and-bacon |archive-date=2012-11-01}}{{Cite web |last=Parsons |first=Jeff |date=2015-08-08 |title=John Daker Sings - The Viral Video That Just Keeps Going Viral |url=https://wjbq.com/john-daker-sings-the-viral-video-that-just-keeps-going-viral/ |access-date=2023-11-22 |website=Q97.9 |language=en}}
Background
The video was uploaded to YouTube{{Citation |title=My name is John Daker (The original) |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zi8beYR1iBQ |access-date=2023-11-13 |language=en}} and EBaum's World in 2006.{{Cite web |last=ebaum |title=John Daker - Weird Singing Man |url=https://www.ebaumsworld.com/videos/john-daker-weird-singing-man/348/ |access-date=2023-11-13 |website=www.ebaumsworld.com |language=en}} Daker's first name was misspelled in the original subtitles, so he is sometimes referred to as "John Daker."
Jon Graham Daker was born November 19, 1939, in Peoria. Daker grew up on the West Bluff and attended Peoria High School, earning his GED later. He enjoyed music and played the harmonica. He died on February 20, 2022.{{Cite web |title=Jon Daker Obituary 2022 |url=https://www.cumerfordclary.com/obituaries/jon-daker |access-date=2023-11-22 |website=Cumerford-Clary Funeral Home |language=en}}
The recital was a public access program on WTVP. The organist at First United Methodist Church, Reva Singley Cooper Unsicker, was the accompanist.{{Cite web |last=Aigner |first=Jonathan |date=2018-09-23 |title=Celebrating the Gifts of John Daker and His FUMC Peoria Pals |url=https://www.patheos.com/blogs/ponderanew/2018/09/23/celebrating-the-gifts-of-john-daker-and-his-fumc-peoria-pals/ |access-date=2023-11-22 |website=Patheos |language=en}} Unsicker taught voice, piano, and organ lessons until her death in 1995.
There are several other video clips from the recital of different singers, a six-person choir, and a comedian. George Stanton, Bob Spencer, Margie Hicks, and others sang. Pearl Gross delivered a comedic set.{{Citation |title=Pearl Gross |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0iBkbaqsVo |access-date=2023-11-22 |language=en}}
There are rumors of other appearances on local TV, but the videos are unconfirmed or unavailable.
On November 17, 2014, a video entitled "JOHN DAKER STRIKES AGAIN" was posted, depicting Daker at a local Ford dealership.{{Citation |title=JOHN DAKER STRIKES AGAIN |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfPHN5nAGDM |access-date=2023-11-22 |language=en}} The YouTube short obtained over 131,000 views. The user posted two subsequent videos on November 25, 2014{{Citation |title=JOHN DAKER STRIKES AGAIN 40 Year Reunion |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvWPnsdl2Co |access-date=2023-11-22 |language=en}} and April 24, 2015.{{Citation |title=JOHN DAKER FAN APPRECIATION |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5EEXTu8ycgw |access-date=2023-11-22 |language=en}}
Cultural impact
In 2006, the video was featured on VH1's show Web Junk 20. In 2016, the Blue Man Group, who are fans of Daker, invited him to meet with them backstage when they were playing a show in Peoria.{{Cite web |last=Stephens |first=Jack |date=2022-04-04 |title=Jon Daker performs with Blue Man Group |url=https://www.pjstar.com/videos/news/2022/04/04/jon-daker-performs-blue-man-group/7222569001/ |access-date=2023-11-22 |website=Peoria Journal Star |language=en-US}} In 2016, Bill Burr did a segment on his Monday Morning Podcast about the video.{{Cite web |date=2016 |title=The Monday Morning Podcast 6-6-16 |url=https://archive.org/details/2017-07-05_billburr_the-Monday-Morning-Podcast-6-6-16 |page=Timestamp 27 minutes in}}
Heather Schopp befriended Daker when she was volunteering to play piano at the assisted living facility where he lived in November 2018. She received permission from Daker's niece to post updates on a fan page, The John Daker Experience, with over 2,900 followers. Schopp wrote, "He was aware of it, and he assumed the best of all of us. He had no interest in any more details, in benefiting monetarily from his fame, in telling others about it. It was enough for him to know he was loved, and to continue making people laugh."