Elvis impersonator surprises B.C. woman with song on 104th birthday

An Elvis tribute artist who stopped to get some pancakes on his way home from a gig ended up being an unexpected musical guest at a 104th birthday celebration in B.C. this weekend.

Jonathon Hicks is 23 but has been fascinated with the King since he was a child, when his mother began showing him old, black-and-white videos of the iconic performer. In the five years that he's been performing as a tribute artist he's appeared at seniors' homes, backyard barbecues and at the annual Penticton Elvis Festival – where he took home the top prize in 2019.

"It's been a really awesome way to give back to the people that love the music and spread joy around," he told CTV News.

But he says what happened on Sunday was among one of his most special performances to date. Just after being seated at a Langley IHOP – where he turned heads with his jet-black pompadour, sideburns, and red velvet shirt – he was approached by someone with a request he couldn’t turn down.

A centenarian named Joyce was celebrating her birthday at a nearby table, and her great-great-granddaughter's husband asked if Hicks would join the family and sing Happy Birthday.

"I went over. I played the role of Elvis and got into character and she was just in tune," Hicks says.

"She was just so happy, the daughter was just kind of in tears. It's those unexpected moments, you know, it's being in the right place at the right time – you can make someone's day."

Given the season, Hicks also treated Joyce to an encore – his rendition of Blue Christmas. The family offered to treat him to lunch, but he declined saying he wanted to give the songs to Joyce as a gift.

"It was really a special moment," Hicks recalls.

"I left the restaurant happy, knowing that I did something good."