Airport Musician Gets $60,000 In Tips Just Hours After Stranger Makes Appeal On Social Media

Aug 18, 2021 by apost team

Businesses will often hire musicians to play in the background of their establishments to set a nice mood and tone for the environment. This is not typically considered a lucrative position, especially because a lot of the time your audience isn’t fully listening to the music, but it is still an opportunity to get paid to do what you enjoy. This is how Tonee “Valentine” Carter viewed his job as a piano player at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

Carter plays the piano at Varasano's Pizzeria. He performs four days a week, for four hours a day and spends nine hours every night on kidney dialysis. One afternoon in July 2021, Carlos Whittaker, an author, podcast host, and former musician was sitting down for some lunch at the airport when he heard Carter playing. He noticed that no one seemed to be paying attention and Carter’s tip jar was empty. 

This is when Whittaker decided to use his immense social media following to collect a tip for Carter which he would then pass along. After sharing Carter’s story with his 195,000 followers on Instagram, they were able to raise $10,000 in just 30 minutes. This amount grew to a staggering $44,000 by the end of the day. A couple of days later the amount reached $61,000. 

Carter has now reached national attention as his story has been covered by news programs like “Good Morning America.” The musician says he is incredibly grateful for the gift and will be paying it forward. Carter is an excellent piano player and has a passion for music. Read on to learn more about him and his life-changing story.

Carter told “Good Morning America” that his passion for music began early on. He can trace it back to when his father, who also played the piano, took him to a Ray Charles concert when he was only 6 years old. "I was done," Carter said. "That was when I knew that was what I wanted to do. I wanted to do what Ray Charles does."

In 2008, after working as a musician on cruises for 11 years, Carter was diagnosed with kidney disease. He said that his doctors told him that his kidneys were functioning at just 10%. "There’s a physical every time you go on the ship," he said. "I took my last physical and they told me I had kidney issues so I couldn’t work on the ship anymore." This is when he began dialysis for nine hours every night.

It was around the same time that he got a call from the airport offering him a job. "I went out to play for an hour but I ended up playing for three hours because I was having too much fun," he recalled. "Thirteen years later, I’m still here."

Carter loves his job and doesn’t plan on quitting. "It’s the little things," he said. "When you see somebody come in, sit down, and they’re looking crappy and nobody’s talking to each other and then I just happen to play the right song at the right time and all of sudden, feet are patting, the hands are tapping the table and the smiles are coming. It’s something unreal."

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It was by chance that Whittaker happened to be in the airport at the right moment to hear Carter play. "My speaking event in Memphis got canceled so I had to reroute back home, which is why I ended up being in Atlanta for like an hour-and-a-half," Whittaker told "Good Morning America.” He added, "When I saw that nobody was really listening to him, my heart was like, 'Ah, I get it.’ I just wanted to let him know that I was listening to him and that somebody sees him."

He added that he initially expected to raise around $2,500, and said: "What I didn’t know was how far outside of my social media this thing would go."

The money came in incredibly fast. People from all over the world were moved by Carter’s story. "By the time I landed in Nashville, it was at like $25,000, and by the time I talked to him that evening, it was $44,000," Whittaker said.

At first, Carter was in shock when he heard about the $10,000. "I didn’t believe it. But it was real." Then when he heard about how the money hadn’t stopped coming in, he said, "I was overwhelmed. I started bawling again."

The humble musician has big plans for the money, but not to spend on himself. Carter said, "That money’s not mine. I’m going to be paying it forward. I’m going to be helping people for years to come. God made me a steward of that money and I ain’t letting him down."

Whittaker added that the money couldn’t be going to a better individual and said, "I'd love to see his talent used for even bigger reasons. He's literally the kindest human."

This entire situation has bonded these men for life. "We’re not friends," Carter said. "We’re family now.”

What do you think about this incredible story? Let us know your opinion and be sure to pass this along to your friends and family.