[万 花 筒] Members of the Group Young @ Heart Refuse to Act Their Age

>> Download MP3 Audio
By Lawan Davis, Shelley Gollust and Caty Weaver
2008-5-15

HOST:
Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC in VOA Special English.
(MUSIC)
I'm Doug Johnson.
Today we hear music from Marcus Miller...
Answer a listener's question about the popular Internet game, "Second Life..."
And, tell about a group of old people who refuse to act their age.
(MUSIC)
Young @ Heart
HOST:
You can never be too old to rock and roll. After all, the "world's greatest rock and roll band," the Rolling Stones, are all over sixty. But they are youngsters compared to another group of rock and rollers. Faith Lapidus explains.
FAITH LAPIDUS:
A new movie called Young@Heart is about a group of more than twenty singers from Northhampton, Massachusetts. The singing group was formed more than twenty-five years ago at a center for old people. The singers have performed concerts around the world. The average age of the group is eighty years old.
The Young@Heart Chorus performs rock and roll songs made famous by artists including Bob Dylan, James Brown, Coldplay, Sonic Youth and the Clash. The leader of the group, Bob Cilman, is in his fifties. He directs the singers and teaches them new songs.
British filmmaker Stephen Walker followed the group for two months. He made a movie about the singers as they learned several new songs for a concert in their hometown. Some of the songs were difficult to learn. Older people do not know rock and roll songs as well as younger generations. And it is not always easy for people in their seventies, eighties and nineties to remember the words. But the movie shows that the singers try their hardest and have a good sense of humor.
Here is the Young@ Heart Chorus singing "I Wanna Be Sedated" by the Ramones.
(MUSIC)
The members of Young@Heart are a lovable group of men and women with great spirit. Singing with the group is an important part of their lives. They have many medical problems and some struggle to attend rehearsals to learn the songs. Sadly, two of the members of the group died within a week while the movie was being filmed. But that did not stop the group from performing their concert.
The movie Young@Heart is very enjoyable. How many movies can make you smile, laugh and cry at the same time? One of the most emotional parts of the film is when the singers perform before a group of young men at a local jail. One of the young men says it was the best performance he'd ever seen in his life.
Second Life