Young at Heart Page #4

Within hours his condition

had worsened so rapidly...

that a priest was called in

to deliver the last rites.

[ Bob ]

- I'll be watching you -

[ Stephen ]

How close were you to dying?

Oh, very close.

I wasn't supposed to live.

The doctor told her, in so many words,

he's probably gonna die.

Boy, it sounded so bleak.

I had-

It was shocking to me that he made it back

from what he went through.

He really sounded like

he was on the verge of death.

And, you know, he has never

come back to us since then.

From that point on it was hell.

I couldn't see. I couldn't hear.

I couldn't talk.

I didn't know anybody.

I didn't know my wife.

I didn't know my children-

for months.

I took him to the local hospital here.

While he was in there-

It was three days-

he did nothing but sing

day and night.

I mean, the top of his lungs,

day and night.

The doctors would laugh, and the nurses-

they'd say, "He's still in there singing."

They felt they could not do anything

for him there, so they sent him to a-

- [ Laughing ]

- to Dartmouth Hitchcock up in New Hampshire.

- What was he singing?

- Everything.

Everything from Young At Heart chorus.

He was singing "Golden Years."

- Golden years, bwop-bwop-bwop -

Laying in the bed, singing.

That was the thing about it-

His state of mind- He would say things

that were actually really, really funny...

almost acting as if he was on stage.

He was so sick, and that was really

what was causing him to do those things...

but it was so much

in his personality.

Bob Cilman came in and he said...

"You sang every song that we did on the tour

in chorus in the emergency room...

and it's the first time

you didn't make any mistakes."

[ Laughing ]

[ Stephen Narrating]

For the next four years...

Bob's life revolved

around hospitals.

Only recently has he been well enough for

Bob Cilman to consider bringing him back.

But he has never sung

since he first became ill.

What if it doesnt work out

and you jus t cant find that voice again?

- How's that gonna be?

- Ah.

Devastating.

Yeah.

[ Clears Throat ]

-- [ Organ ]

-- [ Continues ]

[ Man ]

- When you try your best -

- [ Cheering, Applause ]

- - But you dont succeed -

- When you get what you want -

- - But not what you need -

- [ Bob ] How many were in the

group when Bob Salvini was here?

- When you feel so tired

but you cant sleep -

- Stuck in reverse -

Good to see ya.

- And the tears come

streaming down your face -

- When you lose something -

- You cant replace -

- When you love someone -

- But it goes to waste -

- Could it be worse -

[ Bob, Chorus ]

- Lights will guide you home -

- And ignite -

- Your bones -

- I will try -

- T o fix you -

[ Bob Cilman ]

I want the first two lines from you, Bob...

and the next two from you, Fred.

-- [ Continues ]

[ Singing Along With Recording ]

- And high above or down below -

- When you're too in love

to let it go -

- But if you never try

you'll never know -

- Just what you're worth -

[ With Chorus ]

- The lights will guide -

- You home -

- And ignite -

- Your bones -

- I will try -

- To fix you --

It's great to see guys like that

not give up and come back.

I think that's a really cool thing.

'Cause they spent so much time doing this,

and they didn't want to stop doing it.

It was just health that

made it impossible for them.

[ Cheering, Applause ]

Thank you.

- Whoo!

- Whoo! Whoo!

[ Stephen ]

Fred, how was that?

It was fun. I-

I didn't run out of air!

It's gonna take a little work.

I should really sing that an octave higher,

what I used to do.

But I- We'll put it together.

- Do you like the song?

- Yes. Beautiful.

So, what's it like to be back?

Wonderful. It's like

being back in the saddle.

Back in the saddle again.

- -- [ Rock ]

- [ Cheering, Applauding]

[ Stephen Narrating ]

It's five weeks before the show...

and at great personal risk

I'm letting Lenny drive me to rehearsal.

- [ Chorus ] - Ah, ohh -

- -- [ Continues ]

Everybody loves Lenny...

despite his tendency to go suddenly blank

in the middle of "Purple Haze "...

his one solo with the chorus...

a factor which makes each performance

a nail-biting experience.

- Purple haze

All in my brain -

[ Woman ]

- Lately things just dont seem the same -

- [ Bob ] Oh!

- Oh, boy.

-- [ Ends ]

[ Stephen ] Give me a breakdown of

the different things you do in the week.

[ Lenny]

Tuesday, as you know, we have rehearsal.

And, uh, Wednesday

I've got, uh, the club bike ride.

This is a Trek.

It's an American-built bicycle...

and it's held up

a pretty darn good reputation...

for avoiding repairs.

And they even have club rides

on every Sunday.

But I don't go on that

because I sing in the choir.

- All the earth proclaim the Lord -

- Sing your praise to God --

[ Stephen ]

What about the Harmonicats?

Oh, yeah.

[ Chuckles ]

- Just because you think

you're so pretty -

- Just because

you think you're so hot -

- Just because you think

you've got something -

- That nobody else has got --

Over here, okay?

Here we go.

[ Man ]

Right from the top?

[ Stephen Narrating ]

Over the past few days...

the chorus have been hard at work

on all the new songs...

though it's anybody's guess which ones

will be ready in time for the show.

This afternoon Lenny and Joe get their

first crack at "Life During Wartime. "

- Heard of a van

that's loaded with weapons -

- Packed up and ready to go -

[ Bob ]

Get ready down here.

- Heard of some gravesides

down by the highway -

- A pl ace where nobody knows -

- The sound of gunfire

off in the distance -

- Im gettin' used to it now -

- Lived in a brownstone -

- Lived in a ghetto -

- I lived all over this town -

Yeah, you know what was

really interesting?

Joe's take on " Life During Wartime."

That was really incredible.

He just came out and nailed it.

- High on a hillside

trucks are loaded -

- Everything's ready to go -

Nice!

Yeah! Nice!

- - I sleep in the daytime -

- [ Chorus ]- I work in the nighttime -

[Joe ]

- I might not even go home --

Boom.

That was a revelation.

That happens a lot with this group.

You're thinking

about other things...

and you try something you don't think has a

chance, but you figure you might as well do it.

That was really something for the first time.

I really liked it.

- Now is the time -

[ Grunts ]

- [ Chorus Grunts ]

- [ Stephen ]

Bob's optimism comes crashing down...

with the next song,

"Yes, We Can Can. "

Apart from Joe,

who knows it off by heart...

nobody in the chorus has yet managed

to get their heads round all 7 1 "can "s.

- And try to find peace within -

- Without steppin' on one another -

Those words are hard

to put together.

"I think I can, I think I can,

I think I can-can-can"? That's hard!

- I know darn well

we can work it out -

- Oh, yes, we can, I know we can can

Yes, we can -

- Oh, gosh almighty, yes, we can

Oh, yes, we can can -

"Oh, yes, we can.

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