The Sassy Songbirds

The Sassy Songbirds paid a visit to Whittier Place Senior Living the other day! And, who are the Sassy Songbirds, you may ask? Well, they consist of Me and my dear friend Alexis Henderson! We got the brilliant idea to start a singing duo that specializes in singing at Senior Homes as well as at Private Parties, Country Clubs, etc. The first program that we put together is our '30s & 40s Standards' -- all songs that my Dad knows very well and that will transport our audience back in time. Since Dementia and Alzheimer's patients mostly remember distant memories not short-term memories, they tend to know most of the words to these songs.

We opened with a dramatic rendition of "Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend" and our program continued with Peggy Lee songs, Rosemary Clooney, Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland, and more. Once we started singing and dancing, I instantly saw faces perk up in the audience. During some of Alexis's solos, I could hear a lady in the front row say really loudly, "She's really good." And then she repeated it louder because the lady next her didn't know what she was saying.

I got some laughs during "Fever" when I went over and sang to Dad, "oh, Daddy oh don't you dare... He gives me FEVER!" They weren't laughing at me per say, I think it was Dad's reaction... because he was really into that song and was making some funny faces. Oh, and he practically sang a duet with Alexis in "Cry Me A River" because he knew all the words to the first verse. As you can see in the pictures, we also got Dad and Tabitha up to dance a couple of times throughout the program when we had long interludes during the songs.

I do have to mention one incident. During Alexis's song "Someone to Watch Over Me", a very grumpy gentleman started yelling in the hallway. The cute ladies in the audience kept trying to shush him because he was ruining the music. Suddenly while Alexis is crooning away, this gentleman walks across the stage yelling at the caregivers. This upset most of the people, and we ended up pausing the song. Dad even stood up because he was getting angry at this guy. There were definitely some moments of confusion and anxiety, but he finally went out in the garden and we started up once again. Despite that one little incident, everything went smoothly and not only did the residents have fun, but Alexis and I had a BLAST!!!!

Of course, we volunteered our entertainment for Whittier Place and it was a great way to test out our act. I can't wait to do it again. When I went back a few days later, some of the residents (including Dad) even remembered the performance and said how much they enjoyed the songs and dancing.
I added a link to the right to our Sassy Songbirds Blog! Please check it out!