If you’re looking for a feel good story for a Sunday night, you won’t get much better than this one.
80 year-old Alzheimer sufferer Ted McDermott AKA Teddy Mac went viral last month with a video that showed him singing Quando Quando Quando in the car with his son and now he’s landed himself a recording contract.
As the ABC report, the 80 year-old British man was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease three years ago but his son Simon found that singing with his Dad while driving around their town Blackburn in Northern England helped.
He posted videos on his YouTube account The Songaminute Man to raise awareness for the Alzheimer’s Society. As well as helping the Dad, it’s now also significantly helped the society, as he’s raised $197,000.
The video of Teddy Mac singing Quando Quando Quando, a song that’s been recorded by everyone from Michael Bublé to EnEngelbert Humperdinck, has been watched online by over 40 million people now leading Mac to be signed to Decca Records.
Teddy Mac has trouble recognising his son sometimes but the former camp entertainer unbelievably can remember the words to some of his favourite songs.
Jeremy Hughes, chief executive at the Alzheimer’s Society, reckons that music has a positive impact on Dementia sufferers because it takes them back to a time and prompts them to reminisce.
“This is clearly the case when Teddy sings and is transported back to his time as an entertainer,” Hughes said.
Simon called Mac’s Alzheimer’s, “incredibly difficult to manage and terrifying at times,” but there’s a silver lining to this story because he gets to live out his dream.
“This is a dream come true not only for dad, but for the entire family,” Simon said.
On 23rd September, Mac will release his first single – a cover of Frank Sinatra’s You Make Me Feel So Young with Quando Quando Quando as the B-side.
“It’s a captivating sound, and full of character and experience; in it you can hear the worldly understanding of a lifetime,” Decca Records A&R executive Alexander Van Ingen said about the record.
Watch: Quando Quando Quando – The Songaminute Man
Listen: Teddy Mac – You Make Me Feel So Young
