Friday, April 13, 2007

The Zimmers, "My Generation"


This is so great! Respect for and valuing of our elders is sadly fading in our society, which is doubly sad because they are one natural resource which is expanding. Perhaps this project can help combat the horrors (and I do mean horrors, my friends, many folks treat their pets better than their elderly family members) of ageism.

The Zimmers are a band of elders who have just made my day. They have a CD due to be released in May, which was recorded in reknowned Abbey Road Studios. Other songs to be featured on their forthcoming release include 'Firestarter' by The Prodigy, and 'When I'm (one hundred and)64' by The Beatles.

Neatorama says:

The average age of The Zimmers is 78. Lead singer Alf Carretta is 90 years old! Other band members are 99 and 100 years old. The single will be released on May 14th, with proceeds going to Age Concern, an advocacy organization in England.

The Zimmers' MySpace blog

If you look closely as the camera pans through the group, you will notice Peter Oakley AKA YouTube star Geriatic1927, AKA The Internet Granddad, is part of the group. Peter's internet stardom itself is a great example of how technology can enable elders to connect to us whippersnappers, sharing their wisdom, and archiving much oral history which otherwise might be lost. His video blog about the project is also worth checking out, as is his website.

I'll leave you with this musical thought from John Prine:

Ya' know that old trees just grow stronger,
And old rivers grow wilder ev'ry day...

1 comment:

ERIC SHACKLE said...

You may like to know that Australia's 107-year-old Olive Riley is the world's oldest blogger. Her blog is www.AllAboutOlive.com.au

I wrote about her in The World's First Multi-National e-Book: http://www.bdb.co.za/shackle/articles/olive_riley.htm

And there's a story about Peter Oakley, the YouTubers' favorite grandad, posted at http://www.bdb.co.za/shackle/articles/you-tuber.htm

Best wishes, Eric Shackle.(in Sydney, Australia).
Author, The World's First Multi-National e-Book.
http://bdb.co.za/shackle