Older Adults, Isolated by Virus, Become DJs for New Online Show
2020-05-14
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1Stuck inside his room at an assisted living center, Bob Coleman knew he could not go out in public with the coronavirus spreading.
2But he could still connect with others by sharing his love for country music over the internet.
3"Hello, everybody. It's a bright day in Franklin, Tennessee," he said into his microphone.
4"This is Bob Coleman, better known as the 'Karaoke Cowboy,' coming to you from Room 3325. ... Let's just jump right into it."
5Then Coleman began to play the music he loves --- hits from country music stars like Hank Williams, Dwight Yoakam and Brad Paisley.
6The 88-year-old carefully chooses each song.
7Coleman is a resident of Somerby Franklin, an assisted living center about 32 kilometers south of Nashville.
8He formerly served in the United States Air Force.
9He and several other retirees have turned into disc jockeys, or DJs, for a new online radio hour known as "Radio Recliner."
10The 60-minute show was launched last month, starting with retirees in middle Tennessee.
11It has since expanded, with residents of assisted-living centers in Georgia and Alabama taking part in the project.
12Many jumped at the chance to work as a DJ to ease the loneliness of social distancing rules.
13Older adults are at high risk from the new coronavirus.
14At most assisted-living facilities, not only are visitors barred but so is socializing with other residents.
15A Georgia and Alabama-based marketing company called Luckie came up with the idea of Radio Recliner.
16One of its clients is Bridge Senior Living, which operates more than 20 centers for older adults in 14 states.
17The volunteer DJs record themselves on their phones.
18The audio is then sent off to audio production specialists who deal with the technical side of Radio Recliner.
19New shows appear weekdays at 12 o'clock. Listeners can send song requests in honor of family or friends.
20For example, listeners might hear a message like this: "Hey, Granny. This is your favorite granddaughter Amy ... We just wanted to call in and say we love you very much."
21Mitch Bennett serves as Luckie's chief creative officer.
22He says the idea was to provide a sense of community to older people who have been spending a lot of time alone.
23"For this generation, radio was the original social media," Bennett said.
24"Dedicating a song to someone you love, and having them hear it along with everyone else, is a special way of connecting. It's a great time to bring that feeling back."
25In Georgia, 80-year-old Ed Rosenblatt said an hour he spent playing songs on Radio Recliner resulted in a flood of text messages, emails and calls from family and friends.
26Rosenblatt said many of the messages were from people he had not heard from for years.
27He prepared a special close for his Radio Recliner hour.
28"For the past year I've been teaching myself how to play the ukulele," said Rosenblatt, who lives at Somerby Sandy Springs just outside of Atlanta.
29"So, at the close of the show, I actually played a song on my ukulele. I sang and played the Sloop John B."
30The Beach Boys released the most popular version of the song in 1966.
31"Everybody knows that song," Rosenblatt said.
32I'm Caty Weaver.
1Stuck inside his room at an assisted living center, Bob Coleman knew he could not go out in public with the coronavirus spreading. But he could still connect with others by sharing his love for country music over the internet. 2"Hello, everybody. It's a bright day in Franklin, Tennessee," he said into his microphone. "This is Bob Coleman, better known as the 'Karaoke Cowboy,' coming to you from Room 3325. ... Let's just jump right into it." 3Then Coleman began to play the music he loves --- hits from country music stars like Hank Williams, Dwight Yoakam and Brad Paisley. The 88-year-old carefully chooses each song. 4Coleman is a resident of Somerby Franklin, an assisted living center about 32 kilometers south of Nashville. He formerly served in the United States Air Force. 5He and several other retirees have turned into disc jockeys, or DJs, for a new online radio hour known as "Radio Recliner." 6The 60-minute show was launched last month, starting with retirees in middle Tennessee. It has since expanded, with residents of assisted-living centers in Georgia and Alabama taking part in the project. Many jumped at the chance to work as a DJ to ease the loneliness of social distancing rules. 7Older adults are at high risk from the new coronavirus. At most assisted-living facilities, not only are visitors barred but so is socializing with other residents. 8A Georgia and Alabama-based marketing company called Luckie came up with the idea of Radio Recliner. One of its clients is Bridge Senior Living, which operates more than 20 centers for older adults in 14 states. 9The volunteer DJs record themselves on their phones. The audio is then sent off to audio production specialists who deal with the technical side of Radio Recliner. 10New shows appear weekdays at 12 o'clock. Listeners can send song requests in honor of family or friends. For example, listeners might hear a message like this: "Hey, Granny. This is your favorite granddaughter Amy ... We just wanted to call in and say we love you very much." 11Mitch Bennett serves as Luckie's chief creative officer. He says the idea was to provide a sense of community to older people who have been spending a lot of time alone. 12"For this generation, radio was the original social media," Bennett said. "Dedicating a song to someone you love, and having them hear it along with everyone else, is a special way of connecting. It's a great time to bring that feeling back." 13In Georgia, 80-year-old Ed Rosenblatt said an hour he spent playing songs on Radio Recliner resulted in a flood of text messages, emails and calls from family and friends. Rosenblatt said many of the messages were from people he had not heard from for years. 14He prepared a special close for his Radio Recliner hour. 15"For the past year I've been teaching myself how to play the ukulele," said Rosenblatt, who lives at Somerby Sandy Springs just outside of Atlanta. "So, at the close of the show, I actually played a song on my ukulele. I sang and played the Sloop John B." 16The Beach Boys released the most popular version of the song in 1966. 17"Everybody knows that song," Rosenblatt said. 18I'm Caty Weaver. 19The Associated Press reported this story. Caty Weaver adapted it for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor. 20We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. 21_____________________________________________________________ 22Words in This Story 23isolate - v. to put or keep (someone or something) in a place or situation that is separate from others 24microphone-n. a device into which people speak or sing in order to record their voices or to make them sound louder 25resident -n. someone who lives in a particular place 26disc jockey -n. a person who plays recorded music on the radio or at a party or nightclub 27client -n. a person who pays a professional person or organization for services 28original -adj. happening or existing first or at the beginning 29dedicate -v. to say or write that something (as a book or song) is written or performed in honor of someone