At a nursing facility, 81-year-old Dave Williams stunned everyone by performing a flawless version of “Unchained Melody” by The Righteous Brothers. Nobody expected much when he took the microphone at the elderly home. As they prepared for a shaky, off-key performance, the audience laughed a little. Then he began to sing, nevertheless. His voice, clear, strong, and in perfect harmony, poured out the opening notes of “Unchained Melody,” and the crowd went silent. Time appeared to stop for a few amazing minutes, and nobody could believe what they were hearing. Everyone knew they had witnessed something extraordinary, and the ensuing cheers were thunderous.
When Dave Williams asked for a performance, local soprano Toni Nesbitt was already entertaining the residents of Liverpool’s Park View Nursing Home with her lovely singing. Dave has worked for the National Health Service in the United Kingdom for fifty years as a medical assistant.
Everyone in the audience was amazed by the singing prowess of a man who had previously performed with The Beatles. Dave remarked, “My daughter begged me to sit down again when I got up.” “But I’m happy I didn’t!”
After his performance, a dementia patient started singing the song to herself, which gave him a great sense of fulfillment. After I finished performing, I noticed a patient with dementia singing the song to herself, which was really amazing.
In 1958, Dave played with Ringo Starr, the drummer for the Beatles, in a band called The Dices. Dave went solo when he was seventeen and performed at a small bar on the weekends for £3 a night.
For him, performing alongside The Beatles at Liverpool’s Knotty Ash Village Hall in 1961 at a friend’s request was an absolutely amazing experience. Another noteworthy event in his life was when he performed at Paul McCartney’s 58th birthday celebration at the Linda McCartney Center in 2000 in front of a sizable audience that included Mel C.
He says, “It was all surreal and something I will never forget,” as he describes the event. The Knotty Ash gig was a touch strange. Even though I was off-key, I got a lot of applause! Paul’s birthday was celebrated by people from all around the world.
“Words can’t explain how we all felt after his performance—and he has said he would love to perform for us again,” a nursing home staff member wrote on social media after sharing a video of Dave’s performance.
The video, which was posted by the Park View TikTok profile, received 500,000 views and a ton of encouraging comments from viewers. When folks witnessed his performance the following day, Dave was surprised to receive a standing ovation at his favorite local establishment.
