These band members are all over 80
The 80-year-olds are considered the “kids” in the band, but all the members deem themselves forever young.
It started over the summer, when 92-year-old Huntington Beach resident Sid Hallburn showed off his tap dancing moves to a crowd of hundreds during the Surf City’s Got Talent competition.
The response was overwhelming, said Craig MacDonald, Hallburn’s friend.
“A lot of people came up to him and said he inspired them,” MacDonald said. “People said, ‘You’ve changed my life.’ They wanted his autograph and photos taken with him. He stole the hearts of everybody. Because of the success of that, my son Chris and I began thinking if we knew any other 90-year-olds who could perform and join Sid in a band.”
Thus, the rock band appropriately named Forever Young was born.
Hallburn called on 90-year-old Christian Mondor, 80-year-old Thomas Penderghast and 87-year-old Al George to play in the group with him.
Since September, when the group formed, it has played four shows, including Sunday’s Miracle on Main Street tree-lighting ceremony, and have a repertoire that includes songs from the 1940s and ‘50s as well as originals.
Mondor plays the banjo, Penderghast strums his guitar and George plays the clarinet. These four form the band’s core group, though guest performers rotate in and out for shows.
“I like to inspire people,” said Hallburn, who has been dancing since he was 4, and as a child danced in the Meglin Kiddies troupe with Judy Garland, Mickey Rooney and Shirley Temple. “The whole reason we’re doing this thing is to inspire young people, and we’re having fun. It’s keeping us forever young.”
The group is looking for more people of a certain age to join them in furthering their mission.
Hallburn, a World War II veteran who has a black belt in martial arts, said he believes music is a big reason members of Forever Young are still healthy.
“We all feel that music is soul food,” he said. “It feeds your soul. The big hospitals today use soft music to heal people. You can’t worry when you have good music around.”
Mondor, who learned how to surf when he was 70, said band members can easily forget their age when they’re on stage.
“When you hear the audience respond, it really gets you going,” said the Huntington Beach resident. “You forget any physical problems you have. You think you’re 20 again.”
Hallburn also attributes good, healthy food and vitamins to his longevity.
While Forever Young likes playing for younger crowds to inspire them to live healthy lives, some of their favorite fans are their peers.
“When we play for older crowds, there are people sitting there in wheelchairs, very frail, and you can see their mouths mouthing the words,” said Penderghast, who has been a professional musician for 65 years. Penderghast and George live in Fountain Valley.
“They tell us they haven’t heard some of these songs in so long and it brings back memories,” Penderghast said. “It helps them. You do the best with what you’ve got. If you want to sit and complain, realize there’s always someone who’s worse off than you. One thing that we believe is that in order to keep our minds healthy, we must exercise it, and we do that through music.”
