Earlier this week I played a gig for the good folks at Unforgettable Tuesdays day club in Longview, Texas.  The day club is a weekly meeting staffed by volunteers who provide four hours of fun and fellowship for persons with Alzheimer’s and respite for their caregivers.

When I play for the group, I choose old songs that are familiar to the participants and volunteers, and we have a blast.  It is not a concert, but rather a truly interactive event with a lot of laughing, hand clapping, singing, dancing and whatever else comes along.

One of the things that came along this week was a participant who brought a song book with him and was ready to go. A fine singer, he flipped to the first number in his book.

It was Achy Breaky Heart.

For those of you not too chronologically gifted, Achy Breaky Heart was an enormous hit back in the day when Billy Ray Cyrus looked like a young Elvis Presley, a guitar strapped around his neck, and he pounded it left-handed.

I often wonder what  makes a hit song, just like I wonder what makes a hit book.  But in the case of Achy Breaky Heart there is little to wonder about.

It is fun, silly and upbeat.

Could there be any better combination?

So for about five minutes I played and he sang and we were transported by the power of  music to a time before Alzheimer’s.

Miracles come packaged as silly little songs sometimes.

The line dance forms in front of your computer monitor.  Move your chair out of the way and let your hair down.