Have you ever been to the Wagon Wheel on a Saturday night? If you were “lucky” enough to have been there a few weeks ago, you would have seen quite a spectacle—six women, all over 60 (so they should have known better), attempting to sing “Walking After Midnight” and then “Dancing Queen.” One young woman sitting behind us at the bar, after trying to help by adding her lovely voice to the cacophony, commented to a friend, “Trainwreck!”
The back story only slightly explains what went wrong. While out on a Sunday hike, several women came up with the idea of making a karaoke debut. We agreed to meet for a practice session on the upcoming Saturday evening, right before heading to the Wagon Wheel. Our initial song choice was “Respect,” but, fortunately, we did not embarrass Aretha by sticking with that one. It was clearly beyond our capacity. Instead, we settled on “Going to the Chapel” and dutifully practiced our unique rendition (including dance steps).
Alas, when we got to the Wagon Wheel two things went horribly wrong. First, the karaoke man did not have our song on his machine, so no “Going to the Chapel.” Second, all the other performers really knew how to sing. I mean really!
Unfortunately, we were undaunted and agreed to try the Patsy Cline classic. Among us, there was one soft but melodious voice, one modestly in tune voice, two droners, and two that had been told to mouth the words in the choruses back in their grade school days. The combination was not pretty. Hysterical laughter on the part of singers and audience did not add much either. Instead of resting on our laurels, such as they were, we decided to try one more. This time we chose something slightly more current—a hit from Abba’s repertoire. It was decidedly not a hit when we got hold of it. Our version of “Dancing Queen” was beyond description (except for, maybe, the trainwreck comment).
Our two performances were bracketed by some truly lovely singing, in both Spanish and English, by two young women who come regularly from Rio Rico to serenade the Saturday night patrons with their beautiful voices. And the locals! We were amazed at the quality of many of the renditions delivered by our neighbors and friends. These gifted performers encouraged and supported our woeful efforts. We were even invited back. Hmm . . . maybe with just a little more practice . . .