He was standing stage right, and was about to go on.
He was 84 years old but he still moved like his 25 year old self.
The reporter who had been shadowing him for the past 3 days stood right beside him.
She was 28 years old and initially thought this assignment was going to be akin to an archeological dig unearthing a dinosaur.
Her dismissive thoughts were quickly disproven.
Over the past three days she learned that he had come up at a time when your talent needed to be real. There were no programs to fix an out of tune voice, for example. You either brought "it", or you were dismissed.
She realized that artists today had multiple nets beneath them to break their fall. His generation had none. Today, if you didn't bring "it", that didn't matter. The amount of confidence someone must have to live his life was unimaginable.
She realized now how she had so many nets under her in her job. Spell check, grammar check, content check, fact check, etc.
She thought to herself, "If I were a journalist back in his day, would I have brought "it?"
Would she have been able to walk a tightrope over a bottomless abyss where her entire career was on the line every moment and only her innate talent kept her from falling into it?
When anyone sang back then, it was literally Voice to Microphone to Speakers or Tape. No net. Every imperfection was broadcast or recorded, so there could be no imperfections. There was nowhere to hide.
She realized that was why today, there are 1000s more "artists" putting out music than there were in his day. You no longer had to have real talent. You didn't have to bring much, let alone "it."
Being next to him showed her what true charisma, sex appeal, talent and confidence were.
As they waited in the wings for his cue, she asked:
"Don't you ever get nervous? The estimates are that there will be a billion homes tuned in."
He gave her a wink and sly smile out of the left side of his mouth, and asked:
"Only one billion? Ugh! This old dinosaur is slipping baby!”
He leaned over and kissed her cheek and said.
"I hope I gave you a good story."
She gave him a wink and sly smile out of the left side of her mouth and said:
"The best in my career. Thank you so much.”
Then he walked on stage to a standing ovation, not only in the auditorium but in about a billion and one homes around the world.
He started to sing using the same equipment he used when he started out in his teens.
Voice to Microphone to Speakers. No net needed.
