The Stardust Theater is the place to be for evening entertainment on the Norwegian Pearl. On Day Five of our cruise that meant it was time for the ‘Fab Four,’ who were promoted as singing hits of the sixties and seventies. Four young men clad in black suits and ties hit the stage and proceeded to sing some nice four-part harmonies on songs such as ‘Build Me up Buttercup,’ ‘I’m a Believer’ and ‘God Only Knows.’ They got the audience involved, such as on one song when all four members proceeded to leave the stage and sing one-by-one to ‘Jennifer,’ whom they selected at random.
I guess I should note that Jennifer was not totally selected at random as she was smack dab in the center of row one. Jill and I were also in row one, but we were in a side section. We don’t usually sit so close, but it was better to stretch out our legs after a big dinner. I did think briefly of how Jill had said a couple of days ago that we shouldn’t sit up close during shows since that is where unsuspecting audience members were picked to go up on stage and risk making fools of themselves. Luckily, someone else had already been picked and, this all guy group would only pick women. Or so I thought…
After one particular song, one of the Fab Four ‘supposedly’ decided to leave the group and go solo. The guys were incredulous. ‘What can we do?’ one asked. ‘We are the Fab Four, but now we are only three,’ said another. ‘We’ll have to get an audience member,’ the third remaining member said. You guessed it; somehow one of them ran down and picked me. As I was shepherded up on stage they asked my name and got me ready to become the newest member of the Fab Four. ‘Gary is our new member and will be singing the line, ‘Up on the Roof,’ when we give him the cue.’
Well, they proceeded to go through a couple verses and choruses and every time I thought it was my line they stopped me short. In the meantime I was supposed to be moving with the beat and snapping my fingers in time, so I did my best. One time one of the guys said he hoped I wouldn’t let them down. ‘I will not let you down,’ I stated firmly as the music played in the background.
Finally my cue came and I sang, ‘Up on the roof.’ Back and forth it went between the other three guys and me as I sang that line four times. Then there was the same line to close the song and I held the lengthy note with my new-found, temporary bandmates. For a moment I was part of the Fab Four.
Despite a sore throat, I think I sounded okay – at least that’s what Jill and a few other people told me. It didn’t end there. When we got on the elevator,
several people had commented positively on my singing. So I asked if they knew where the elevator was going. Before they could answer, I sang four words, ‘Up on the roof.’
I Run... Therefore I Am 