"Amazing Grace" Grandpa Elliott (29 April 2010)

If you can't feel this rendition down deep, yall, then you just can't feel nothing.. He's been singing right here on Royal for as long as anybody in the FQ can remember. Yes, I know the sound is bad, the video shaky (iPhone done at the moment). I know I come off all ga-ga and worshipful. And I know that Grandpa in "real" life is Elliot Small, who can see, though the Grandpa he plays is blind. He saw my $20 fine, and tucked the bill into his standard bib overalls. But I can also feel what is real, in both Grandpa and in Mr Small, and this is no small thing. That man has a great big heart to match that great big voice. I love his phrasing and I'm proud to hang with him whenever I walk from my place down Royal to where he plays at the corner at Toulouse. Glad he made it into the 2010 Jazz Fest, glad made it on the Tonight Show, glad he's made it around the country in concerts. And glad he still sits at Royal and Toulouse and sings love. May he keep on forever. Here's a no-sugar Co'Cola for you, Grandpa!