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Bernie Dalton hoped to fulfill a lifelong dream of making an album when he replied to a Craigslist ad for vocal lessons.
Bernie Dalton always wanted to record an album of his songs. But when he lost his voice as a result of motor neurone disease - also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) - singer Essence Goldman stepped in.
The story of Bernie and the Believers is the most powerful I’ve ever come across at the Tiny Desk. It’s about a beau’s about a beautiful act of compassion that ultimately led to this performance, and left me and my coworkers in tears.
The story of Bernie and the Believers is the most powerful I’ve ever come across at the Tiny Desk. It’s about a beautiful act of compassion that ultimately led to this performance, and left me and my coworkers in tears.
When Bernie Dalton was diagnosed with an aggressive form of ALS, he lost his ability to speak and sing. So Essence Goldman became his voice, helping him fulfill a lifelong dream of making an album.
Read their story: bit.ly/sung-from-the-heart
Bernie Dalton hoped to fulfill a lifelong dream of making an album when he replied to a Craigslist ad for vocal lessons.
A couple of years ago, Bernie Dalton was a strong, physically fit, 40-something-year-old surfer. Every morning, he would get up at 4 A.M. to watch the sunrise in Santa Cruz, Calif. Bernie wasn’t a musician at the time, but he was passionate about music. His lifelong dream was to record an album.
Bernie was a pool guy and a single father—your average joe. But Bernie also had creative aspirations to be a singer-songwriter.
When Bernie began taking singing lessons with renowned Bay Area vocal coach and songwriter Essence Goldman, a deep friendship was formed.
Just months later, however, Bernie’s dream of becoming a singer-songwriter was tragically cut short when he was diagnosed with ALS. But Bernie was undaunted. With just months left to live, he and Essence set out to record an album of Bernie’s original music.
Wry, soulful, and heart-wrenching, these songs are a testament to his love for life—and his teenage daughter, Nicole.
'Bernie’s Song’ follows Bernie, now only able to communicate by blinking, as he travels to the recording studio where he, Essence, and their musicians put the finishing touches on the album, and as Bernie shares his musical legacy with Nicole.
Now, Bernie needs our help. He is currently in a nursing home, separated from his community of support, where he is struggling emotionally and physically. We need to bring Bernie home to his loved ones to spend the time he does have left with his family and friends.
Visit Bernie's GoFundMe: http://bit.ly/2DgMxQX
For musicians and songwriters, heartache and pain can sometimes be the inspiration they need to get their creative juices flowing again. She probably wouldn’t have wished it on herself, but, for Essence Goldman, the breakup of her 10-year marriage gave rise to the dark Americana songs on her new album, “Black Wings.”
People will hear the songs of heartbreak and betrayal on Essence Goldman’s new album, “Black Wings,” and think they have it all figured out: marriage, children, midlife crisis, discontent, the usual. They have no idea.
Danny Uzilevsky and Essence Goldman were on stage at Sweetwater Music Hall in Mill Valley recently shooting a promotional video for a Johnny Cash-June Carter tribute show they’re developing called “Johnny & June Forever: The Greatest Love Story Ever Sung.”