As Leslie Jones said on Saturday Night Live, you can achieve your dreams at any age. Harrison Ford was a carpenter at 30, Vera Wang didn’t design her first dress until she was 40, and John Hetlinger didn’t sing onstage with Drowning Pool until he was 82. Yep, the old codger knocked ’em dead at the Chicago Open Air festival last Friday, and it all came out of his appearance on another NBC show, America’s Got Talent. The former Navy pilot got a second chance at success when he sang the hell out of the song on the show, which led to the metal community, and of course Drowning Pool, to take notice.
Last night, Hetlinger returned to the show, and we found out a little more about him. He introduced his “lovely young wife,” who, at 63, is 19 years younger than him. Way to rob the cradle, John! We also got to see him sing another song, Rob Zombie’s “Dragula.” He actually has a little bit better of a singing voice than Zombie. The crowd once again, seemed to enjoy him, even if Heidi Klum didn’t like him, he’s still won America’s heart.
