No way is your grandma as cool as Malinda Herman. This Thai septuagenarian is a guitar playing, vocal slaying, dog loving lady who has gained fame on the internet for her covers of many classic songs. And to think she wasn’t in it for the glory.
Malinda serenades her dog, Jew Jam the Chihuahua, and her viewers on her YouTube channel which has over 1.1 million subscribers. Told you she’s cool. This one has a little over 410 thousand views and it’s only been two months since posting.
This is her cover of “The Sound of Silence”.
Yes, the timeless hit by Simon and Garfunkel. And while there are a multitude of covers out there, this granny from Thailand may have won the hearts of the many fans out there who love this song. Especially when you find out why she started playing.
Malinda was in a terrible car accident.
Twenty years ago in fact when her car flipped over. She tells Coconuts,
“I got into an accident about 20 years ago where my car flipped over. The impact from the collision damaged my nerves and the left side of my face became paralyzed.”
It isn’t noticeable at first, but if you look closely, she says you can see the difference. She felt so ashamed that she wouldn’t let anyone look at her fro two years. Doctors said she needed surgery but Herman refused.
“I felt really terrible after the accident. For about two years, I didn’t let anyone see my face. I was ashamed, It was all bent out of shape and my eye left couldn’t properly close. I could speak but not well. I couldn’t chew food or anything.”
She got into doing vocal exercises just to be able to move her facial muscles, then her son bought her a guitar and told her to sing since it was something she loved to do. It worked.
No fancy instruments, recording studios, or overly staged video effects here. Just Malinda, her guitar, and Jew Jam. She strums away singing the familiar words and yet, for some reason, it soothes the spirit. Her singing is so light, so relaxing, you could just lay back with a glass of wine and listen to her all day.
Darkness, our old friend, just left.
Jew Jam is not there for props, nor does Malinda force the dog to stay with her. This Chihuahua actually loves the music. Jew Jam always stays with Malinda when she plays and sings, even closing her eyes as she listens to this guitar granny.
You can see just how much Malinda loves singing. Her smile is radiant and her voice is so natural. Never have you ever heard “The Sound of Silence” quite like this. And Jew Jam? Oh she’s in heaven once again.
If this is the actual sound of silence, sign me up.
Malinda is only too happy to bring joy to people’s lives with her videos. She says she knows how stressed out everyone is and will gladly keep playing songs so long as people tune in. Such a sweet old lady. You know what to do!
She has Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.
A little warning though. Listening to Malinda is addicting. And in a good way. If you’re looking for the perfect excuse to skip those chores, put off work, or just shut the world out, then this 70-year-old from Thailand is your friend. Oh and Jew Jam too.
Click on the video below and enjoy the sound of Herman!
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Source: Malinda Herman, Coconut, thethaiger
