When “talent” comes to mind, we usually think of someone rich and famous. However, in reality, talent has no face. Talent isn’t only blessed to those with a certain personality type, appearance, race or ethnicity, gender, s*******y, popularity, or amount of cash in their pocket. Talent can come from anyone, anywhere whether it is innate or learned over time.
Nevertheless, people on the streets were surely floored when a homeless man with long, gray hair by the name of Herbie Russ belted out to “Hallelujah” by Leonard Cohen-he was alongside his guitar-playing pal.
In a YouTube video of the public ‘Hallelujah’ performance, the first clip shows Herbie with a cart holding his belongings as he’s digging in a trashcan. Not much later, he’s seen meeting up with a friend who’s holding a guitar.
The two buddies find a shady spot to sit to begin their rendition. From the peaceful strumming of the instrument to Herbie’s rough, raspy voice, the duo’s contributions to the performance are already well-complementary to one another.
As Herbie is singing, the YouTube video shows clips of different homeless people. In various clips, people are giving money to Herbie, and Herbie is shown passing out care bags to other homeless individuals rather than keeping all of the profit for himself.
But, understanding Herbie’s backstory is important. For those who don’t know who he is or where he came from, Herbie was kicked out of his home as a teenager, forcing him into the real world at a young age. Fortunately for him, his talent has taken him far.
Today, Herbie is a professional singer, songwriter, producer, and saxophonist. He has even been featured in a plethora of television commercials for major companies like AT&T and General Motors. Some may even remember Herbie from his audition on ‘America’s Got Talent.’
While in the past he has had to crash on couches, audition for every act he could, and join any band who would take him in, Herbie doesn’t forget where he came from since he has become famous. No number of bookings, major gigs, or amount of cash in his pocket could make Herbie forget his traumatic past and the level of hard work it took to get him to where he is now.
According to Herbie, the power of God is what influenced his direction in life. Praying to God, he received the strength, energy, and motivation to work harder, booking more gigs, so he could continue giving back to the homeless because he was once in their shoes.
Generally speaking, Herbie is one of the most selfless and humble people, filled with a lot of compassion, love, and talent (of course!)!
You’ll love Herbie’s “Hallelujah” performance. Check it out in the video below!
