35.6°F  Website Login | FerndaleFebruary 20, 2008'Danny Boy' marathon aims to set world record
By Jeremy Selweski
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FERNDALE — When A.J. O’Neill makes plans, he goes big.
This St. Patrick’s Day weekend, the owner of A.J.’s Café in Ferndale is hoping to unite the city under the spell of a single song: the poignant Irish folk tune “Danny Boy.”
“People from all persuasions, genders, colors and backgrounds — everyone will be Irish for one song,” he said.
Starting at 3 p.m. on March 15 and coming to a close at around 5 p.m. on March 17, A.J.’s Café will host what would be a world-record-setting marathon with 1,000 participants performing “Danny Boy” continuously for a total of 50 hours.
According to O’Neill, “no one has ever held an event like this before”— a nonstop marathon of one particular song.
In order to make the record official, O’Neill must send in documentation to the Guinness Book of World Records. That’s why he will have a video crew at the café to record the marathon in its entirety.
And it’s not just singers who are getting involved: Participants can play the song instrumentally, scream it, rap it — anything goes.
So far, O’Neill said, several choral groups, theatrical groups and church choirs are already on board, and musicians have signed up to perform “Danny Boy” on nearly every instrument imaginable, including guitar, piano, flute, mandolin, bagpipes and kazoo.
“One person even wants to do it in a ‘Romeo and Juliet’ style,” he said.
About 600 people have already signed up to participate in the event, and O’Neill is ready to welcome hundreds more in order to reach his magic number of 1,000. And once things get under way, they will follow a hectic pace.
“One act will be performing while the other is setting up,” O’Neill said. “It’s going to be an incredible feat.”
It is also a charity event that will raise money for Ferndale Youth Assistance, the St. Patrick Senior Center in Detroit, the Detroit Together Men’s Chorus and Gleaners Community Food Bank in Detroit.
Brian Londrow, director of the DTMC, believes the marathon provides a great opportunity for everyone, even for those who say they can’t sing.
“We’re not looking for the best and brightest voices in the world,” he said. “This is a great chance to show support for the community, to get your five minutes of fame and be in the Guinness Book of World Records.”
And he’s looking forward to seeing the types of performances that “a unique, open community” like Ferndale has to offer. “It’s going to be really interesting to hear all the different versions and different people coming out,” Londrow said.
O’Neill said he hopes to stay awake for all 50 hours of the marathon. His plan is to hear every performance and “to greet and shake the hand of everyone who comes in the door.”
But he knows it won’t be easy. “This could be the end of A.J.,” he joked. “I picture myself in a green wheelchair, drooling out the side of my mouth, muttering fragments of ‘Danny Boy’ in the loony bin.”
Mayor Craig Covey is confident that O’Neill will be able to make it, considering where the event is taking place. “He does manage a coffee house,” Covey said. “I assume he has an unlimited supply of black coffee on hand.”
Covey is one of several local politicians and celebrities, including former Mayor Bob Porter and state Sen. John Gleason, who will be participating in the marathon.
However, he said his singing abilities — or lack thereof — could be a problem for the rest of the audience. “I’ll clear the room,” he teased. “(That’s why) I want to make it a late-night thing. Hopefully, there won’t be too many people around.”
For Covey, the “Danny Boy” event will ultimately serve as great publicity for Ferndale. “It’s a really clever idea and a great event for the city,” he said. “It really fits in with the creative sense we’re developing in Ferndale.”
Porter agrees. “It’s a positive, fun event for a good cause, something that brings out a positive spirit in people,” he said. “It should draw out a lot of folks.”
“Danny Boy” is a song that holds a great deal of personal meaning for O’Neill. Years ago, he would sing it in front of his family and friends, and his father, in particular, always loved to hear it.
When his father died in June of 1996, O’Neill decided he was going to perform in public for the first time ever by singing “Danny Boy” at the funeral. He had planned for the church organist to accompany him on the song, but after O’Neill launched into his heartfelt rendition, the entire congregation was so struck by the power of his performance that the organist never played a note. It was fitting final goodbye to his father.
After that, “I put (the song) away for years and never thought much about it,” he said.
But when he opened A.J.’s Café last year and began holding open mike nights, O’Neill started singing “Danny Boy” again, so much so that “people got sick of hearing it.” He kidded his employees and friends that he was going to hold a marathon of the song — and before long, what started as a joke became a reality.
Now he’s taken every step he can think to make sure the marathon goes off without a hitch.
To help performers who want to participate but may not be entirely familiar with the song, O’Neill has prepared musical scores and lyric sheets. He will also be holding two “Danny Boy” open mike nights on March 1 and 8 to teach the song to newcomers. In addition, during the event, Londrow will be on hand to provide piano accompaniment for anyone who requests it.
To get people in the St. Patrick’s Day spirit, a group of Irish jig dancers will perform, kicking off the event an hour before the marathon begins. O’Neill is hoping that the Ferndale Middle School marching band will be able to open the marathon, and he plans to close it himself two days later. And then perhaps he will be able to make peace with the song he has “put in (his) back pocket until now.”
O’Neill may forever associate “Danny Boy” with death, but it looks like he has found the perfect way to bring it roaring back to life.
To sign up for the “Danny Boy” marathon or to find out more information, call A.J.’s Café at (248) 399-3946.
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