Gary Puckett and a random act of gracious kindness

A gift of great kindness from singer Gary Puckett and his wife to Scott Jacobs' family, including his father, who passed away two days after the very special gift of a hospital-room concert from Puckett.

During an Internet search for concert footage of the 2013 Happy Together Tour, a nice accidental discovery on YouTube featured two familiar names, musician Gary Puckett and iconic artist Scott Jacobs, of San Diego, California. Delighted to discover what is undoubtedly one of the most endearing videos across the YouTube spectrum, the location is a hospital room. The focus is on a senior gentleman on oxygen support is enjoying a noon meal, smiling quietly as he's treated to a private concert by Gary Puckett.

Puckett is currently on the 2013 Happy Together reunion tour, crossing the country for the fourth consecutive year now. The gentleman in the hospital just happened to be Scott Jacobs’ beloved father.

What’s most special, aside from the obvious delight on Jacobs’ face, is (in Scott’s own words on the video notes),

"Gary Puckett, my father’s all-time favorite musician, came up with the idea of coming to play for my dad in his hospital room. He and his wife Lorrie drove four hours over the New Year’s weekend to play a mini concert the two days before my dad passed away. My father was singing, smiling, and laughing while Gary played. In fact, my dad told Gary that meeting him and having him play was worth dying for!”

For baby boomer adults, who were once children of the 60s and 70s, every day is a blessing with our beloved seniors. As their aging process continues, you’ll find adults often acting as comforters still, to their adult children who know they are seeing final months, weeks, days and moments together with those parents. In final hours emotions run high and you hope and pray that something will happen to “make it all better” for your loved ones.

As Puckett performed, “Woman, Woman” for Jacobs’ dad (see video accompanying this story), fortunately cameraphone video captured this, as well as another, song, “Young Girl,” found here. As the camera pans, watch Scott and his whole family, along with Gary’s wife, Lorrie Puckett, singing along and you’ll catch yourself smiling as you see the love overflowing in that hospital room for Jacobs’ dad.

The videos were uploaded January 10, 2013, by Scott Jacobs Studio, a video channel managed by Jacobs, a multitalented artist who is actually Harley-Davidson’s First Official Licensed Artist, which fits into one of his passions. His work is greated admired and sought after by many well-known names including musicians (The Doobie Brothers’ Pat Simmons, Billy Joel, Big and Rich, the late Clarence E. Clemons), wine enthusiasts and motor enthusiasts (Kyle Petty, Lorenzo Lamas, the late Carroll Shelby) and more. Clearly he is one of the finest artists in the world, and he’s dually blessed with a beautiful family, his wife and two daughters.

Yet no matter your fame, none of it means anything in compensation when someone you love with all your heart is in the final stages of life. Every thought is directed towards comfort and peace for your loved one, and it was indeed one of the most precious gifts of life, just at the right time, that Gary Puckett offered the entire Jacobs family. Puckett is known as a solid-gold classic rock icon with more than 50 million albums sold worldwide.

Puckett is also a first-class performer, also known in the music industry as a man of great religious faith. You just have to smile at such a precious gift that Puckett thought up, and that he and his wife drove four hours over New Year’s weekend to make happen, at just the right time. Jacobs’ father passed away two days after Puckett’s concert gift. As Scott posted in the note on the video, “I couldn’t imagine a better send-off for my dad.”