Russian President Vladimir Putin is a man of many talents. And the self-styled poster boy of machismo has an artistic side not many may be aware of. He can sing and play the piano, as exemplified by his performance (above) of Fats Domino’s Blueberry Hill.
Memories of that performance came flooding back after the death of the legendary musician and songwriter Fats Domino on Tuesday. Among his numerous top 40 hits was Blueberry Hill, his most famous song from the 1950s. Though Putin obviously came nowhere close to the original performer – probably nobody can – he didn’t let himself down either.
The performance took place in December 2010 – when Putin was the Prime Minister of Russia – at a swank fundraiser for a children’s charity in St Petersburg. The star-studded event was attended by the likes of Goldie Hawn, Kevin Costner and Sharon Stone, all of whom gave him a standing ovation.
Putin said modestly before his performance, “Like an overwhelming majority of people, I can neither sing nor play but I very much like doing it.”
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