For some people, life is pretty streamlined. They discover what they’re good at from an early age, those talents get noticed, and they dedicate their life to that passion. But for many (if not most) of us, our dreams might remain tucked away in our hearts as we navigate through a slightly more complicated existence. One with a day job, families, bills and other obligations.
Thank goodness Richard Goodall, a 55-year-old janitor from Terre Haute, Indiana, never gave up on his own dream. Otherwise the world might have missed out on his remarkable singing voice.
Goodall, who recently received “America’s Got Talent”’s highly coveted Golden Buzzer for his show stopping performance of “Don’t Stop Believin’” by Journey, shared his endearing backstory before taking to the stage.
Goodall told the audience that he spent much of his childhood up in his bedroom listening to music on his “Radio Shack stereo” and belting along to the tunes.
“Eventually, I was like, I got to find me a job, so I become a janitor at Chauncey Rose Middle School, which is only three blocks away from my house,” he continued. But throughout his 23 years of custodial work, he never stopped serenading students.
It was the students’ encouragement, in fact, that inspired Goodall to step aboard a plane for the first time in his life to make it to his audition, which he noted was a good metaphor for his “AGT” experience overall.
“I felt that front wheel come off the ground and you have this floating (feeling), you’re no longer stable. And that’s what this whole experience is like right now,” he said. “It’s a good off-balance, but until you actually do something, you don’t know if it’s right for you or not.”
Goodall’s courage paid off, because despite his nerves, he delivered a rendition of “Don’t Stop Believin’” that brought the crowd to their feet in a standing ovation. Many were even moved to tears.
Simon Cowell called Goodall a “hero,” saying “That was special, genuinely special. I think America is going to love you.” Howie Mandell then joked that Goodall “cleaned up” before surmising that he probably had a bunch of students rooting for him at home.
Indeed, many former students who knew Goodall ended up praising him in the Youtube comments section.
“I can’t express with words how lucky I feel to be able to say that I am one of the kids who always told him how amazing his voice is. My favorite part of walking through the hallway of Elementary school is hearing this phenomenon. Richard, you are indeed a true hero,” one person wrote.
“Growing up, Mr. Goodall was always singing to us between classes, or on our way to recess. Any time we would see him in the halls, he was always sooo nice. I couldn’t believe it was him on our TV!” another added.
Goodall defined himself as being a simple person who just wants to “have fun” and “make people happy.” No matter where he goes in the competition, he is certainly winning at that. What a beautiful reminder that you never know when your time will come, so don’t stop believin’.