[Bolduan:] This week, we have been bringing you stories of exceptional people who are making a lasting impact around the world. The series is called "CHAMPIONS FOR CHANGE." This year, we had a chance to revisit some of the extraordinary people we covered that not only leave a mark on the world but have left a lasting impression on us. For the one and only John Berman, that's a group of citizens who rock to their own beat. John has been kind enough to bless us with his presence today. Good to have you here.
[John Berman, Cnn Anchor:] It is so nice to see you.
[Bolduan:] Good to have you hear. You have traveled the world. There's not a story you haven't covered, which you love to remind me of all the time. What is it about this group that left a lasting impression on you?
[Berman:] You can get cynical in this line of work. When I first met this group, it was 2008. And you'll hear me say this. I had been covering war. I just off covering Eliot Spitzer and his prostitution scandal, and so I was in a dark place. They are the antidote to cynicism. We did a documentary, which was a big hit. People might remember the documentary from 2008. When I met them, I was blown away. They honestly brighten my life. So, watch. The Young at Heart Chorus has a unique membership.
[Bob Gilman, Director, Young At Heart Chorus:] It's a performance group of older people, ranging in age now from 75 to 90.
[Berman (oc0:] And how young are you?
[Unidentified Chorus Member:] Seventy-eight. I will be 90 in November.
[Berman:] You're up there, singing. Do you feel 90?
[Unidentified Chorus Member:] No. I don't feel any age.
[Berman:] And the chorus has a unique repertoire. [on camera]: Seniors singing rock "n" roll is a simplistic way of saying it, yes?
[Gilman:] It is. It's a very limited way of saying it, yes.
[Berman:] Why limited?
[Gilman:] There's more to it than that. For older people, it's a joy to see older people on the stage rather than in the seats. That breaks a lot of rules. And the music we choose to do breaks a little bit of the mold as to what seniors are used to seeing.
[Steve Martin, Member, Young At Heart Chorus:] Don't give up when you get older. Don't be afraid of getting old. Because you have so much to offer. You have so much to give.
[Berman:] The first time I visited with the Young at Heart Chorus, it was 2008. I had spent much of the previous five years going back and forth to Baghdad, covering the U.S. war in Iraq. I meet Young at Heart and what I need more than anything is a story that's not violent and will just make me smile. And man, did I find it. When I first met you, which was 11 years ago, you told me that it's super bold, like the world's best bar mitzvah and being ordained as a pope.
[Martin:] I still feel that way. It gave me a purpose to want to wake up in the morning and come to rehearsal and participate in something that just was great.
[Berman:] And everyone needs to participate, as I learned, even a reporter can't stand around and watch. [on camera]: We were pretty much getting ready to go and you said to me, no. Wait a minute. [voice-over]: So I sang Barry Manilow's "Copacabana." You told me the chorus is 25, 26 members, and it changes.
[Gilman:] Yes.
[Berman:] The membership changes?
[Gilman:] Yes. We lose a lot of people. We've lost a lot of people. There's four or five people left from the chorus you saw in 2008.
[Berman:] So 11 years ago, Young at Heart had performed in a prison. Basically, once or twice. They went in and they sang before the prisoners and it was a very moving experience, but it was performance. Now, 11 years later, it's part of their program. They're inside the prisons, singing with the prisoners. When you hear Young at Heart is coming, when you see on the calendar
[Aaron Fogg, Inmate:] I get excited. I get excited. It will be like the night before and I want to go to bed early.
[Gilman:] They know it's an hour, hour and a half where they'll be able to express themselves in a way they feel comfortable doing.
[Anthony Rodriguez, Inmate:] Out of my comfort zone. I'm just doing this because, I don't know. I want to change. You know what I mean? I want to be a new person.
[Berman:] Do they inspire you?
[Rodriguez:] Of course.
[Martin:] It's a blessing to both of us, the prisoners and to us. We mix between the grandfather or the grandmother that they can't see or may not even have. We're saying to them, look, you're OK. You're going to be all right. Don't quit.
[Berman:] What's changed for you since we first met?
[Gilman:] My age. I have become one of them. You know, I'm now 65, you know. I get Medicare. The average age of this group is 84. And I can't imagine what I'm going to be doing when I'm 84. I look at what they're doing and I have deep appreciation for it all.
[Berman:] And I do, too, because if they can do it, who am I to say no to a little James Brown.
[Martin:] This chorus, some day, people will look back and they'll say they did good things for people of all ages.
[Gilman:] Don't quit your day job.
[Berman:] I'm not going to have a day job after this.
[Bolduan:] I mean, best part, not only seeing John Berman singing but the entire newsroom was right with him on this one. Nice. Rock stars. You're amazing. You know I love you and love anything you do. But they're mazing.
[Berman:] They're so inspiring. That's the point. The only reason I agreed to sing is because, how do you say no when they're laying it all out there, when these 90-year-old people are out there, laying it on the line? It proves you can do anything.
[Bolduan:] That's amazing. Thanks for bringing that.
[Berman:] Thank you.
[Bolduan:] Nice to see you.
[Berman:] Nice to see you.
[Bolduan:] Back together. We'll be right back. Oh, after this. We'll continue sharing these inspiring stories all this week. Tune in on Saturday 8:00 p.m. Eastern for an hour-long "CHAMPIONS FOR CHANGE" special. We'll be right back.
[Berman:] Now we'll be right back.
[Bolduan:] Now officially.