Frankie and @dariusrucker …like long time singin partners! Thx Darius! No one will ever kno how much u do for kids! pic.twitter.com/obLDHKjbpE
— Debbie Antonelli (@debbieantonelli) November 21, 2013
Last night, country music superstar Darius Rucker, who lives in Mount Pleasant, joined Wando High’s Frankie Antonelli on stage at the school’s annual talent show.
The Hootie frontman’s mid-song entrance, which riled the auditorium full of Frankie faithful, to Rucker’s ballad on growing older, “While I Still Got the Time,” set up a special duet with Antonelli, a 16-year old with Down Syndrome, for the song’s final verse.
After the performance, Antonelli’s mother Debbie, a college basketball analyst for ESPN, took to Twitter in testament to her son’s indomitable spirit, “Can’t count how many people told us Frankie can’t/won’t because he has Down Syndrome. WRONG! He can and will.”
A video shot by Frankie’s mother, originally posted by the Post and Courier, has since been burning up the #chs interwebs.