He is 96 years old and his first song is among the best selling on iTunes.

Fred Stoubaugh is a man in love with his wife. It is - in the present tense and, it seems, the verb will never be conjugated in the past. Lorraine Stoubaugh has been married to Fred for an incredible 73 years, but she recently died at 91, leaving Fred alone and heartbroken.

At the age of 96 and just a month after losing the love of his life, he decided to take part in a cultural contest sponsored by a radio station and, even though unable to sing, sent the lyrics to a song he wrote in honor of his wife - unlike other competitors, who submitted links from YouTube. Along with the letter with the song, Fred wrote: "PS: I don't sing because it would scare people haha."

Sweet Lorraine

The contest organizers, as soon as they read Fred's song - accompanied by a letter telling his story to Lorraine, to whom the song is dedicated - were thrilled by the words of her husband in love, the quality of the verses, and then decided record “Sweet Lorraine” in studio.

The whole process of recording the song, from the selection for the contest to the final version, has been summarized in a documentary, which you can watch below. The video is in English, but subtitles can be translated in YouTube settings. If you want to skip straight to the song, go to 5:55 and see the exciting moment when Fred hears the song ready for the first time.

After having his story revealed and his song known, Fred now sees his "Sweet Lorraine" among the top 10 bestselling iTunes titles in Billboard's "Digital rock songs" category. The song's verses talk about Fred's sad and beautiful desire to live the good times again, alongside his sweet Lorraine.