I've found another member of the animal supergroup I'm assembling, which currently includes an adorable Lab mix named Lulu who's terrific on guitar, a talented Dachshund percussionist who plays a mean tail-on-trash-can, and a horse named Yupia who brilliantly plays guitar with his muzzle.
Meet Tico, a double yellow-headed Amazon parrot who lives in Venice, Florida, who is currently part of a musical duo with his human, Frank Maglio. They call themselves "Tico & The Man," and in this unique pairing, Tico is the lead singer, and Frank accompanies him on guitar. Their repertoire includes lots of classic favorites, including REO Speedwagon's "Time for Me to Fly," REM's "Everybody Hurts" (featuring Michael Durso), The Beatles' "Here Comes the Sun," Billy Idol's "Rebel Yell," and The Cure's "Just Like Heaven," among many others!
To me, Tico sounds more than a little like musical comedy legend Ethel Merman—which is to say, Tico certainly commands a room when he belts out his freestyle vocalizations with style, grace, and wit!
Frank found Tico at a moving sale a few years ago. Shortly after adopting the glorious bird into his family, Frank discovered that Tico had an undeniable flair for singing. What an incredibly lucky turn of events for both Tico and Frank! Now they make beautiful music together and seem happy as can be. It's gonna be hard to lure Tico away from Frank to join my animal band, so maybe we can just borrow him every now and then!
Hear more from Tico & The Man on their YouTube channel.
Previously:
• Parrots learn to video chat and make long-distance friends with other parrots
• Another Hardcore Moment from Nature
• Parrots who swore at zoo visitors removed from public view
