Edwin Rayner, a 92-year-old singer from Bournemouth, Dorset, has taken TikTok by storm, amassing nearly half a million followers and millions of views. His journey to social media fame began after the loss of his wife, Margaret, whom he had been married to for 60 years. Feeling adrift after her passing, Edwin found new purpose when, he believes, Margaret sent him a message urging him to sing again.
“I was given a message, and I’m sure it was Margaret telling me: ‘You can sing, come on, you need to start again,'” Edwin shared. He began performing at local care homes, often belting out tunes by his favorite artist, Elvis Presley. But it wasn’t until his granddaughters introduced him to TikTok that Edwin’s online career took off.
“I had no idea what it was,” he recalled, laughing. “After a few days, I had over a thousand likes. I thought, ‘Well, that’s a good start,’ and it just kept going from there.”
Known on social media as Grandad Sings, Edwin now has almost nine million views on TikTok, along with 150,000 followers on Instagram. His granddaughters assist with uploading one song each week, recorded at a local studio with the help of a musician. Over the past year, Edwin released a Christmas album and is now working on his eighth album, which he shares with family and friends but cannot sell due to copyright restrictions.
A lifelong singer, Edwin served as an RAF medic in North Africa from 1950 to 1952. Later, he ran a successful tropical fish business in Tenerife. Despite the hardships of aging, Edwin credits his family and his wife’s memory for his resilience.
“Age doesn’t matter,” he said. “People think at 90, 92, you’re finished. You’re not. Keep doing whatever you want to do. Only do it more so.”
One of Edwin’s favorite songs to perform is “The Wonder of You” by Elvis Presley, which he dedicates to his late wife. He often reflects on how Margaret continues to guide him, saying, “I feel that she’s with me, she’s there all the time. She’s probably watching right now telling me what to say, or what not to say. I miss her.”