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Hear WWII love songs on Valentine’s Day

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This Valentine’s Day, take a musical journey back in time when Mike Chamberlin performs love songs of the World War II era in Rancho Bernardo.

Chamberlin, aka “The Singing TV Guy,” will be performing the romantic music during the Ed Brown Center’s next “Sunday Afternoons @ 3” concert. The hour-long event will begin at 3 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 14 in the center, 18402 W. Bernardo Drive in Rancho Bernardo Community Park.

Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children, 12 and younger. Purchase by going to the center between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. on weekdays or calling 858-487-9324.

“I am on a musical mission to keep alive the memory of ‘the greatest generation’ through the love songs of World War II,” he said. “Some of the greatest love songs of all time came from the early 1940s and the call to arms.

“We just marked the 70th anniversary of the end of WWII and we are losing 1,000 WWII vets every day,” he said. “I want to honor them with music while they are still with us.”

Chamberlin, who plays the guitar while he sings, said each of the songs he will play has a story that he will share. While performing, there are often many in the audience who get misty-eyed as the music takes them back to a different time and place, he said.

Some of the songs he will sing include “The White Cliffs of Dover,” “We’ll Meet Again” and on the lighter-side, “Beer Barrel Polka” (aka “Roll Out the Barrel”).

“There will be a lot of audience participation,” he said. “They will know every song I sing and I will encourage them to join me.”

The San Clemente resident said he has been singing since early childhood and has been performing in public since grade school, which led to him signing with a record label by high school. His music career was sidetracked when drafted into the Army during Vietnam, but upon his return, Chamberlin became a radio disc jockey. That led to a career in television as a news anchor and water-sports analyst for ESPN.

After retiring from TV journalism four years ago, Chamberlin focused on his music and now gives around 250 concerts a year throughout Southern California. This is his first time performing at the Ed Brown Center, but he is known in the area for his concerts at The Gateway in Poway.

In addition to performing World War II love songs, Chamberlin said his repertoire includes music through the decades — primarily ‘20s through ‘60s) — and “a very popular Christmas show.”

Chamberlin said he loves music because of its universality because even when people don’t speak the same language, they can communicate through music. “I love music in every form,” he added.

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