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Beatles, Elton John, Freddie Mercury; Man rides as music icons and brings smiles to Spring Hill

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Jonathan McHenry

SPRING HILL, Tenn. (WTVF) — We all know someone who's proudly carried a whole lot of looks and styles over the years. That's nothing compared to what one Spring Hill man will do over the course of a week. When he goes out riding, it turns heads, and the neighbors love it.

"He just does his thing, man," Spring Hill neighbor Kyle Wallace said.

Wallace is referring to Jonathan McHenry.

As he often does, McHenry was riding his scooter through the neighborhood playing Beatles hits while dressed as the version of Paul McCartney on the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album cover.

"Every time he would come around, I would start singing, and you just dance a little bit," neighbor Colleen Pertile said.

"I cannot pull that off," neighbor Shauna Ledbetter said, referring to the outfit. "But he rocks it, like a true rock star!"

McHenry calls his ride the magical mystery scooter. He's a fan of bygone eras when vinyl was king.

"People stop me and say, 'oh, you made my day, seeing you makes it better,'" McHenry said. "There's something about it that feels right."

He is a man of constant re-invention.

"You gotta have Elton glasses," he said, sporting an orange suit, horns, and feathered wings in the style of Elton John. "If you don't feel like Elton John, you're not doing it right."

Out riding the magical mystery scooter, there's a whole line-up of music icons he plays. There's Elton in his famous Dodgers outfit, Freddie Mercury, Buddy Holly, David Bowie, and the Ed Sullivan Show appearances of the Beatles.

They're pretty classic references for a 22-year-old video game designer.

"He's got a great taste in music," Wallace said.

Jonathan's costume cosplay clothes rack is part custom-made, part thrift shop finds and practically all a lesson in music history for the kids in the neighborhood.

"It's pretty much an exact copy of the Elvis suit he wore in the movie," McHenry said, holding up a pink suit resembling one from the 2022 Elvis biopic.

"His Wembley jacket," McHenry said, holding up a yellow recreation of a jacket worn by Freddie Mercury.

"I always like getting into character and picturing myself as them," he continued. "I'm more taking inspiration and making it me."

Whether he's bringing some of that glam rock Elton style or taking some prime new wave funk music to the streets of Spring Hill, why is it McHenry does this? Well, it's simple. He loves it, and more importantly, the people around Spring Hill love it too.

"I hear Jonathan, and I just get a lot happier," kid neighbor Brody Miller said.

"You just can't help but smile," Wallace said. "He just kinda does his thing, man. Jonathan is everything good about life. He loves what he loves and is unapologetic about it, and he's just kinda living free."

"You know Jonathan's near when you hear that music," Pertile said. "You just stop and wait for him to drive by. Everybody through here loves it. We embrace it. He loves to share this with other people, and that's all that matters. It's pretty cool to see someone that joyful out there. He's probably impacted a lot of people's lives that he can't even imagine."


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