WASHINGTON - When you hail a cab, the last thing you expect is to be serenaded by a taxi cab driver in a red cowboy hat with a karaoke machine.

Officially, he's Diamond Cab No. 555, but his business card reads "Ricky Celdran, Singing Cab Driver" - and his customers cannot get enough of his singing.

"People say 'Go for it, let me hear a couple songs,'" Celdran says.

Celdran has driven in the city for more than 40 years, but installed the machine just about a year and a half ago, in part to get over a painful divorce.

"Music is a universal language of the soul. Once it is released, it cannot be rejected," Celdran says.

The best part is putting a smile on people's faces, says Celdran, but the tips are good too.

"My tips are just absolutely fantastic, but i don't do it for the money," he says.

http://www.wtopnews.com/index.php?nid=456&sid=988772