Pop Culture Heroes Memorial Day - August 16

Several years ago, I designated August 16 as Pop Culture Heroes Memorial Day. Why August 16? One reason is that it is the middle day in a month that doesn't have any holidays. But the main reason is that it is the anniversary of the deaths of both Babe Ruth (died in 1948) and Elvis Presley (died in 1977). This year, I am adding a third important person who died on August 16, Aretha Franklin (2018), to the list of the major pop culture heroes who died on this date. Black and female lives matter! Another white male pop culture hero who died on August 16 quite recently is Peter Fonda (2019).

But I have set up Pop Culture Heroes Memorial Day to honor everyone who achieved fame in various popular culture fields and has since died, no matter what date. Yes, I know that it may be seen as a slap in the face to military and law enforcement heroes, and this year to heroes in the fields of medicine and education. But we have the opportunity to enjoy various forms of popular culture because the military defended our right to do so, law enforcement officers gave us a fairly safe environment in which to enjoy it (most of the time), medical professionals made sure we were healthy enough to appreciate it, and teachers gave us an educational foundation to understand it.

(Except that sometimes when I was in high school in the late 1960s, I surreptitiously had the earphone of my transistor radio attached to my ear, tuning out the teacher while Aretha sang "Think", Elvis sang "Suspicious Minds", or some other favorite song or artist played. Or maybe earlier in the 1960s, one of my classmates had the same setup to listen to the Yankees, now more than 25 years removed from The Babe's playing days, facing the National League champion in the World Series. Any teacher who put up with this was a hero of a special kind.)

Other major league baseball players who died on August 16 include Bobby Thomson (2010), who hit the pennant-winning home run for the New York Giants in 1951; John Roseboro (2002), a long-time catcher with the Dodgers (starting with their last year in Brooklyn) who caught two of Sandy Koufax' no-hitters); and Earl Averill (1983), a Hall of Famer who spent most of his career with Cleveland and had a son named Earl Jr. who also played in the majors. Averill and Ruth both wore #3.

For those of you who do want to observe a military achievement, August 16 is National Airborne Day, which honors the airborne forces of the United States Armed Forces. The first official Army parachute jump was on August 16, 1940.

Entertainers born on August 16 include Madonna, Eydie Gorme, Fess Parker, and both Kathie Lee and Frank Gifford (who was also a Hall of Fame NFL player). Baseball players born on August 16 include Mike Jorgensen (whose claim to fame was often that he was born on the day that Babe Ruth died), Willie "Puddin' Head" Jones (a 1950 Phillies Whiz Kid), and Yu Darvish.

"Think" by Aretha Franklin:

"Suspicious Minds" by Elvis Presley:

Peter Fonda scenes from "Easy Rider":

Bobby Thomson's famous home run - "The shot heard 'round the world:

Most of the YouTube videos about John Roseboro focus on the time an opposing pitcher, who was batting, attacked him on the head with a baseball bat. Here's a funny one featuring several Dodgers. Roseboro is the catcher. Sandy Koufax is the pitcher.

Here is Babe Ruth supposedly calling his shot - a World Series home run:

Happy Birthday, Elton and Aretha!

Ah! Here are two all-time greats for whom I just need to give a first name, and immediately, those who are familiar with the field know to whom I am referring. Elton John and Aretha Franklin share the same birthday, March 25. (Another person born on March 25 who has had a major effect on my life is writer and activist Gloria Steinem.)

Elton John was born with the name Reginald Kenneth Dwight on March 25, 1947, in Pinner, Middlesex, England. At a young age, he formed a group called Bluesology, for which he played piano. He took his stage name from the names of two members of the group, saxophonist Elton Dean and vocalist Long John Baldry. The 2019 movie about him, Rocketman, incorrectly implies that John came from John Lennon of the Beatles. He also adopted the middle name Hercules.

Aretha Franklin was born in Memphis on March 25, 1942, but lived much of her life in Detroit, where she died on August 16, 2018. (August 16! I didn't even realize until I typed it just now that Aretha died on the same day of the year as Elvis and The Babe, who most people who follow rock music and baseball, respectively, would know just by those names. In case you don't know, I mean Elvis Presley and baseball great Babe Ruth. And as for people who became famous only by one name, it is also Madonna's birthday.) One thing I love about Aretha is that for almost every song I've ever heard her sing that I also know by another artist, I think that her version is better.

Let's put this to the test. Here's Elton singing "Border Song", which he wrote with his long-time singing partner, Bernie Taupin:

And here is Aretha's version:

Personally, I think that both are great, and I love them both about equally. But I love the organ instrumental break in Aretha's, which puts it over the top for her.

And to conclude this birthday celebration for the two of them, here is a live duet of this song by Elton and Aretha: