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:

Happy Birthday, Neil Sedaka!

He's only my second favorite singer named Neil who graduated from Abraham Lincoln High School in Brooklyn. But Neil Sedaka, born on March 13, 1939 (not a Friday, but a Monday), has written and sung a lot of great songs. He is another one who should be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, if not as a performer, then as a songwriter.

His best-known song is probably "Breaking Up is Hard to Do":

Another of his hits, "Oh! Carol", was written for his friend Carole King, who also became a famous songwriter and singer:

Carole then sang an answer song, "Oh, Neil":

When the British Invasion and other new music styles came along starting in the mid-1960s, Sedaka went through a period in which he didn't have any U.S. hits. But in 1974, with the help of Elton John, he began having hits again. The first one was "Laughter in the Rain":

Neil Sedaka's main songwriting partner in the early part of his career was Howard Greenfield. Later, he wrote songs with Phil Cody. Other artists also had hits with songs he wrote. The second best known one is likely "Where the Boys Are" by Connie Francis, written with Greenfield:

The best known one is likely "Love Will Keep Us Together" by The Captain and Tennille, also written with Greenfield:

Finally, a birthday song, in which both Neils from Abraham Lincoln High School, Sedaka and Diamond, sing one of Sedaka's hits, "Happy Birthday, Sweet Sixteen":

Happy birthday, sweet 81, Neil Sedaka!