Happy Birthday Elton and Aretha

March is full of birthdays and events that make up music history.

This day we celebrate the birthdate of Elton John (Reginald Dwight) and the 'Queen of Soul" Aretha Franklin. Can you imagine your life's musical soundtrack without these two greats?

It was also on this date that the Beatles had their very controversial 'Butcher' photo taken that they approved as the album cover for the American release titled 'Yesterday and Today'.

Pretty soon, all hell would break loose. According to Wikipedia:

At the time, some of the Beatles defended the use of the Butcher photograph. John Lennon said that it was "as relevant as Vietnam" and McCartney said that their critics were "soft".^[13] However, this opinion was not shared by all band members. George Harrison (who became a vegetarian) was quoted as saying that he thought the whole idea "was gross, and I also thought it was stupid. Sometimes we all did stupid things thinking it was cool and hip when it was naïve and dumb; and that was one of them."^[8] Capitol Records apologised for the offence.

If you happen to have a copy of the original album cover, you might be able to retire.

At the very least, this date provided an excellent album, and two very influential singer/songwriters who would make an indelible mark in music.