Pop Culture Happenings: February

A knight, a horse with three crowns and the “King of Suede” walk into a bar. No, it’s not a bad joke — it’s nostalgia!

__1973__

50 Years Ago

On Feb. 26, 1973, a horse, once known as Big Red, sold for $6.08 million. A bright-red chestnut stallion with three white socks and a star with a narrow stripe on his forehead, he won the Triple Crown at three years old, and the world learned the name “Secretariat.” The first to win the Triple Crown since 1948, he is regarded as one of the greatest racehorses of all time. Secretariat won 16 of his 21 career races, with prize earnings totalling $1,316,808.

__1983__

40 Years Ago

On Feb. 11, 1983, an accordion-playing mailroom clerk, derogatorily named “Weird Al” Yankovic, shot to the top of the charts with his new song “Ricky.” A parody of the song “Mickey” by Toni Basil, Yankovic re-wrote the lyrics as a love song between Lucille Ball and Ricky Ricardo. “Ricky” broke the Top 100 Videos on MTV at the time, which Yankovic took as a sign and quit his job in the mailroom to pursue a music career. Yankovic went on to write the chart-topping parodies “My Bologna,” “I Love Rocky Road” and “King of Suede,” based on The Knack’s “My Sharona,” Joan Jett’s cover of “I Love Rock and Roll” and The Police’s “King of Pain,” respectively.

__1998__

25 Years Ago

Three pages of handwritten lyrics of Bernie Taupin and Elton John’s song “Candle in the Wind 1997” were sold for $442,500 at a charity auction Feb. 11, 1997. The song had originally been about Marylin Monroe, but John and Taupin reworked the lyrics to be about Princess Diana after her death. Thirteen days later, on Feb. 24, John was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace in London.