HOME | MORE RECORDS TO LISTEN TO! | NEXT PHOTO
Bill Slayback - Move Over Babe (Here Comes Henry)
Right click to DOWNLOAD
For the sports fans out there, here is a baseball-themed 45 released in anticipation of one of the the city's most important sports events ever, Hank Aaron's 715th home run, which catapulted him beyond long-time record holder Babe Ruth. Aaron broke the record on April 8, 1974 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.
Bill Slayback, the voice behind Move Over Babe, was actually a Major League ballplayer himself. Though he didn't have an extensive career, he was pitching for the Detroit Tigers at the time of the record's release. Slayback wrote the tune with the help of Ernie Harwell, a legendary Tigers announcer who spent his early years right here in Atlanta.
Harwell attended Emory University, graduating in 1940. Following college, he worked as an announcer for the Atlanta Crackers on WSB radio and as a sportswriter for the Atlanta Constitution and later for the Sporting News. Harwell also dabbled in songwriting and had written tunes that were recorded B. J. Thomas and (more impressively, for my money) Homer & Jethro. Harwell died on May 4, 2010 at the age of 92. He's a member of the Baseball Hall Of Fame, the Michigan Sports Hall Of Fame, and the Radio Hall Of Fame.
Above: Ernie Harwell