Back in the early 1970s, after the Beatles broke up and George Harrison came out with his three–record opus, "All Things Must Pass," he included a composition titled simply, "It's Johnny's Birthday."
The song itself wasn't terribly profound. It was actually part of what Harrison dubbed "Apple Jams," and Harrison recorded it with Ringo Starr to present to John Lennon on his 30th birthday.
"It's Johnny's birthday
It's Johnny's birthday
And we would like to wish him all the very best
It's Johnny's birthday
It's Johnny's birthday
And it's so nice to have you back to be our guest
"At Johnny's birthday
At Johnny's birthday
We'd like to wish you all what you would wish yourself
On Johnny's birthday
It's Johnny's birthday
And it's so good to have you back from off the shelf
And it's so good to have ...
You back from off the shelf ..."
But, today, it serves the purpose of reminding us that today is Johnny's birthday.
Johnny Carson's birthday, that is — although, incidentally, it was John Lennon's birthday a couple of weeks ago today.
Carson, who died in January 2005, would have been 85 today.
So today is a good time to remember Carson's unique contribution to American entertainment. He left the late–night TV scene nearly 20 years ago, and no one has come close to matching his influence on the culture since.
Late–night hosts are still trying to duplicate Carson's accomplishments.
I don't think they will ever succeed.
