‘Move over, Babe (Here Comes Henry)’: A Musical Tribute to Hank Aaron and the Nostalgia Movement of the 1970s

Original sheet music for “Move Over Babe (Here Comes Henry)” (Courtesy of Hal Leonard)

 

“VAN LINGLE MUNGO” (1970)

While the Mets played the 1970 season as champions of baseball, fans of baseball and jazz were already saying hello to a ’70s sound of smooth jazz spearheaded by an emerging label called CTI, founded by Creed Taylor in 1967. Dave Frishberg’s (1933-2021) ingenious and nostalgic song “Van Lingle Mungo” (CTI 509), which began getting airplay late in 1969, is a free-floating bossa nova-styled baseball tribute composed entirely of the names of a previous generation of baseball players.1 The song’s title recalled Van Lingle Mungo (1911-1985), who spent 11 seasons as a pitcher for the Brooklyn Dodgers followed by three with the New York Giants, compiling a 120-115 won-lost record. The newspapers noted that “the outside world has rediscovered Van Lingle Mungo,” who was “flattered that his name has become the title of a popular song.”2

As the 1970s got underway, nostalgia was the signature tune of the times. In 1971, columnist Henry J. Taylor (1902-1984) confirmed it. “Nostalgia is sweeping the country – the theater, the arts, the movies, men’s and women’s fashions. The mood is the mode. Even a Life [magazine] cover shouted; ‘Everybody’s Just Wild About Nostalgia.’”3

Bill Veeck thought so, too. When he reacquired the Chicago White Sox, Veeck made it very clear that he thought the nation’s younger generation was craving nostalgia, and he was determined to deliver it. In a syndicated article originating in the Kansas City Star, Veeck observed that “in the 1960s the country thought that there was a need for speed, action and violence. The games that best typify this are football, basketball, hockey and mugging. In which order I’m not sure. Now that attitude has changed. … Other than the paper clip and the safety pin, I don’t know of anything that has changed less in the last 100 years than baseball. I felt that if people were on a nostalgia kick then there would have to be a resurgence of interest in baseball.”4

“YOU’VE LOST THAT LOVIN’ FEELIN’” (1965)

Veeck was correct. His notions about a nostalgia movement in baseball had been underway for some time and had taken many forms. After Milwaukee lost its Braves in 1965, “all that was left in the stadium was an aching nostalgia.”5 Milwaukee’s Henry Aaron (1934-2021) packed up that nostalgia and took it with him when the team moved to Atlanta. With 398 career home runs in 1965, Aaron was getting closer to Babe Ruth’s hallowed record of 714. It was a record that had stood still and long, since 1935 – a very different time – when Fred Astaire was singing and dancing “Cheek to Cheek” with Ginger Rogers.6

“I CAN’T GET NEXT TO YOU” (1969)

Babe Ruth “once remarked that he thought his career record of 714 home runs would probably stand forever.”7 As early as 1969, though, when the Temptations were intoning their romantic Motown plea “I Can’t Get Next to You,” in the world of sports, the words “Move Over Babe” were already in the air. The syndicated sporting press was sending a clear message that “Henry Aaron is now on the move in most of the important categories where only Willie Mays, Stan Musial and a lot of dead men are in front of him. He is just 44 hits short of 3,000 and only eight guys in baseball history have gotten there.”8

As the 1971 baseball season began, the call went out again, this time regarding Aaron’s mounting home runs: “Move over Babe Ruth and Willie Mays. You’re going to have company in that exclusive 600-home run club any day now.”9 That 600 number arrived on April 27. Aaron closed out the 1971 season with 39 additional home runs. The next year, Aaron made history again. On July 19, 1972, Hammerin’ Hank hit his 659th home run off Pittsburgh’s Nelson Briles. “The blast tied the Atlanta slugger with Babe Ruth for the most homers ever by one player with a single club and move him a notch closer to Ruth’s career record of 714.”10

“MOVE OVER, BABE (HERE COMES HENRY)”

As Aaron continued his pace to break Ruth’s lifetime home-run record, the sobriquet “Move over, Babe” had staying power. To some, though, Aaron’s pursuit of that hallowed and nostalgic number would not be pretty. In the spring of 1973, the song “Move Over, Babe (Here Comes Henry)” hit the airwaves, helping to assuage baseball’s bucolic reverie against what had evolved into a racially charged backdrop on the ballfield. Aaron’s continued progress on the diamond was making it clearer with each passing day, and with each successive home run, that the future of baseball was now, and it was going to be a new game, and that newness would come courtesy of a Black man.

The song’s lyrics, supplied by longtime Detroit Tigers broadcaster Ernie Harwell (1918-2010), set the tone: “Move over Babe, here comes Henry, and he’s swinging mean.” And so was the intense scrutiny and pressure by old-time baseball fans who regarded “Bad Henry” as an interloper.11 The sports pages reported that “Aaron’s 1973 season has been plagued with hate mail from folks around the country who despise his even approaching the threshold on which Ruth sits.”12 Conversely, those in the sporting press celebrated his effort with high praise for his performance both on and off the field. As to the fans who didn’t want Aaron to break the Ruthian record, Indiana sportswriter Mark Morrow, in his June 21, 1973, column for the Kokomo Tribune, told them, and the country at large to shut up and sit down:

“There are people, many people, who don’t want Hank Aaron to break Ruth’s record. Or maybe we should say they don’t want a black man to break the record. Hank’s proud of being black. But not everyone is proud of Hank Aaron. He’s received more nasty letters than you could count. Hank Aaron is a tribute to baseball. He’s a great player, a great man and a very humble person. He’s received abuse, constant abuse. It’s little wonder he has a hurt feeling deep in the pit of his stomach. Hank Aaron deserves better!”13

BILL SLAYBACK

Despite this racial fomentation, the musical backdrop of “Move Over, Babe (Here Comes Henry)” commemorates this chase of Ruth’s record in a way that “tells it like it is, baby” loud and clear, in a laid-back ’70s style, affirming that these are good times for baseball, and that they are meant to be lived to the fullest and celebrated. After all, the music was composed and recorded by Bill Slayback (1948-2015), an accomplished musician/composer from Southern California and a pitcher with the Toledo Mud Hens, the Tigers’ affiliate in the International League. In 1972 Slayback earned a brief stint with the Tigers, making an auspicious major-league debut on June 26 against the Yankees. Slayback pitched seven hitless innings before giving up a hit to Johnny Callison. His teammates took over and secured a 4-3 win for the Tigers.14 The newspaper headline said it all: “Bill Slayback’s Name Is Music to Tigers’ Ears.” The paper observed, “The Tigers, who thought they were through with musician-pitchers when they got rid of Denny McLain, are happy to have another one on their hands in Slayback. He plays guitar, drums and bass in night clubs during the off-season and also paints portraits, ‘to make ends meet.’ It’s a problem he won’t have very long if he keeps pitching the way he did against the Yankees.”15

He did keep pitching, but arm problems sent him to Toledo soon after the opening of the 1973 season. He would remain there, spending most of his time on the injured list, until June 4, when the papers reported that he had been called back up to Detroit.16 During his stay in the minors, SABR’s Greg Erion wrote, “Slayback heard that Ernie Harwell was looking for him. Slayback had no idea who Harwell was. Harwell, then in the midst of a Hall of Fame career as radio announcer for the Tigers, wanted to meet him not because of his pitching but because of his singing. While Harwell was known for his broadcast abilities, he had a passion for writing music. Harwell and Slayback met, shared experiences and began a lifelong friendship which included collaboration on several songs.”17

“Move Over, Babe (Here Comes Henry)” with words by Harwell, and music by Slayback was written in late May.18 The song received a brief mention in the press.19 A lead sheet containing the lyrics, melody, and chords was registered with the US Copyright Office on June 4, 1973.20 On June 6 the lyrics were published in the Detroit Free Press, along with commentary by Detroit sportswriter Jim Hawkins:

“Take Me Out to the Ballpark [sic]” it definitely is not. Peanuts and Cracker Jack can rest easy. But then Ernie Harwell and Bill Slayback never had any intention of rewriting the National Anthem when they combined efforts this spring to compose the tune they chose to call “Move Over, Babe.”

It’s all about Henry Aaron’s bid to overtake Babe Ruth as baseball’s biggest belter of all time – and whereas it took Aaron 20 years to get this close, it took Harwell and Slayback less than an hour to write their song.

Harwell, who’s no novice when it comes to music, sat down one afternoon during spring training and came up with the words – in about 45 minutes. The rest was up to Slayback. And, five minutes later, give or take a second or two, they had a song. “It’s supposed to be a sing-along tune,” explained Slayback.21

It was indeed a catchy sing-along tune, written by two professionals in the field. Harwell had already written over 100 songs or song lyrics. Twenty-five of them had been recorded by artists, including a song written for Homer and Jethro (“Upside Down”); and B.J. Thomas “I Don’t Know Any Better” (1970), which was featured on Thomas’s Greatest Hits album.22 Slayback too was no stranger to the music world. Author Greg Erion notes that

Slayback’s interviews invariably included discussion of his love for art and music – this in an era not far removed from when many big leaguers routinely listed their hobbies as hunting and fishing.

“I do oils and pastels and all kinds of weird things. I enjoy that, but music is No. 1 right now. I write music and lyrics for the Sandpipers”23 At that time the Sandpipers were well known for their version of José Fernández Diaz’s hit “Guantanamera” as well as their own [recorded version of] “Come Saturday Morning,” an Academy Award-nominated song from the movie The Sterile Cuckoo.24

Shortly after “Move Over, Babe (Here Comes Henry)” was written, NBC came calling.

When NBC agreed to debut the song on its Monday night Game of the Week telecast, Harwell and Slayback suddenly realized they had a song but no recording. But never fear. Slayback, who was then on the disabled list in Toledo, sat down one afternoon with his wife, Robin, and cut a record. Well … would you believe a cassette? While Bill strummed his guitar and sang, Robin stood off in the corner and shook a jar half-filled with pennies so that it sounded like a tamborine [sic]. So, a song was born.25

A commercial 45 rpm disc was not released until August.26 Nevertheless, the song was certainly out there because once the lyrics appeared in the Detroit Free Press, the hate mail over it commenced. One reader wrote: “How can you see [sic] he can beat Babe and Sleep, you Louzy Bum.” Detroit sportswriter Jim Hawkins opined, “I can understand how some people, for sentimental reasons would rather not see Aaron hammer No. 715 – Even though it’s inevitable. But to hate a radio announcer and a young pitcher because they wrote a song about it – and a sportswriter for writing a story about their song – that’s carrying a fondness for the good ol’ days a bit far, don’t you think?”27 Aaron himself noted that “at first there was a lot of mail from people, older people, who didn’t want me to break Babe Ruth’s record. The young generation took note of that, and supported me. I think they want to relate to me, to see me have a record, not someone their granddad saw play.”28 Slayback’s song certainly appealed to that younger crowd with its accessible feel – something contemporary with a crisp beat, set to Harwell’s words that sounded right, both spoken and sung:

 

Move over Babe, here comes Henry,
and he’s swinging mean.
Move over, Babe, Hank’s hit another;
He’ll break that seven fourteen.

VERSE 1

Here’s a man from Alabam;
“Hamm’rin Henry” is his name.
Mister Aaron, “King of Slam,”
nailing down his all-time fame.

CHORUS

Move over Babe, here comes Henry,
and he’s swinging mean.
Move over, Babe, Hank’s hit another;
He’ll break that seven fourteen.

VERSE 2

When the “Hammer” hits one out;
That’s what baseball’s all about.
He’s on the Braves’ round trip express
doing what he does the best.

CHORUS 2x

Move over Babe, here comes Henry,
and he’s swinging mean.
Move over, Babe, Hank’s hit another;
He’ll break that seven fourteen.

CODA

He’ll break that seven fourteen. (Repeat and fade)29

 

Aaron approved of the recording. An image of him in uniform appeared on the sleeve of the 45-rpm record and on the cover of the sheet music. The back cover of the sheet music featured photos of Harwell and Slayback.30

As the recording continued to receive airplay, the record’s producer, Ollie McLaughlin, founder of the song’s Detroit-based Karen record label, said that “about 60,000 of the discs have been shipped out but he discovered that he couldn’t market the record on the soul or pop radio stations as he originally thought.”31 Nevertheless, the song reached No. 40 on the Billboard R&B charts and No. 109 on Billboard’s pop charts. But it was going to be a long winter for “Move Over, Babe (Here Comes Henry)” as Hank Aaron finished the 1973 season with 713 career home runs, just one shy of tying the Babe. It would be a long winter indeed, but there was Henry Aaron nearing the top of the game, just as the single “Top of the World” by the Carpenters would be topping the Billboard Hot 100 charts in December 1973.32

“HOOKED ON A FEELING” (1974)

On Opening Day, April 4, 1974, as the Braves faced the Reds in Cincinnati, the song “Hooked on a Feeling” recorded by the group Blue Swede was in its second week as the No. 1 song on the Billboard charts.33 Aaron too seemed to be “hooked on a feeling” when he stated to the press, “I’ve always thought that time was on my side” after hitting a home run to tie Ruth’s 714. On his first swing of the 1974 season, Aaron drilled a Jack Billingham fastball over the left-field fence in Riverfront Stadium.34

Four days later came No. 715 in Atlanta, courtesy of pitcher Al Downing of the Los Angeles Dodgers. A Canadian paper reported that “the marquee inside Atlanta Stadium Monday night announced, ‘Move over Babe, here comes Henry.’ With an American flag shaped like a map of the United States in centre field, the big round stadium was lit up like a birthday cake. Just about everybody involved had their wish come true.”35 Not everybody who was there saw the home run. Marvin King, director of the Jonesboro High School band, said, “When Hank came up, a good many people went out to get Cokes, and were just trickling back. They didn’t have their instruments in their hands. We were caught short. Otherwise, we would have played, ‘Move Over, Babe.’”36

The day after Aaron’s record-shattering blast, the headline in the Port Clinton (Ohio) News Herald read, “Move Over Babe – Hank’s arrived!” That story opened with the words “A recently-written song proved prophetic here Monday night. Shortly after 9 P.M. EDT, ‘Move Over Babe, Here Comes Henry’ became reality as Henry Aaron became the most prolific home run hitter in the 105-year history of organized baseball.”37

“THAT LAST HOME RUN” (1974)

In late April of 1974, “Move Over, Babe (Here Comes Henry)” was released in Japan.38 There would be other tribute songs and music commemorating Aaron’s Ruthian feat, but the remainder of Aaron’s 1974 season proved less dramatic than some of the music written to celebrate his storied accomplishment.39 The Atlanta Braves, with a record of 88-74, secured third place in the National League West, 14 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers, who would lose the World Series to the third-time consecutive World Series champion Oakland Athletics four games to one.

“BACK HOME AGAIN” (1974)

In the fall, Aaron was traded to Milwaukee, where he was a rookie 20 years earlier when the Braves inhabited that city. One newspaper reported that “[w]hen Ernie Harwell wrote the song, ‘Move Over Babe; Here Comes Henry,’ he didn’t expect Hank Aaron to follow every step in Babe Ruth’s career. Aaron has broken Ruth’s career home run record as the song indicated, but now the home run king seems destined to follow Ruth’s lead of playing out his career in mediocrity with another team.”40

“DON’T GO BREAKING MY HEART” (1976)

Aaron played the last two years of his career with the Milwaukee Brewers, who had taken up residence in the city in 1970. He played his final game on Sunday, October 3, 1976, in front of a small but appreciative crowd. Newspapers reported that “Sunday was a day for nostalgia in Milwaukee County Stadium where Aaron and the Braves won National League pennants before he and the Braves moved to Atlanta in the 1960s.”41 Aaron finished his career with 755 home runs.

“TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALL GAME”

As Hank Aaron was playing out his final season in Milwaukee, Brewers fans were singing “The Beer Barrel Polka” (“Roll out the barrel”) during the seventh-inning stretch of every game, a nostalgic tribute to the city’s beer-brewing traditions. The seventh-inning ritual began with the team’s inception in 1970. Meanwhile, as America was celebrating its Bicentennial year in the summer of ’76, White Sox owner Bill Veeck created the greatest nostalgia moment of his career, and perhaps in all of baseball. Always looking for opportunities to inject some crowd-pleasing novelty entertainment into his games, Veeck overheard broadcaster Harry Caray (1914-1998) singing “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” badly to himself in the broadcast booth as organist Nancy Faust played the song.42 Veeck persuaded Caray to turn on the microphone and lead the crowd in singing the song’s chorus during the seventh-inning stretch of every game. Veeck’s stunt was a huge success and for Harry Caray Day on September 26, 1976, he planned to give away “records featuring Harry’s hit single.”43 “The way they sing ‘Take Me Out to the Ball Game’ is terrific!’’…raved Veeck. “This is typical of the kind of ‘fun’ atmosphere we’re trying to create here.”44

As the 1970s came to a close, America was still looking for nostalgia, and would find it in a variety of corners. As social, material, and political views began to change, a nostalgia of ideological conservatism emerged that would be sustained throughout most of the new decade.45

“DON’T STOP BELIEVIN’” (1982)

On August 1, 1982, Henry Aaron caught up to Babe Ruth once again, when he was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Aaron said he never doubted that he would be elected to the Hall, but would it be unanimous?46 He received 97.8 percent of the vote and was the 17th player to be elected in his first year of eligibility.47 And while the sobriquet “Move Over Babe, Here Comes Henry” had a resurgence in the press, there was no controversy this time, only the echoing nostalgic refrain of one of the most significant and iconic baseball songs in the history of the game; a song that today holds its own physical pride of place in the collections of the Hall of Fame Library.48

“BARRY BONDS” (2007)

It took 27 years and another baseball era for Aaron’s home-run record to be eclipsed. The song “Barry Bonds” was included on Kanye West’s album Graduation, released in 2007. The song recalls Bonds’ 2001 achievement when he secured the record for most home runs in a single season at 73 and a career high of 762, topping Aaron’s 755. So “Move Over Babe” and move over Henry, here comes Barry.

Not only will records be broken, there will always be music to enliven those historic markers, eras, and moments, as baseball moves and sways to an ever-changing musical beat that is at the very heart of “the old ball game.”49

Musicologist, music librarian, composer, and performer GEORGE BOZIWICK is retired as chief of the music division of the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. He has written extensively on the song “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” and its place in feminist history. His book The Music of Baseball is published by McFarland (2025).

 

NOTES

1 “Van Lingle Mungo.“ Words and music by Dave Frishberg. New York: Red Day Music, 1970. See Susan Clermont and Katherine Walden, Baseball’s Greatest Hits: An Annotated Bibliography of Baseball Music and Songs at The Library of Congress. Third revised edition, October 2023, 174. https://www.loc.gov/static/research-centers/performing-arts/documents/BaseballsGreatestHits_10_14_2023.pdf. See also Dave Frishberg, “Dave Frishberg and the Writing of ‘Van Lingle Mungo.’” The National Pastime: A Review of Baseball History, 27 (2007). https://sabr.org/journal/article/dave-frishberg-and-the-writing-of-van-lingle-mungo/.

2 “The Name Is Worth a Song,” Provo (Utah) Daily Herald, September 1, 1970: 9. See also Bill Nowlin, ed., Van Lingle Mungo: The Man, The Song, The Players (Phoenix: Society for American Baseball Research, 2014).

3 Henry J. Taylor, “Mood Becomes the Mode, Nostalgia’s the Thing,” Ogden (Utah) Standard Examiner, March 31, 1971: 6. See also “Nostalgia: Treasures from the Past,” Newsweek, December 28, 1970: 34.

4 Joe McGuff, “Baseball Enjoys Boom,” Idaho State Journal (Pocatello), July 13, 1977: 21.

5 Breyman Schmezle, “Days of Beer and Bratwurst,” Belvidere (Illinois) Daily Republican, June 12, 1970: 5.

6 “Cheek to Cheek.” Words and music by Irving Berlin, from the musical Top Hat. Recorded by Fred Astaire with Leo Reisman (1897-1961) and his Orchestra on the Brunswick label A9805 on June 26, 1935. See the Leo Reisman recordings (1932-1948) in the Leo Reisman Papers, Music and Recorded Sound Division, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. Call no. JPB 11-9. For Aaron’s career home runs see Baseball Reference.com. https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/a/aaronha01.shtml#1954-1965-sum:players_standard_batting.

7 “Move Over, Babe!” Uniontown (Pennsylvania) Morning Herald, August 7, 1973: 4.

8 Jim Murray, “Move Over, Babe … Aaron’s Playing Right,” Corpus Christi (Texas) Times, October 8, 1969: 6B.

9 “Move Over Boys, Here Comes Aaron,” Long Beach (California) Independent, April 21, 1971: 50.

10 “Aaron Ties Mark but Bucs Triumph, 8-3,” San Bernardino County Sun, July 20, 1972: 60. For a complete day-to-day listing of Aaron’s home runs, see George Plimpton, One for the Record: The Inside Story of Hank Aaron’s Chase for the Home Run Record (New York: Little Brown and Company, 1974), 159-185.

11 “Hank Moves Within 8 of ‘The Babe’” Waco (Texas) News Tribune, August 29, 1973: 26.

12 Marlin Hanson, “Locker Rumors,” Kalispell (Montana) Daily Inter Lake, August 29, 1973: 4.

13 Mark Morrow, “Hank Aaron Will ‘Earn’ His Own Way,” Kokomo (Indiana) Tribune, June 21, 1973: 30.

14 “Rookie Flirts with Ace in First Start, Settles for victory,” Richmond (California) Independent, June 27, 1972: 34.

15 Hal Bock (Associated Press), “American League Roundup, Bill Slayback’s Name Is Music to Tigers’ Ears,” Poughkeepsie (New York) Journal, June 27, 1972: 20.

16 Bill Slayback, https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/S/Pslayb101.htm, “The Detroit Tigers placed reliever Chuck Seelbach on the disabled list Sunday and recalled pitcher Bill Slayback from their Toledo farm club of the International League.” See “Tiger Pitcher on Hurt List,” Lima (Ohio) News, June 4, 1973: 16.

17 Greg Erion, “Bill Slayback,” SABR Biography Project. https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/bill-slayback/.

18 Jim Hawkins, “Move Over, Babe”/ Ol’ Ern, Slaback [sic] Write Ode to Aaron,” Detroit Free Press, June 6, 1973: 2-D.

19 “Ernie Harwell, Tigers’ broadcaster, has written lyrics, and pitcher Bill Slayback music for tribute in rock to Hank Aaron. It’s called, ‘Move Over, Babe,’ due for publishing shortly,” Dick Young, “Valuable Piece of Wood,” New York Daily News, May 26, 1973: 22. The song was recorded on Karen Records (No. 714) by Bill Slayback with guest artist Ralph Terrana. It was later included in the compilation Baseball’s Greatest Hits, issued in 1989 on the Rhino label.

20 “Move Over, Babe (Here Comes Henry),” words by Ernie Harwell, music by Bill Slayback. Copyright 1973 by IRAMAC MUSIC CO. c/o Mietus Copyright Management, 527 Madison Avenue, New York 10002. Copyright registration number Eu 410484, with a date stamp of June 4, 1973. Photocopy. One page, handwritten lead sheet of music, verso blank. Source: Library of Congress Copyright Deposits. LC Call number: M1978.S713 S. See also Susan Clermont and Katherine Walden, Baseball’s Greatest Hits: An Annotated Bibliography of Baseball Music and Songs From The Library of Congress, third revised edition, October 2023, 124. https://www.loc.gov/static/research-centers/performing-arts/documents/BaseballsGreatestHits_10_14_2023.pdf. Thanks to baseball bibliographer Susan Clermont, retired music librarian at the Library of Congress, for providing access to copyright deposits of the music discussed in this essay.

21 Jim Hawkins, “Move Over, Babe Ol’ Ern, Slaback Write Ode to Aaron.”

22 Ray Bennett, “Ernie Harwell, the Man; The Voice of the Tigers,” Windsor (Ontario) Star, August 23, 1975: 37.

23 Watson Spoelstra, “Seelbach, Slayback Curing Tiger Hill Headache,” The Sporting News, July 15, 1972: 5.

24 Greg Erion, “Bill Slayback,” SABR Biography Project. https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/bill-slayback/. The Sterile Cuckoo (1969) was directed by Alan J. Pakula and starred Liza Minelli and Wendell Burton. The song “Come Saturday Morning” was written by Fred Karlin and Dory Previn (1969). It was recorded by the Sandpipers and released on the A&M record label No. 1134.

25 Jim Hawkins, “Move Over, Babe Ol’ Ern, Slaback Write Ode to Aaron.”

26 “‘Move Over Babe,’ the ballad of Hank Aaron’s assault on Babe Ruth’s home run record, has been recorded and is currently being released nationally. The song was written by Ernie Harwell, radio voice of the Detroit Tigers, and sung by Bill Slayback, Toledo (International League) pitcher.” “Hornsby’s Record Threatened,” Waco News-Tribune, August 24, 1973: 16.

27 Jim Hawkins, “Hey, All This Hate Mail Over Aaron is Sick, Sick,” Detroit Free Press, June 17, 1973: 50.

28 George Plimpton, One for the Record: The Inside Story of Hank Aaron’s Chase for the Home Run Record (New York: Little Brown and Company, 1974), 25-26.

29 “Move Over, Babe (Here Comes Henry).” Words by Ernie Harwell, music by Bill Slayback. Copyright 1973, Iramac Music Co., lyrics used by permission.

30 Tom Keegan, Ernie Harwell: My 60 Years in Baseball (Chicago: Triumph Books, 2002), 158. For the back cover of the sheet music see “Move Over, Babe (Here Comes Henry).” Words by Ernie Harwell, music by Bill Slayback. Copyright 1973, Iramac Music Co., exclusive distributor Screen Gems-Columbia Publications, a division of Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. 6744 N. E. 4th Avenue, Miami, Fla. 33138.

31 “Producer Wants Hank Cuts In Every Stadium in ’74,” Jet, November 22, 1973: 69. The song was “released twice on sister labels (Karen Records and Carla Records, named after [Mc]Laughlin’s daughters). The first version had vocals by Slayback; the second version had vocals by Richard ‘Popcorn’ Wylie.” See Jay Wade Edward, “Baseball Songs: Henry Aaron,” Substack.com, https://tinkertaylorsolerspiezio.substack.com/p/baseball-songs-henry-aaron.

32 On December 1, 1973, the song “Top of the World” reached No. 1 on the Billboard charts and remained there for two weeks. See Joel Whitburn, Joel Whitburn Presents Top 1000 Hits of the Rock Era 1955-2005 (Milwaukee: Hal Leonard Corporation, 2006), 140; “Top of the World” (1972) with music by Richard Carpenter and lyrics by John Bettis was released as a single by The Carpenters on September 17, 1973, on the A&M label, No. 1468.

33 “Hooked on a Feeling,” composed by Mark James, was originally recorded by B.J. Thomas on the Scepter label No. 12230, reaching No. 5 on the Billboard Top 100 charts in 1969. See Bob Leszczak, Who Did It First? Great Pop Cover Songs and Their Original Artists (Lanham, Maryland: Roman & Littlefield, 2014), 91.

34 “Billingham Hurls Historical Fastball,” Abilene (Texas) Reporter-News, April 5, 1974: 4-C.

35 Bob Hughes, “A Night of Joy for Aaron Clan,” Regina (Saskatchewan) Leader Post, April 9, 1974: 30.

36 George Plimpton Papers, New York Public Library. Mss Coll 24586, box 19, folder 6.

37 “Move Over Babe – Hank’s arrived,” Port Clinton (Ohio) News Herald, April 9, 1974: 8.

38 “Ernie Harwell, the Tigers’ broadcaster, and Bill Slayback, one of the Tigers’ spot starters, are doing well with their Hank Aaron record called Move Over Babe. The record was released in Japan last week,” Salinas Californian, May 8, 1974: 38.

39 Hank Aaron tribute music includes: “Hammering Hank (Part 1)” by the Blast Furnace Band and the Grapevine Singers (1972), Clintone Records CT012; Nelson Briles, “Hey Hank,” (1974), Capitol Records, P 3851; Willie Dixon, “That Last Home Run,” 1974. Willie Dixon’s Chicago Blues All Stars, featuring McKenly Mitchell, recorded on Spoonful Records. Richard Danielpour’s concert work Pastimes (set to poetry by Michael S. Harper), was a commissioned work for the 2006 All-Star Game. The work, for baritone and orchestra, celebrates Hank Aaron and other Black ballplayers. Richard Danielpour, Pastimes (New York: Associated Music Publishers, Inc., 2006). Music and Recorded Sound Division, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.

40 “Traveling Babe’s Path,” Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, November 5, 1974: 31.

41 “Henry Aaron Says Goodbye to Playing Days,” Terre Haute (Indiana) Tribune, October 4, 1976: 10.

42 Nancy Faust began as organist for the White Sox in 1970. Clipping files, “Nancy Faust,” National Baseball Hall of Fame Library, Cooperstown, New York.

43 A display advertisement announced Octoberfest weekend at Comiskey Park, September 24-26. Sunday, September 26, was Harry Caray Day. The advertisement announced that “we will be giving away records featuring Harry’s 7th inning hit single ‘Take Me Out to the Ball Game.’” See Chicago Tribune, September 19, 1976: E10. See also Bill Veeck with Ed Linn, Veeck – as in Wreck: The Autobiography of Bill Veeck (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1962, 1986, 2001), 387. On September 27, the Chicago Tribune reported that “an end of season treat for White Sox fans was supposed to be a free flexible lightweight recording of Harry Caray singing ‘Take Me Out to the Ball Game.’ But because of the rainout Sunday, Sox buffs will have to wait until next spring. The 33 1/3 rpm records are Eva-Tone Sound sheets, produced by a Deerfield company that manufactures everything from recorded advertisements inserted into magazines to books and magazines for the blind.” See “News for You: A Record Not to be Missed,” Chicago Tribune, September 27, 1976: A1.

44 “Veeck Springs to Sox Neighborhood’s Defense,” Chicago Tribune, July 1, 1977: C1.

45 Patrick M. Garry, Liberalism and American Identity (Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press, 1992), 17.

46 “Hank’s Only Doubt: Is It Unanimous?” Tampa Bay Times (St. Petersburg, Florida), January 13, 1982: 10.

47 Daniel Kramer and Do-Hyoung Park, “Every First-Ballot Inductee in Hall of Fame history,” MLB.com, January 21, 2025. https://www.mlb.com/news/first-ballot-mlb-hall-of-famers-c300943350.

48 See the finding aid for the Margaret and Franklin Steele Sheet Music Collection, National Baseball Hall of Fame Library, Cooperstown, New York. Collection Number BA MSS 3 BL-7893.96. https://s3.amazonaws.com/finding-aids/BA+MSS+3+Steele+Sheet+Music.pdf.

49 “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.” Words by Jack Norworth, music by Albert Von Tilzer (New York: York Music Company, 1908, 1927, 1936). See Baseball Sheet Music. Music and Recorded Sound Division, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. Call number: JPB 14-30. For more on the song “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” and other baseball music, see George Boziwick, The Music of Baseball (Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, 2025).