The closer Barry Bonds gets to "breaking" the all-time home run record, the more I want to ignore the artificially-enhanced jerk and celebrate the life and staggering achievements of Hank Aaron, my first boyhood hero (I met him at a celebrity golf tournament when I was about 8 and I was dumbstruck). Now I've run across two musical tributes to the bravest of Braves, one of which I've heard and love, one of which I'll have to go out of my way to hear. The first is a song on the very new debut album Mission Door by my former Tennessean colleague Peter Cooper. The Hank song isn't up on his myspace page at the moment, but keep checking. It's a spoken word masterpiece.
The other Hank Aaron tribute getting coverage right now is a new piece by 51-year-old composer Richard Danielpour, pictured here as a bat boy for the Braves many years ago. His composition "Pastime," which also celebrates Josh Gibson and Jackie Robinson, was performed this week by the Atlanta Symphony, the actual home of the Braves. This story offers a portrait of a fascinating artist motivated by passions for baseball, civil rights, and the American idea. Which for me includes not cheating at music or sports.
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