From New Yorker music writer Ben Greenman:
Barack Obama turns fifty today, placing him in the esteemed company of other celebrities such as Wayne Gretzky, Ricky Gervais, and Eddie Murphy. The occasion was marked Wednesday with a high-end benefit at Chicago’s Aragon Ballroom that featured performances by Herbie Hancock, OK Go, and Jennifer Hudson; tickets were priced at up to $35,800 per couple. If you want to hold on to your $17,900 and still wish the President a happy birthday, we’ve put together a playlist that will cost you absolutely nothing, composed entirely of songs from the year of Obama’s birth. There’s one for each decade, and one for good luck.
He starts it off with Jimmy Reed, “Big Boss Man.” [YouTube audio/video.]