Writer of Pop Culture

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This Day in Pop Culture for August 30

Happy Frankenstein Day! This day is also when Apple Records produced its first single with a controversial image and Christopher Cross got his first #1 hit.

August 30, 2020

2–3 minutes

National Frankenstein Day

Freakishly weird, in some circles August 30th is also known as National Frankenstein Day. It’s not because that’s when the first movie about the monster was released or even when the original novel was published. It actually celebrates the birthday of the novel’s author Mary Shelley. Incidentally, there have been over 60 movies that featured Dr. Frankenstein’s monster aka, Frankenstein.

1968: The Naughty Apple

It was on this day that The Beatles’ record label, Apple Records, released its first single, “Hey Jude.” The label was founded by the band intended to be used as a creative outlet for the band and used as a way to reduce their tax burden. They choose the name and image of a Granny Smith apple because in Paul McCartney’s mind, a green apple signified creative freedom and independence from commercial interests.

The record itself was unique because it featured the image of a Granny Smith apple on side-A and the same apple sliced in half on side-B. But according to The Independent, the song was almost never released because some record executives thought that the image looked like part of the female anatomy.

In a letter sent to Apple boss Ron Kass, the writer said that he “doubted that many of his chain store customers would even be willing to stock and display products containing the label.”

Not only was he wrong, but there is no evidence that the band had intended using a controversial image.

1980: Christopher Cross Goes ‘Sailing’

On this day in 1980, singer-songwriter Christopher Cross rose to the top of the music charts with his first hit, “Sailing.” Up to this point, Cross was a relatively unknown singer. His self-titled album is considered to be one of the biggest soft-rock hits of all time and included “Ride Like the Wind,” (which was actually released before “Sailing”) and featured a backup vocal for Michael McDonald.

This fame led to a sweep of wins at the 1981 Grammy Awards where “Sailing” and Cross won for Best Record, Best Song, Best Album and Best New Artist. Cross’s next hit also came out that year, “Arthur’s Theme” from the movie, Arthur with Dudley Moore. Cross’s next Top 10 hit was “Think of Laura” which came out in 1983, and it was his last. (Image: Warner Records)