Happy Birthday, John!

Today is John Ondrasik's birthday. The big 44! His age is no secret. Media sources have publicized it this week under their Celebrity Birthdays for January 7. For some reason, though, some internet sites have listed John as having been born in 1968...that would make him only 41 today. Why the discrepancy? I think they are confused, and I think the reason is...they misinterpreted the information they got from the Five For Fighting song, '65 Mustang.

Now, John is fond of telling the story of his beloved 1965 Ford Mustang, powder blue in color. As history goes, John's dad bought the car brand new off the lot, and brought John home from the hospital in it. When John was a teenager, his father gave the Mustang to him, whereby as John put it "I promptly painted the car metallic purple." At the time, John was a big Prince fan...Prince...purple...get it? Anyway, John eventually grew out of that phase, and had the car repainted back to it's original color, and gave the car back to his dad. Well, the Mustang later changed hands again and when John's son Johnny was born, he brought him home from the hospital in the beloved family heirloom.

The tale of the Ondrasik family Mustang inspired John to write the song '65 Mustang. As the lyrics go:

Or bringing home my first baby
Like Dad did when the ‘65 was three

Now, when I first heard the song in 2006, I assumed the Mustang was three YEARS old when John was brought home from the hospital. But, when 2007 rolled around and the media said John was 42, that could only mean he was born in 1965, not 1968! I was confused, so there was only one way to clear things up...I wrote John an email and asked him. John, being the cool dude that he is, sent this reply:

the mustang was bought 3 days after i was born so I am the big 42... :)

So, there is was, in black and white from John himself. I was no longer confused, but some others still are. I don't think John has any hangups about getting old...I sure don't, and I have a few years on him! I guess the big question is what John will do when his son Johnny and daughter Olivia reach driving age. Who will get the Mustang? Will they take turns? One thing is certain, though...it will always be part of the Ondrasik family, both literally and immortalized in song!