Throwback Thursday - Baz Luhrmann 'Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen)' (1999)

Graduation season is upon us. A lot of colleges have already held their commencement ceremonies, but that still leaves us with high school graduations.

It seems like every few years a song is released that becomes somewhat of a graduation anthem. In 1999 it was Baz Luhrmann's spoken word, "Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen.)"

Baz Luhrmann is an Australian actor best known for the films Romeo + Juliet and Moulin Rouge. Those just happen to be two of my personal favorites.

Anyway, "Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen)" actually started as an article originally published in the Chicago Tribune by Mary Schmich in 1997.

In the early days of the internet this article starting circulating via e-mail, oftentimes being mis-credited as a commencement speech given by Kurt Vonnegut.

According to Wikipedia:

The song reached number 24 on the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay in the United States; by the time it was released as a commercial single in the country, radio airplay had declined significantly, and only managed to peak at number 45 on the Billboard Hot 100. It also peaked at number one in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

It gets lumped in with graduation songs, but really the advice in the song is good for anyone at any age.