User:Ziggystardust20/sandbox

Billie Jean King

Elton John met Billie Jean King in 1973 and, according to reporters for CNN, they have since built a "powerful partnership in philanthropy, raising hundreds of millions of dollars...for equal rights and for HIV/AIDS causes." Upon admiring and meeting King, John asked his long-term writing partner Bernie Taupin to write the lyrics to what became "Philadelphia Freedom" and dedicate it to his friend, King, who was a member of the Philadelphia Freedoms tennis team. The label on the vinyl for this record reads "with Love to B.J.K. and the sound of Philadelphia." At the time, King had just been ranked the "World Number 1 women’s player" for the fifth time in the previous seven years. Additionally, one reporter argued that she had “alter[ed] the gender perception of professional tennis with her victory against Bobby Riggs in a highly-publicized ‘Battle of the Sexes’ exhibition match."

The lyrics of "Philadelphia Freedom" are not explicitly about the match or King, but stem from a love of King and her cause. Prior to their match, Riggs claimed that even as a 55-year-old man, he could still beat a woman (King was 29 at the time) in a tennis match because it was a man’s game. The match was held on September 20, 1973 at the Houston Astrodome and was telecast worldwide. Though usually cheering from the sidelines at every match, John lost his voice cheering King on from a Los Angeles hotel. The year before the "Battle of the Sexes" match, Congress passed the Equal Rights Amendment (though it was never put into law) and 1973 saw the decision of Roe v. Wade give women the right to choose to have an abortion. King made other steps in feminism in 1973 when she founded The Women's Tennis Association and "convinced the U.S. Open to award female champions the same prize money as men." This set the scene for King's match and victory against Briggs. The win ignited even more advocacy efforts for sexual equality, shattered the stereotype Riggs had presented and, as famous feminist Gloria Steinem put it, "provided...a morale change." King is now known as a" "champion for social change and equal rights."

Despite her success in the match and its historical importance, King told Eltonjohn.com that they (she and Elton) did not want the song to be about tennis. "It's a feeling," she said. King and John also co-founded the World Team Tennis Smash Hits, a charity function benefitting AIDS charities. King speaks about her work with Elton, saying “We're out there every single day with our energy and we're going to make this world a better place, no matter if it's through tennis, through music, whatever, to try to help the LGBT community, just help humanity."