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Clarence Clemons Dead at 69; New York's Gay Marriage Battle; Mock Children's Book a Huge Hit
Aired June 18, 2011 - 22:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is it your testimony that the medical examiners who took this photograph at the scene took the hair and draped it over the skull for purposes of this picture?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is my opinion that somebody did. I don't know if it's medical examiner or not medical examiner. I cannot tell you that.
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DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Expert and the prosecution at issue? Skeletal evidence from the body of Casey Anthony's daughter, Caylee, and the manner and the cause of her death.
Also tonight, the battle for same-sex marriage in New York State. A crucial vote on the issue is expected next week. I'm going to talk to both sides.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think we're sending a loud and clear message about whether our families and our life and our choice and who we are and our love is legitimate or not.
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LEMON: Violence escalates in the Sudan.
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BOMBING
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LEMON: Including this bombing near a United Nations compound from earlier this week. Hello, everyone, I'm Don Lemon at the CNN NEWSROOM in New York. There's a lot of news to get you caught up on. So why don't we do it.
And we start tonight with breaking news. And it's sad news from the music world to report to you. Clarence Clemons, saxophonist for Bruce Springsteen's E-Street Band has died at the age of 69. Clemons' affectionately known as Big Man suffered a stroke just a few days ago. His signature sound could be heard on many of the Boss's biggest hits. Clemons' gave one of his last interviews with HLN's Joy Behar back in 2009. And we want to replay part of it for you now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CLARENCE CLEMONS, SAX PLAYER, E-STREET BAND: From the first time we saw each other. We stayed together for two weeks. We were just inseparable.
JOY BEHAR, HLN HOST: In love. You were in love.
CLEMONS: Yes, I was, you know. I still am in love with him. You know, it's a masculine kind of love. It's not a sexual love. It's beyond sex. You know.
BEHAR: What do you love most? Is it his eyes? What is it?
CLEMONS: His dedication to what he does.
BEHAR: That's right.
CLEMONS: And his belief in what he's doing, and the energy that he creates stimulates in the whole band, you know.
BEHAR: Yes, he works very hard, first.
CLEMONS: He worked hard.
BEHAR: And I'm sure you did all those years. All of you.
CLEMONS: Yes, yes. We still do.
BEHAR: And now in the book, you say that you started -- talk about your love life a lot, you know? I mean, how many exact women have you had over the years with the E-Street Band?
CLEMONS: You mean marriages or --
BEHAR: No, just having them for one night.
CLEMONS: Well, I don't know. I don't know how many he had.
BEHAR: No, you, you. We don't want to say anything about him because he's married.
CLEMONS: Well, I'm married, too. I'm married, too.
BEHAR: OK. But I mean --
CLEMONS: But you know --
BEHAR: You do talk about the women in the book. CLEMONS: Yes, I do. And I've had my share of good times and it was fun, but now I really found the person I want to spend the rest of my life with.
BEHAR: You do?
CLEMONS: Yes.
BEHAR: Why? What's she like?
CLEMONS: She's young and she's --
BEHAR: How young, Clarence?
CLEMONS: Well, she's younger than me.
BEHAR: How much younger?
CLEMONS: I think I'm older than her parents.
BEHAR: You're older than her parents?
CLEMONS: Yes.
BEHAR: That's always got to be hairy when you go for Thanksgiving.
CLEMONS: No, no. We talk about it, you know. We laugh about it, but they are Russian so they don't speak English.
BEHAR: They are Russian? Oh good, so they don't speak English.
CLEMONS: They don't speak English so that makes it a lot easier.
BEHAR: They don't even know what's going on probably.
CLEMONS: But she's very mature for her age and she's a very, very mature woman. And she's helped me through so much. And she's been with me through the hard times, went through this whole operation. Everyday --
BEHAR: Tell me about that.
CLEMONS: Yes. I had both of my knees replaced and they cut off my legs to shave my legs. It was a very painful thing I've been through. And she was with me from day one. The day I went into the hospital every day, she was by my side.
BEHAR: That's nice.
CLEMONS: She slept every night with me. An extra bed beside. They put -- because I did know I couldn't do without her.
BEHAR: Yes.
CLEMONS: She was there for me, you know. (END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Clarence Clemons on the "Joy Behar Show" back in 2009 on our sister network, HLN.
Joining me now by phone is Greg Kot. He's a music critic for the "Chicago Tribune."
Greg, I understand you are writing the obituary now for Clarence Clemons. It's a great loss, isn't it?
GREG KOT, CHICAGO TRIBUNE, MUSIC CRITIC (via-telephone): Well, absolutely. He was, you know, as sideman go, he was probably one of the most famous sidemen in rock history. You know, anybody who is a Springsteen fan recognizes the cover of the "Born to Run" album as Springsteen's most iconic album.
And it's telling that Clemons shares that cover with Springsteen. It's one of the most powerful images in rock. You know, Springsteen leaning on Clemons' shoulder. I mean, they were literally joined at the hip from day one. Before Springsteen was famous, Clemons was in his band and you know, he was as much a part of that stage presentation as Springsteen was in many ways.
LEMON: And, you know, people have written about it and they have -- he's talked about it as well, Clarence Clemons and Bruce Springsteen about the night they met in Asbury Park in New Jersey. And they said that it seemed like destiny that they sort of fulfilled each other's destiny when they met in the late '60s, early '70s.
KOT: Well, it's a crucial part of the Springsteen story. There's a lot of the myth attached to it. You know, the big storm, the door blows off the hinges. There's this is 6'4", 250 pound guy standing in the doorway and walks up on stage and, you know, Springsteen is saying whatever you want, man. Come and join my band.
And they hit it off musically. They hit it off karmically. They hit it off as friends. It was a true friendship beyond being a musical relationship. And it can't be stated enough. Springsteen was such a showman, so much about the, the relationship with the fan base. Clemons was right there with him. He was literally the sidekick, the partner throughout all of this. And it was a big part of it.
LEMON: Greg Kot is the music critic for the "Chicago Tribune."
Thank you so much. We really appreciate it. You've been covering Clarence Clemons for decades now, and we really appreciate it. We're efforting other reaction on the death of Clarence Clemons, and we'll bring it to you in this hour if we get it right here on CNN.
In the meantime, there is more to tell you about.
We want to get you caught up on some of the days other headlines including a potentially very serious breach of airline security. Prosecutors say this man, Jophan Porter, used someone else's identity to get a job as a flight attendant for American Eagle Airlines. Police arrested Porter at Miami International Airport. Porter is a native of Guyana. Immigration authorities plan to deport him, but a spokesman wouldn't comment on his residency status. American Eagle says this case does not involve any customer information.
A defense witness in the trial of Casey Anthony says someone put duct tape on her daughter Caylee after her body had decomposed. It is a key counterpoint since the prosecution says Anthony used duct tape to suffocate Caylee after drugging her. The witness, a forensic pathologist, speculated the duct tape may have been used to keep the jaw together as the decomposing body was moved. Testimony resumes Monday in Orlando.
Congresswoman Gabby Giffords is back home in Tucson, Arizona, for the first time since she was shot in January. Giffords and her husband, astronaut Mark Kelly, arrived Friday and are spending the weekend with family. Giffords was shot in the head in a supermarket parking lot in January. She was released from a Houston rehabilitation hospital this week and will continue her outpatient treatment in Houston.
Here's what Kelly said. He said, "We've been dreaming of this trip for some time. Gabby misses Tucson very much, and her doctors have said that returning to her hometown could play an important in her recovery."
A wildfire has burned more than half a million acres so far in eastern Arizona. But tonight, crews of the wallow fire under enough control to allow many evacuees to start returning to their homes. Right now the fire is about 38 percent contained. Senator John McCain surveyed the damage in his home state.
Another wildfire known as the monument fire is burning in the southern part of Arizona. That one is only 15 percent contained.
New York could become the nation's sixth state to legalize same- sex marriage. And you can imagine it is causing a very heated debate. Many debate as a matter of fact.
Next my conversation with New York State Democrat Daniel O'Donnell who is in a same-sex relationship and Brian Brown, president of the National Organization for Marriage.
Plus, if you're a fan of HBO series "Law and Order: Special Victims Unit" we've got the real deal for you. An up-close look at the team of prosecutors. That is straight ahead here on CNN.
If you're looking for any information that you want to get in touch with us, you can reach out to us on social media, of course -- Twitter, Facebook, CNN.com/Don. And you can check in with us on FourSquare.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: This just in to CNN. It's a statement from Bruce Springsteen. Our breaking news tonight at the top of this show was the death of legendary saxophonist Clarence Clemons died at the age of 69.
Here is what -- this is into CNN and also posted on Bruce Springsteen's Web site. It says "It is with overwhelming sadness that we inform our friends and fans that at 7:00 tonight, Saturday, June 18th, our beloved friend and band mate Clarence Clemons passed away. The cause was complications from his stroke of last Sunday, June 12th."
Bruce Springsteen said Clarence, here's what he said, "Clarence, lived a wonderful life. He carried within him a love of people that made them love him. He created a wondrous and extended family. He loved the saxophone, loved our fans and gave everything he had every night he stepped on stage. His loss is immeasurable and we are honored and thankful to have known him and have the opportunity to stand beside him for nearly 40 years. He was my great friend, my partner, and with Clarence at my side, my band and I were able to tell a story far deeper than those simply contained in our music. His life, his memory, his love will live on in that story and in our band."
That is from Bruce Springsteen. On the death of his partner, Clarence Clemons.
On now to other developing news. New York soon may become the most populace state in the nation to legalize same-sex marriage. A state Senate vote could happen in a matter of days and supporters say they're closer than ever to making that happen, but opponents insist they are not giving up.
Earlier, I spoke with Daniel O'Donnell, a key sponsor of the bill in the New York assembly where the bill passed earlier this week. And then Brian Brown is against the bill. He is the president of the National Organization for Marriage. Supporters claim they have the votes they need. So I asked Brian brown, a very direct question. Here we go.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Are you worried? Are you nervous about it?
BRIAN BROWN, PRESIDENT, NATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR MARRIAGE: Well, obviously, it's crunch time right now. But, you know, again, in 2009, we heard from the lead sponsor, Tom Duane, that the votes were there, and the bill ended up being defeated, 38-4. So the notion that this is a done deal is simply wrong.
And what we're doing right now is, you know, there are thousands of calls going in to Senators. The legislature should not be deciding something as important as the future of marriage. The voters of New York should have the same ability as 31 other state. Every single state that this has been put to a vote, the voters directly have all said, no, we know what marriage is, we know that it's unique and special, and we do not want it redefined. The voters --
(CROSSTALK) LEMON: OK, so listen to this though. You say the voter will decide. But 58 percent -- this is a recent poll here. 58 percent of New Yorkers support same-sex marriage, while more than one-quarter of voters say the measure, along with extending rent regulation laws -- it's a big deal here in New York -- is one of their top-two priorities. 58 percent.
Are you sure you want to take to it the voters?
BROWN: Absolutely sure. We saw polls just like this in California and in Maine, polls that were worded in a very biased way. I have absolutely no doubt that if the voters of New York had a free and fair vote and they could vote on the issue of marriage, they would vote to protect it.
LEMON: OK. All right.
Let's go -- let's give Daniel O'Donnell a chance to talk here.
Daniel, what do you think? It's going to be Gay Pride in New York new weekend. On Sunday is the big parade. Do you think people will be celebrating then?
REP. DANIEL O'DONNELL, (D), NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY: Absolutely. I am confident that, with the governor's leadership, we're going to get this done. No one ever asked me in 2009 whether or not it would have passed, but I would have told you it wasn't going to pass. This time it is going to pass and I'm proudly part of the process that's expanding the rights of New Yorkers.
BROWN: There was a letter just published by three of the greatest legal scholars of our time, Mary Anne Glendon, at Harvard; Robbie George, at Princeton, and a number of other folks who actually support same-sex marriage.
None of them deny that there are major unintended consequences of same-sex marriage. And in Illinois, we heard these same arguments. It's not going to affect anyone other than the couples getting married. Wrong. In Illinois right now, there are three lawsuits because the Catholic Church, its adoption agencies are being told that they have to shut down if they will not adopt children to same-sex couples. It's as simple as that.
LEMON: So you don't look at this as a civil rights issue, right?
BROWN: Well, it's not a civil rights issue to try to redefine our most fundamental and most basic institutions. No.
LEMON: OK.
All right, Daniel, go ahead. I'm sorry I cut you off there.
O'DONNELL: Well, the Supreme Court has ruled that marriage is one of our fundamental rights. In the end, this is not a question about anything other than equality. The state issues licenses. And they issue licenses to people and they're called marriage licenses. I'm not seeking a marriage in a church. I'm not seeking a pew in a synagogue. I'm not seeking anything from any religion.
The cases that they have constantly referenced are not cases under the marriage law. There isn't marriage in Illinois. And so if, in fact, people want to change the human rights laws or the discrimination laws, they should make proposals in legislative bodies to do that.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: And as we reported, the New York State assembly has already passed the bill. The state Senate is expected to vote by the end of the week.
Former Congressman Anthony Weiner's sexting scandal has been fodder for late night comedians, but where is the line drawn for journalists? That debate with Pete Dominick and Dean Obeidallah. Oh my gosh, I'm in trouble, right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CONAN O'BRIEN, HOST, "THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH CONAN O'BRIEN": Yesterday, Congressman Weiner contacted Nancy Pelosi to let her know that he was resigning. Now, Weiner let her know by texting her a picture of his (EXPLETIVE DELETED) cleaning out its desk.
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LEMON: Oh, that's Conan O'Brien taking advantage of some of the best political fodder in years, quite frankly. Anthony Weiner's sexting scandal.
Many have laughed as the fall of the New York politician played out. But some say the lowest point of Weiner's career marked a new depth of tastelessness. It came when a staffer from the Howard Stern Show heckled Weiner as he was resigning. Here it is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANTHONY WEINER, FORMER NEW YORK CONGRESSMAN: Continue.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The people demand to know.
WEINER: To heal from the damage I have caused.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, hey.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you serious?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's not with us.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's not with us.
WEINER: To repeat, most importantly, they're all patriots, and I will miss them all. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you more than seven inches.
WEINER: Thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Did you find this funny, or was it going too far? To talk about it are two stand up comics. Pete Dominick is the host of the daily show -- of a daily show on Sirius XM Satellite Radio and Dean Obeidallah, co-founded The Arab-American Comedy Festival.
All right, guys. Dean, you support this heckler, right?
DEAN OBEIDALLAH, CO-FOUNDER, THE ARAB-AMERICAN COMEDY FESTIVAL: I do. I mean, to me, this was to me the cherry on the Weiner sundae. I mean, after what we have gone through -- he actually, I think Benjy raised the discourse of this whole discussion.
Well, you know, it's not like I'm without sympathy for Anthony Weiner. But on some level, I mean, it built to a porn star having a press conference calling for his resignation. This is just completely in line with it. The only thing I feel bad for the senior citizens who are sitting there at the senior center while the whole resignation was there, and just going why is he yelling about the penis. You know, so I felt bad for them more than Anthony Weiner.
LEMON: OK.
Listen, Pete, did you find it funny? Or what was your reaction to this?
PETE DOMINICK, COMEDIAN: Well, it was inappropriate. It was the wrong place. It was bad timing. But it's what Benjy does. Benjy Bronk of the "Howard Stern Show".
The jokes, I mean, I would be lying if I said I didn't laugh at those jokes. The whole situation, Don Lemon, was so, you know, absurd from start to finish. And why on earth did Congressman Weiner have to go make that speech resignation speech in front of a camera? Why not just write a letter.
Benjy was at the first press conference, he yelled out there. Did no one from Congressman Weiner's office or from the media recognize this guy? I feel bad for the journalist, you know, the serious journalists who are covering this event, you know, that was kind of made a mockery of.
The bottom line is that's what Benjy does and that's "Howard Stern Show" does, live cameras, man.
LEMON: Yes. And if any of us is on air long enough, there's going to be -- you're going to have a "Baba Booey" moment. And that's just what the "Howard Stern Show" team does.
Yes, and Benjy, you know, that's what they do. So Dean, I think the thing that bothers a lot of folks though is that when people want to laugh, they go to a club or they watch a specific channel, right? They go to a comedy channel.
This heckler just put himself in it forcing everyone really to hear him. And you know what, Pete, makes a good point because he was at the first press conference. What were they thinking?
OBEIDALLAH: Absolutely. He was there on June 6th yelling out similar questions. When Benjy walks in, all these other reserved reporters are coming in, one after the other. I'm from "Time" magazine, I'm from CNN. I'm from the "Howard Stern Show."
Hello. You're going to let him in. Either remove his press credentials. If you're going to let him in, he's going to do those jokes. And that's what they do. You know what, it is funny. It's stupid, it's sophomoric, but it's funny. And this is not demonized. It's not like the Tracy Morgan thing from last week. This is just a guy making fun of someone who caused his own downfall to be honest, so he's sending pictures of himself in his underwear to women on the Internet.
LEMON: All right, real quickly --
DOMINICK: Yes. I mean, Don, it's not --
LEMON: Hey, Pete, I want to move on because I want to ask you about this. I want to ask you about...
DOMINICK: Go ahead. Go ahead. Fine.
LEMON: ...something that happened today -- oh, Pete, stop it -- at the Republican Leadership Conference in New Orleans. The organizers presented this Obama impersonator and then pulled him from the stage because they thought his jokes were getting, quote, "inappropriate." That's according to the "Washington Post."
Here's what some of the impersonator said. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REGGIE BROWN, OBAMA IMPERSONATOR: Black History Month. You see, Michelle, she celebrates the full month and you know, I celebrate half.
(LAUGHTER)
BROWN: My father was a black man from Kenya and my mother was a white woman from Kansas. So yes, my mother loved a black man and no, she was not a Kardashian.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: OK, so quickly here, Pete. Would you think the organizers were too sensitive? Should they have kept the fake Obama on stage? DOMINICK: They should have. They put him on there. The jokes are funny. The performance is excellent. But it's the place, Don. It's the place. It's a Republican Leadership Conference. There's a reason why over 80 percent of black people vote Democrat.
And we have a statement from the former Republican National Committee, Doug Heye. He tweeted out. He says, wonder why many minorities have problems with GOP? Hiring Obama impersonator to tell black jokes at the Republican leadership for starters. It's our own fault." That's the former spokesman for the Republican National Committee.
LEMON: All right, guys, that's going to --
OBEIDALLAH: And then hold it -- by the way, he made fun of Michele Bachmann.
DOMINICK: Yes.
LEMON: That's going to have to be it because we're out of time because of the breaking news involving Clarence Clemons. But I wish I could spend some more time with you, guys.
Thank you so much. We really appreciate it.
DOMINICK: Fair enough.
LEMON: If you're a fan of "Law and Order: Special Victims Unit," you don't want to miss this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We've done this longer than I have, that so many times I hear from people, you know, oh, he's so good looking and there's no way he would have done this. And have we not had this on tape to prove exactly what we knew happened which we don't in most cases. Nobody would believe it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: We're going inside with the real prosecutors who put away sexual deviants.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: We are following breaking news this hour and it's from the music world.
Clarence Clemons, saxophonist for Bruce Springsteen's E-Street Band has died at the age of 69.
Clemons suffered a stroke a few days ago and died today from complications.
I want to bring in now A.J. Hammer. He's the host of HLN's "Showbiz Tonight" and Lauren Onkey from the Rock 'N' Roll Hall of Fame.
Thanks to both of you.
A.J., it is your beat to the cover entertainment every single day. This man was a true icon, a giant of the entertainment world and music world.
A.J. HAMMER, CO-HOST, HLN'S "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" (via-telephone): Yes, and it's usually sad even hearing right now you're playing "The Hook" from "Born to Run" with Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street Band, Don. And it's hard to imagine the E-Street Band without Clarence Clemons, the big man who joined the band early in 1972 in a famed story when he jumped on stage with Bruce Springsteen in Asbury Park during a lightning storm. Really just an extraordinary man and extraordinary talent. And somebody who was inseparable from his saxophone. He called his instrument a vehicle to move my spirit around.
And you think of those saxophones solos in songs like "Born to Run" and "Blinded by the Light" and "Thunder Road" and "Jungleland," and it wouldn't be the same were it not for the touch and the magic of Clarence Clemons.
I remember very distinctly, Don, seeing Clarence Clemons playing with the E-Street Band and Bruce Springsteen back in the 1980s. And Bruce does a terrific thing.
First of all, he plays incredibly long shows full of energy. He totally gives you your money's worth and every member in the band does the same. And at the end of the show, I remember as Bruce is sort of running down everybody who is up there on stage with him and he refers to Clarence as the biggest man you've ever seen.
And there was something just so so true about that. And this is just shocking news, of course. He suffered a stroke last week and to hear that he has passed away tonight at the age of 69, a huge loss in the music industry.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Yes. When you said the big, big man and the giant, I want to read this and I want you to respond to it, Lauren.
Here's what is Bruce Springsteen had to say. He said, you know, talking about the night they were inducted into the Hall of Fame. "That night we stood together, said Springsteen of Clemons, during his Rock N' Roll Hall of Fame induction speech in 1999.
"I looked over at C, and it looked like his head reached into the clouds, and I felt like a mere mortal scurrying upon the earth, you know. And then he goes on to talk about it. He was really looked up to in that band and was the big brother.
LAUREN ONKEY, ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME (via-telephone): You know, when Bruce and Clarence came together, it wasn't just two guys that came together and played. There was something musical and historical that came together. You know, Clarence walked on and he represented King Curtis and Junior Walker and all of these great sax players in the history of Rock 'n' Roll. And there was also a way in which when Bruce and Clarence, when Bruce did that shtick and it was shtick, it was about black and white people meeting and playing together in a music that has been fraught with racial integration, segregation, harmony, all the ways that we fight together as a culture.
Clarence and Bruce in some ways not intentionally, but when the two of them walked on stage, that's what they brought together. And Clarence, you know, he brought the styles of those players with him.
And you know, also, he was just the coolest guy on stage.
LEMON: Yes.
ONKEY: He was the coolest guy on stage. I mean as Bruce used to say, you want to be like him. But you can't.
LEMON: Yes.
ONKEY: You know? He just, he walked out, I think, if we all want to remember him tonight, we should play "Jungle Land."
LEMON: Yes.
ONKEY: That solo in "Jungle Land," you know, that's who he was. But could also, you know, walk out there and play all kinds of crazy stuff. "Give Me that Wine." "Paradise by the Sea."
You know? He was just -- he was trying to figure out, you know, the guy could improvise and play. He also worked as a young man as a social worker. He had a guy -- he was a guy with a big heart. And he had a rock 'n' roll heart. And he loved this music and lived in it.
And when he and Bruce walked up together, they knew what they were bringing together up there on stage. And my heart goes out and the Rock 'N' Roll Hall of Fame Museum's heart goes out to his family and to Bruce, and to the E-Street Band because we know what he represented when he walked on that stage.
LEMON: And, Lauren, very well put. And I'm going to let A.J. sum it up since this is your beat, A.J.
And as I'm looking at that video, this is a story, really, of not only just only just uber talent, uber talented people, but it was really a true story of diversity because they were good friends and they would come out and play together and they would draw people from all hues and backgrounds together. Those two men and the rest of the E-Street Band.
HAMMER: Sure, and that's something we may be very accustomed to now. But you know, think back 35, 40 years ago when the E-Street Band was first coming together, that wasn't the case.
And I think Clemons, himself, you know, sums it up as far as his talent and as far as his calling when he called his instrument, that's tenor saxophone, a vehicle to move my spirit around. And that's what it did. And he had every intention, despite his ailing health over the past couple of years and some spinal surgeries, he had every intention, Don, of getting out on tour with the E-Street Band in 2012, because that was his life blood.
And how terrific for a new generation to see him right now in the Lady Gaga video, "The Edge of Glory."
ONKEY: Yes, that's right.
HAMMER: This is the simplest, most minimalistic video that Lady Gaga who we know for her over-the-top antics, this is the simplest thing she has ever done, and instead of doing something so over-the- top, she did this very, I would just call it a simplistic minimalist video, and Clarence Clemons appears in this thing, playing his sax.
LEMON: Yes.
HAMMER: And what a fitting ending because he was part of so many generations and will continue to be a part of so many generations to come as with Bruce.
LEMON: And as one tribute put it tonight, when Lady Gaga attempted to resurrect the glory of the '80s stadium rock on her recent album "Born this Way," she call in Clarence Clemons.
(CROSSTALK)
Our thanks to Lauren Onkey of the Rock 'N' Roll Hall of Fame, and of course, the host of HLN's "Showbiz Tonight," A.J. Hammer.
We appreciate both of you.
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: NBA finals didn't end the way he wanted, but if you ask Miami Heat superstar Dwyane Wade, he actually claimed his biggest prize ever just in time for Father's Day.
The six-time NBA all-star and 2006 finals MVP recently gained full custody of his two sons, Zaire and Zion. I had the chance to talk with Wade about his boys, being a single father, winning a Fatherhood Award and special honor from President Obama.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: You recently gained custody of your two sons. I mean, you know, you do very well financially. So I'm sure that's not an issue. But it's tough I'm sure spending time with them as a single parent.
Do you take them on the road? Do you -- how are you going to deal with that with you traveling so much and being a single dad? DWYANE WADE, NBA PLAYER: Well, first of all, you know, it takes a great support system. My mom, my sister, you know, my family, all my loved ones are, you know, very important in everything I do in life and especially with my kids. So it takes a great support system for you to be able to parent. And you know, especially me being a single dad.
LEMON: I'm sure you know it's important. You grew up in a single family household, living with your mom and your dad separately.
Are you trying to incorporate your ex-wife into the fact here and have her spend time with your sons?
WADE: No question, I mean, obviously, you know, both my kids love both their parents very dearly. And you know, it's not their fault that we're not together. And I always stress that to them.
I want to make sure that their parent of both parents. Just because we don't live in the same household, doesn't mean we can't both parent our kids together and apart, you know, at times.
LEMON: The 2011 Fatherhood Award from the National Fatherhood Initiative, that was given to you earlier this week. But I want to talk about President Obama pointed you to a new parenting group which is geared toward encouraging fathers to become more involved in their kids' lives, which I think is very important.
That's an honor to have the president appoint you to that. How do you think you're going to make a difference? What's your message with this?
WADE: Well, first of all, I'm honored and I'm humbled by the award that was given me from the Fatherhood Initiative Award. But I just feel like, you know what, that's something that I'm supposed to do. I'm supposed to be a father. This is my job to be a role model to my kids. So I'm humbled and honored by it, but this is something I'm supposed to be doing.
And, you know, when I got an opportunity with President Obama to be able to be on this great committee on this great board, for me it's just about letting my voice be heard, for me it's just about setting an example and being a role model for other fathers and dads out there that don't believe that they can be in their kids' lives.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Here's an amazing statistic for you.
Hotels in the U.S. throw away 800 million bars of soap every year. This week's "CNN Hero," Derreck Kayongo, collects some of that soap, recycles it and sends it to impoverished communities worldwide.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DERRECK KAYONGO, COMMUNITY CRUSADER: A child of war can be simply described as a kid caught between a rock and a hard place. It is finding all your pieces and trying to put them back together.
I do have something in common with the kids. You wake up every morning thinking, we just want to survive.
Sanitation isn't a priority. We have about two million kids that die of sanitation issues, mainly because they don't wash their hands.
I am Derreck Kayongo. I'm a former refugee. Now I help people fight disease with basic sanitation.
You have some soap for me?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. Come in here.
KAYONGO: This is great.
The issue is not the availability of soap. The issue is cost. Can they afford it?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Housekeeping.
KAYONGO: Eight hundred million bars of soap that the hotels throw away in the U.S. alone every year. We're able to get a lot of soap, which we can process and make brand-new soap out of it. We clean it, melt it, then cut it into final bars, box it and ship it.
CHILDREN: Welcome. Welcome. Welcome. Welcome Derreck.
KAYONGO: Being here in Kenya, at this orphanage, is coming full circle, but with good news. It's great for them to have the bars of soap, but also to use it so they can fight off diseases.
Those are clean. That's very good.
One of the things that I've learned from the kids is a sense of resilience. To know that they have this sense of hope and joy is remarkable.
Do I feel like I'm having an impact on them? Yes, I think so.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Father's Day weekend for a lot of people. A time to celebrate but for some, for some, it's a time to remember the dads and grand dads they love so much but who are no longer with us.
And with more and more women having children later on in life, a lot of kids will never get to know their grandparents.
Allison Gilbert wanted her children to know what her dad was like, and she came up with a lot of creative ways to preserve those memories for a younger generation.
Thank you so much.
ALLISON GILBERT, AUTHOR, "PARENTLESS PARENTS": Thank you.
LEMON: You explored all of this in your book called "Parentless Parents."
GILBERT: Yes.
LEMON: Good to see you finally in person.
GILBERT: Yes.
LEMON: We've known each other for a long time. What are some of the best ways you found to keep the memories alive for a father and grandfather?
GILBERT: Well, I mean, the easiest thing to do is just have a conversation with your kids, but use the word grandfather to your kids instead of my dad in relationship to yourself. Make it about your kids. Your grandfather. That's the easiest thing to do. And this is really fun.
LEMON: Yes, you brought some stuff here to preserve your dad's memory. This is the book, by the way. And we've shown it there.
Show us this stuff.
GILBERT: This is a memory quilt. And these were all pieces of my father's ties.
LEMON: Oh.
GILBERT: Yes. And so each piece of fabric was an actual tie that my dad wore. And every time I show a piece to my kids, it reminds me of when I saw my dad wearing it. It's an easy thing to have in my house. And so they can talk about -- my kids are young. So seeing something that's tangible makes my dad a little bit more real.
LEMON: You've done a lot of research about why people have a rough time during Father's Day and Mother's Day.
GILBERT: Yes.
LEMON: And I know that, you know, I lost my real dad and then my step dad, and I kind of know why, but why do people have a rough time.
GILBERT: Well, it's interesting. You know, 50 percent of all parents who I interviewed for the book feel this tug on Father's Day. You want to be the dad celebrated, but you also mourn the father that you've lost. And it's not atypical, right? These are very normal emotions to want to connect with your dad even though he's not there. And so doing things that really honor his memory is really important.
LEMON: Listen, I just -- this is so cool. This is your idea.
GILBERT: Yes, it was my idea. And it was really easy to do. I think what happens when people who you love pass away, whether or not you have extra T-shirts or you have jeans in the house, whatever you had, you can make stuff out of it.
And I don't know if you can see this ring. This was a ring that I actually made out of my grandfather's cuff link. And so you can repurpose things that you have into something that's more meaningful for you today. And it brings joy as opposed to something that's really kind of sad. You can make it something that makes you happy.
LEMON: When my dad died, I inherited his ring. In one of this wedding, I wear his wedding band. I wear his rings if I go on a special occasion or black tie. I was thinking of having them redone. And I said, you know what, I'm just going to keep them classic and have it refitted to my finger. And that's how I remember my dad. People say, why are you wearing the ring and you're twisting it. It's not a wedding band. I mean, it is, but it's my dads.
Tell us about this Facebook page that you created.
GILBERT: You know what, the book came out a few months ago. And what was really surprising to me is how much people felt alone prior to reading the book. They felt that these feelings of parenting without your own parents was somewhat atypical. And of course, it's very usual.
And so for people to get connected on Facebook, all over the country, and around the world, to share some of the challenges has been a really nice, warm thing.
LEMON: I want to look at these photos. Why are they significant? Tell us about them.
GILBERT: Well, let me see which ones you are showing first. There's -- yes, this photo. These are three -- this is two generations of -- three generations. One of the parents who I interviewed for the book, that's his father in the middle. That's the grandfather. Those are the two adult grandsons that he never met. And so they photo shopped these images together. That photograph never happened. And so that was a really wonderful way of showing the physical traits that those grandsons inherited from the grandfather even though they never met the grand dad.
LEMON: Yes. It's so cool. And you know how you say once you get to know someone, once you see someone, you have a different -- we've known each other for a while just by telephone. And it's so good to see you in person. Now I feel like I know who you are.
GILBERT: Yes.
LEMON: I know who you are. I know who you are. And this is a book. It's called "Parentless Parents." "Parentless Parents," and it's by our very own Allison Gilbert who works here at CNN as well.
GILBERT: Thank you. Thank you so much.
LEMON: Thank you so much. Great idea.
GILBERT: Thank you.
LEMON: All right.
You know what? There's another very different kind of book out this Father's Day. And soon every frustrated parent will have it on their nightstands, I'm sure. It's called "Go the F to Sleep." And it's skyrocketing to the top of the New York Times Best Seller's list. The author is going to do a reading for us, and it's going to be hilarious. It's a great book.
GILBERT: Oh, it's a great book.
LEMON: Yes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SAMUEL L. JACKSON, ACTOR: The windows are dark in the town, child. The whales huddle down in the deep. I'll read you one very last book if you swear you'll go the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) to sleep.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Samuel L. Jackson reading the audio version of the funniest children's book that's not really a children's book. It's called "Go the F to Sleep," and it's for every parent who's dealt with the frustration of a kid who just won't go to bed.
It's only been out for a few days, and it's already a huge hit. It's also you know, a great last minute Father's Day gift as well depending on your dad's tolerance for four-letter words.
I talked to the author Adam Mansbach about whether he is concerned this book might end up in younger hands than he intended.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ADAM MANSBACH, AUTHOR, "GO THE F TO SLEEP": No, I don't, not if parents are doing their job well. You know, in any household there are a number of things that shouldn't end up in the hands of children, steak knives, for instance. And this is just another one. So we trust that parents will be able to exercise some judgment, keep this on a high shelf just as they would any other object that is for them and not for their children.
LEMON: You have a really good sense of humor about it. It's probably part of the appeal of the book.
I have to ask you, though, how did you get Samuel L. Jackson, who is something of a poet when it comes to the F word to do the audio book for you? MANSBACH: Yes, it's amazing. I think it's the best possible person in the world to do it. It may be his best work since "Pulp Fiction." Our audio book publisher, Audible.com, hooked that up. But he was, you know, super high on my list personally of people to do it. So it's just great to hear him do it.
LEMON: All right. So, listen, and I'm serious, how are you going to tell your kids not to say bad words, how not to curse after you make a mint of the "F" word here?
MANSBACH: Well, you know, I'm a writer by trade. When I'm not doing this, I'm writing novels. So I'm somebody who believes in the power of language. And I believe in the power of judiciously placed and expertly executed profanity.
So there is a place for it. It's just not in the mouths of 3- year-old or 8-year-olds. When my daughter is old enough, I'll let her in on it. And I'll also explain to her that this book is the reason that we're living in a house and not in a dumpster outside of an abandoned Taco Bell.
LEMON: That is hilarious. You don't have the book with you, do you?
MANSBACH: I don't have the book in front of me, no.
LEMON: Do you remember anything from the book? Because I wanted you to do a reading for us, but if there's something that you can remember from the book because I want people to know just how funny it is and what you actually say if you can recount something.
MANSBACH: Sure, I think I can bring to mind a sample verse. I can't promise that I'll doing it as well as Samuel Jackson or as well as Werner Herzog read it at the public library for us, but I'll do my best.
"All the kids from daycare are in dreamland. The froggy has made his last leap. Hell, no, you can't go to the bathroom. You know where you can go? Go the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) to sleep.
LEMON: Obviously, we are beeping the "F" part of that.
So Adam, thank you. Adam Mansbach. It's amazing. Continued success. We really appreciate it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: All right. It's called and "Go the F to Sleep." And that's what I'm going to do right now.
I'm Don Lemon in the CNN NEWSROOM in New York. Thanks for watching.
I'll see you back here tomorrow night. Have a great night.
