:''This song has no relation to the song traditionally sung on people's birthdays.'' "Happy Birthday" is a song written, produced and performed by Stevie Wonder for the Motown label. Wonder, a

social activist Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in Social change, social, Political campaign, political, economic or Natural environment, environmental reform with the desire to make Social change, changes i ...

, was one of the main figures in the campaign to have the birthday of

Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...

become a national holiday, and created this single to promulgate the cause. The song has since become a standard for use during birthdays in general, particularly among

African-Americans African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of enslav ...

. "Happy Birthday" was released as the fourth single of Wonder's '' Hotter than July'' (1980) album in June 1981. It was one of his most popular entries in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. It was not released in the United States, but is still regarded as one of his signature songs.

Background

The song, one of many of Wonder's songs to feature the use of a

keyboard synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and f ...

, features Wonder lamenting the fact that anyone would oppose the idea of a Dr. King holiday, where "peace is celebrated throughout the world" and singing to King in the chorus, "Happy birthday to you". The holiday, he proposes, would facilitate the realization of Dr. King's dreams of integration and "love and unity for all of God's children". Wonder used the song to popularize the campaign, and continued his fight for the holiday, holding the Rally for Peace Press Conference in 1981. United States President Ronald Reagan approved the creation of the holiday, signing it into existence on November 2, 1983. The first official

Martin Luther King Jr. Day Martin Luther King Jr. Day (officially Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., and sometimes referred to as MLK Day) is a federal holiday in the United States marking the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. It is observed on the third Mond ...

, held the third Monday in January of each year, was held on January 20, 1986, and was commemorated with a large-scale concert, where Wonder was the headlining performer. "Happy Birthday" was released as a single in several countries. In the UK, the song became one of Wonder's biggest hits, reaching number two in the charts in 1981. When Wonder performed the song at

Nelson Mandela Day Nelson Mandela International Day (or Mandela Day) is an annual international day in honour of Nelson Mandela, celebrated each year on 18 July, Mandela's birthday. The day was officially declared by the United Nations in November 2009, with the ...

at Radio City Music Hall on July 19, 2009, he slightly changed the lyrics, "Thanks to

Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African anti-apartheid activist who served as the first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was the country's first black head of state and the ...

and Martin Luther King!" in the second verse. Wonder also performed this song at the

Diamond Jubilee Concert The Diamond Jubilee Concert was a British music concert and celebration held outside Buckingham Palace on The Mall in London on 4 June 2012. The concert was organised by Take That singer-songwriter Gary Barlow and was part of Queen Elizabeth ...

in London for the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II.

Personnel

* Stevie Wondervocals, synthesizer, drums, background vocals,

ARP synthesizer ARP Instruments, Inc. was a Lexington, Massachusetts manufacturer of electronic musical instruments, founded by Alan Robert Pearlman in 1969. It created a popular and commercially successful range of synthesizers throughout the 1970s before de ...

, keyboards, bass melodeon

Charts

Certifications

References

{{authority control 1980 songs 1981 singles Motown singles Number-one singles in Israel Protest songs Song recordings produced by Stevie Wonder Songs about birthdays Songs about Martin Luther King Jr. Songs written by Stevie Wonder Stevie Wonder songs