Happy Birthday by Stevie Wonder (1980)

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Happy Birthday Cover

Happy Birthday is a song released in 1980 as the fourth single of singer-songwriter, Stevie Wonder Hotter than July, which was released in April 1981. The song was produced and performed by Wonder for the Motown label. As an activist, Wonder was one of the figures who campaigned that the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. became a national holiday and since then, the song has become a birthday song in general use. Happy Birthday became one of Wonder’s most popular entries and reached number #2 in the UK Charts. [1]

Key Lyrics

And we all know everything,

That he stood for time will bring,

For in peace, our hearts will sing,

Thanks to Martin Luther King,

Happy birthday to you [2]

Black Empowerment

Wonder wrote the song as one of his actions to popularize the campaign, and continued his fight to make Martin Luther King Jr. become a national holiday. He proposes the holiday would be as a realization of Dr. King’s dreams of integration and "love and unity for all of God's children". His fight paid off as the U.S. President at that time, Ronald Reagan approved the creation of the holiday, and signed it on November 2, 1983. On January 20, 1986, the official Martin Luther King Jr. Day was first held. [3]

Happy Birthday is one of the hits that would be known and used by millions of people as a celebration song, while the message of the song contains unity and love. There is a lyrics :

You know it doesn't make much sense // There ought to be a law against // Anyone who takes offense // At a day in your celebration // by means why cannot we have a day where we can celebrate peace. This became remarkable as a protest song, it is a genius way to make a song enlightening and fill up everyone’s heart with a positive feeling. [4]

References