Happy Birthday Jingle
The very popular, 100-year-old 'Happy Birthday to You' song has become an indispensable part of birthday celebrations across the world. The melody is not all sweet though; the confusion and ambiguity concerning the true song writer led to much controversy.
1. As one story goes …
It's considered the joint work of two American sisters, Mildred Hill, a schoolteacher in Louisville Kentucky Kindergarten and Dr Patty Hill who was a Principal in the same school. It was originally titled 'Good Morning to All' and bore the same ecognizable tune that was first published in 1893 in the book, 'Song Stories for the Kindergarten'. It credited Patty Hill for the lyrics and Mildred Hill for the music.
Over the years, the song became extremely popular in schools across the US. The melody was passed into public domain, and it became "safe" to hum it in public without permission. It is said that 40 years later, Patty Hill came up with the words, 'Happy Birthday to You, Happy Birthday to You, Happy Birthday Dear DADADA, Happy Birthday to You'. The entire song was published in 1935.
2. The second version …
The 'Good Morning to All' song was published by Dr Patty Hill. But soon after, a gentleman called Robert H. Coleman published the same song, without the sisters' permission but with a second verse; entitled 'Happy Birthday to You'. The addition of the birthday verse was said to have popularised the song, and over the years the Hill sisters' original composition disappeared. The Birthday Song gained popularity in the late 1930s when it was sung in 'As Thousands Cheer' : a Broadway Production.
Today, the Guinness Book of World Records recognizes 'Happy Birthday to You' as one of the three most popular songs in the English language — the other two being 'Auld Lang Syne' and 'For He's a Jolly Good Fellow.' The Birthday Song is popular all over the world and has been translated into dozens of languages. However, the English version is most popular, and is even sung in places where English is not a primary language. After Mildred Hill died in 1916, Dr Patty Hill took Coleman to court over the copyright issue of the song. It was proved in court that Mildred and Patty co-owned the melody.
Therefore the family became the legal owners of the song and were entitled to royalties whenever it was sung for commercial purpose. Ownership of the song swapped hands in a multi-million dollar deal in 1989. The current copyright of the song is owned by Warner Communications, purchased for more than $28 million dollars.
The copyright of the song has been extended several times and is now not due to expire until at least 2030. It therefore follows that one cannot use the "Happy Birthday to You" lyrics for profit without paying royalties. In other words, unauthorized public performances of the song are technically illegal. So, each time you hear the song sung on TV or radio, it means royalties have been paid to Warner Communications.
