Today is my son’s seven birthday. So I started to wonder, where did the Happy Birthday song originate?

“Happy Birthday to You” is the most recongized song in the English language and the lyrics have been translated into at least 18 languages. The original melody is from a song entitled “Good Morning to All.” This song was written by Patty Hill and Mildred J. Hill, two American sisters in 1893. They used this song in their kindergarten classes.

The “Happy Birthday to You” song first appeared in print in 1912, but probably existed earlier. A copyright was placed on the song in 1935 by the Summy Company, but listed the authors as Orem and Forman. The company, and the copyright, was purchased by Warner Chappell in 1990. Warner Chappell claims that unauthorized public performances are illegal unless royalties are paid. The copyright expires in 2030. Disney actually paid $5,000 for the song to appear in one of its movies. For this reason, movies do not show the entire song being sung.

A real shame that this world is run by greedy people.