‘Happy Birthday to You,’ often known as ‘Happy Birthday,’ is a song that is traditionally sung on someone’s birthday. It is the most well-known song in the English language, according to Guinness World Records from 1998, and is followed by ‘For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow.’ The base lyrics of the song have been translated into at least 18 other languages.
The music for ‘Happy Birthday to You’ derives from the song ‘Good Morning to All’, which has been credited to American sisters Patty and Mildred J. Hill since 1893, though they claim that they wrote the tune is debatable.
In the United States and the European Union, music is in the public domain. Warner Chappell Music had previously claimed copyright on the song in the United States and collected licensing payments for its use; however, the copyright claim was deemed unlawful in 2015, and Warner Chappell agreed to refund $14 million in licensing fees.
Patty Smith Hill, who was born on March 27, 1868, was a composer and teacher best remembered for co-writing the tune that ultimately became known as ‘Happy Birthday to You’ with her sister Mildred Hill. She was a nursery school and kindergarten teacher in the United States, as well as a significant creator of the National Association for Nursery Education (NANE), which is now known as the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).
Mildred Jane Hill, an American songwriter, and musicologist,
was born on June 27, 1859, and wrote the tune for ‘Good Morning to All,’ which was later utilized as the melody for ‘Happy Birthday to You.’
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