Happy Birthday to You: The 1893 Song Two Sisters Wrote for a Classroom
Happy Birthday to You was written in 1893 by two sisters, Mildred and Patti Smith Hill, in Louisville, Kentucky. It started as a classroom greeting called Good Morning to All, not the birthday song the whole world knows today. James walks through how a simple tune for schoolchildren became the most frequently sung song in the English language.
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Transcript
It's American Rewind.
Speaker A:You've probably heard this song before.
Speaker A:In fact, I'd bet you just about anything you've sung it, too, whether you wanted to or not.
Speaker A:Happy birthday to you Happy birthday to you Happy birthday, dear Happy birthday to you Happy birthday to you Has a melody so simple a toddler could sing it.
Speaker A:And by most measures, it's the most frequently sung song in the English language.
Speaker A: n in Louisville, Kentucky, in: Speaker A:They composed it as Good morning to all as a greeting for Patti's classroom.
Speaker A: Mildred died in: Speaker A:Neither knew that their little tune would still be sung to this day.
Speaker A:On that note, I'm James A.
Speaker A:Brown.
Speaker A:And as always, be well.
