Today I'm celebrating my birthday. So I thought I'd better pick one song that would be sort of appropriate. The title certainly is. 'Happy Birthday' was released by Stevie Wonder in 1981 as part of his campaign to have the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. become a national holiday in the USA. The single bizzarrely didn't reach the US Billboard Hot 100, but reached number 2 in the UK singles chart and number 10 in the Dutch Top 40.Wonder used the song to popularize the campaign, and continued his fight for the holiday. President Ronald Reagan approved the creation of the holiday, signing it into existence on November 2, 1983. The first official Martin Luther King, Jr. Day was held on January 20, 1986, and was commemorated with a large-scale concert, where Stevie Wonder was the headlining performer.
My collection: 7" single no. 2818
Found: Record fair, Amsterdam, February 1, 1997
Cost: 2 guilders
Tracks: 'Happy Birthday' / 'Happy Birthday (instrumental)'
Happy birthday.
ReplyDeleteHave a fabulous day. And thanks for sharing all the great music.
All good things, Jon
Happy birthday (I think I'm just about on time!)
ReplyDeletetijd om je dan een gelukkige verjaardag te wensen en je meteen (eindelijk) eens te danken voor deze blog. Leuk, vooral ook om die b-kantjes eens te horen.
ReplyDeletekeep up the good work!
Hallo, ik heb zojuist je site ontdekt (via de links pagina van Burning The Ground). Ziet er goed uit.
ReplyDeleteEn ik heb direct al een verzoek ... is het mogelijk om deze single (Happy Birthday van Stevie Wonder) nog een keer beschikbaar te stellen? Dat zou ik heel fijn vinden.
Groeten,
Peter