Happy Birthday To You (All)

On 22nd September 2015, US Judge George King ruled that the original copyright to Happy Birthday was invalid and the song would now be entirely in the public domain. 

The tune was originally composed 1893 by Mildred and Patty Hill, two sisters from Kentucky, and titled Good Morning To All. This subsequently evolved into the song that you, me, pretty much the whole world has been singing ever since.

The copyright was filed in 1935, and obtained by the Clayton F. Summy Co. from the sisters,; the company was succeeded by Birch Tree Group, which claimed the copyright. 

In 1988, Warner/Chappell acquired the copyright for $15 million when it bought the Birch Tree Group, and had been collecting fees on the song since then. In 2015, revenue was estimated at $2 million a year (approx. £1.95 million today), from charging every time Happy Birthday was used in a film, television episode, advertisement or other public performance.

In 2013, documentary filmmaker Jennifer Nelson filed a putative class action suit against Warner/Chappell, in the name of her production company Good Morning To You Productions. Warner/Chappell had asked for $1,500 (roughly £1,520 in 2025) for the right to use Happy Birthday To You in a documentary that she was making about the song and its history. 

A week later, a further suit Rupa Marya v. Warner Chappell Music Inc was filed by Rupa Marya and Robert Siegel, and subsequently the two suits were combined, arguing that Happy Birthday was in the public domain and should not be subject to copyright fees.

Ultimately, Judge King ruled that the original copyright was only granted for the melody, and the rights to piano arrangements based on the melody, not the song itself. In other words, the Clayton F. Summy Co. had never acquired copyright to the song's words.

At the time of the ruling, Happy Birthday remained in copyright in the European Union, but happily this expired on 1st January 2017 and is now fully in the public domain.

All of which seems a good excuse to wish this varied bunch a Happy Birthday, sharing a special day with the date of this landmark legal victory.

Toni Basil (82)

David Coverdale (74)

Vudi aka Mark Pankler (73)

Richard Fairbrass (72)

Doug Wimbish (69)

Nick Cave (68)

Andrea Boccelli (67)

Joan Jett (67)

Billie Piper (43)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Double Dub '85

When posting the first Dub '85 selection in January, following on from Dub '83 in September 2023, I said that I would eventually get around to Dub '84. 

Today is not that day, however, as I revisit 1985 for another dozen dubs of popular hits (well, some of them were popular, anyway).

By the mid-80s, 12" remixes and dubs had become the norm to the extent that even James Brown and Joan Jett & The Blackhearts were getting in on the act. And, believe it or not, this is the first time that Red Hot Chili Peppers have appeared on this blog. 

Others like Pet Shop Boys, Big Audio Dynamite, Bangles and Talking Heads are much more familiar round these parts. I've included Swing Out Sister but you've been spared Simply Red on this occasion.

 

Oh, and I've managed to string out this week's ad-hoc German theme for one more day, by including Gina X and Zeus B. Held.

I dug (or should that be dubbed?) myself into a hole with the previous couple of Dub posts, by providing a slipshod facsimile of a rather wonderful Saturday morning quiz. Rol's solicitor is sending the heavies round Sunday lunchtime. Oh well, here we go....

1) It will be no surprise that Zeus B. Held, Shep Pettibone, Belouis Some and Gina X are pseudonyms. But which artist's real name is Neville?

2) What is the connection between Swing Out Sister and A Certain Ratio?

3) Which video variously features a pair of flippers, a shuttlecock, a party hat and a bird perched on a doughnut?

4) Which of today's line-up performed at Live Aid?

5) In 1985, which producer/remixer appeared in the pages of The Scum newspaper, photo depicting them smashing their TV with a hammer in protest at Doctor Who being 'rested' by Michael Grade?

Answers will be posted in the Comments below on Sunday morning.

1) Living In America (Dubstramental) (Remix By Dan Hartman): James Brown

2) Hit That Perfect Beat (Instant Dub) (Remix By Ian Levine): Bronski Beat

3) Walking Down Your Street (Dub Version By Steve Beltran): Bangles

4) Hollywood (Africa) (Dub Mix By Steve Thompson & Michael Barbiero) (Cover of 'Africa' by The Meters): Red Hot Chili Peppers 

5) No G.D.M. (Dub Version By Zeus B. Held): Gina X

6) A Party (Dub) (Remix By Paul 'Groucho' Smykle) (Edit): Big Audio Dynamite

7) And She Was (Dub) (Remix By Eric 'ET' Thorngren & David Byrne): Talking Heads

8) The Broken Years (Dub) (Remix By Gary Langan): Hipsway

9) West End Dub (Remix By Shep Pettibone): Pet Shop Boys

10) Imagination (Dub Mix By Steve Thompson & Michael Barbiero): Belouis Some

11) Blue Mood (Dubbed Up Mix By Paul Staveley O'Duffy): Swing Out Sister

12) Bombs Away (Dub Version By Mark Berry & Mark Richardson) (Cover of 'Cherry Bomb' by The Runaways): Joan Jett & The Blackhearts

Double Dub '85 (1:11:22) (KF) (Mega)

If that's not enough 80s dub for you, I've reposted Dub '85 and Dub '83.