Rick Miller wrote:
This turns out to be an incorrect urban legend, which is fully detailed on this web page: <http://www.snopes.com/music/songs/birthday.htm>.
Sometime back in the 1980's (I think), Sir Paul McCartney took advantage of some "special problems" in the British Copyright law to claim the well-known traditional song, "Happy Birthday". He then began demanding money for performances of "his" song in the United States, including anything where the folks might have been considered to be paid for singing it: TV shows, radio programs, and even when the staff of a restaurant sings it to a customer!
The long and short of it is that the melody for "Happy Birthday To You" was written in 1893 by Mildred Hill in Louisville, Kentucky, and her sister, Patty Smith Hill, added lyrics ("Good Morning To All"), intending it to be a song sung to kindergarten students by teachers at the beginning of the school day. It was first published that year in the book "Song Stories for the Kindergarten". Over time, it mutated to "Good Morning To You", because it was mor popular as sung TO the teacher than BY the teacher.
"Happy Birthday to You" appeared in a 1924 songbook, as a second stanza to "Good Morning To You". When it was used in the 1933 Irving Berlin musical "As Thousands Cheer", Jessica Hill (Mildred and Patty's sister and copyright administrator) sued and won, gaining copyright on "Happy Birthday To You". It was published and registered in 1934, and has been protected by copyright ever since. The copyright was due to expire in 1991, but various copyright extensions have pushed the date back to 2030.
The current owners of the copyrights are Summy-Birchard Music, a part of AOL-Time Warner, and they collect about $2 million per year in royalties for the song. Part of those royalties go to the Hill Foundation, set up to manage the Hill's share of the royalties
Now you hear everything *but* that old folk song, despite the fact that every family in the US could claim prior art. It's one of the best examples I know of Copyright law abuse.
-Rick
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