Chris Caton-Greasley
Jul 4, 20221 min
According to the 1998 Guinness Book of Records Happy Birthday is the most recognisable song in the English Language. [1]
This history of this is disputed, however the accepted history is that it is based on a song by the Hill sisters called 'Good Morning to All' [2]
The lyrics of Happy Birthday first appeared in 1935 [3] and was copywritten, this copyright would have expired 75 years later in 2010. This was overturned by a judge [4] who ruled
In a stunning reversal of decades of copyright claims, the judge ruled that Warner/Chappell never had the right to charge for the use of the “Happy Birthday To You” song. Warner had been enforcing a copyright since 1988, when it bought Birch Tree Group, the successor to Clayton F. Summy Co., which claimed the original disputed copyright.
Note: This version includes a dotted quaver semiquaver rhythm which is not covered in level 2 - however it is accepted that everyone plays this rhythm so it should be included.
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