Happy Birthday to You

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Happy Birthday to You. Song comp. by Mildred Hill (1859–1916) of Louisville, Kentucky, and published by Clayton F. Summy, head of Chicago mus. pub. firm (est. 1888) as ‘Good morning to all’ in Song Stories for the Kindergarten, 1893, and later as march ‘Happy birthday’, 1934. Pubd. as song ‘Happy birthday to you’ with words by Patty Smith Hill (1868–1916) in Union School Chorus Music, 1935. Popular as choral greeting on birthdays. Used—not knowing it was Summy's copyright—by Stravinsky as basis for his short Greetings Prelude, comp. for Monteux's 80th birthday, 1955.

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Happy Birthday to You

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