Stevie Wonder put his music where his heart is when it came to getting Martin Luther King, Jr. honored with a national holiday. Wonder’s song “Happy Birthday” kept the renowned civil rights icon in the spotlight, paving the way for a national holiday in Dr. King’s honour.
The movement to honour Dr. King’s Jan. 15 birthday had been growing since his 1968 assassination, an event that shocked the world as Dr. King was known for his desire to bring people together.
“Happy Birthday” was written and recorded by Wonder after a 1979 bill to honor Dr. King with a national holiday was defeated in Congress. The song “Happy Birthday” is on Wonder’s “Hotter Than July” album released in 1980, and the track was subsequently released as a single in 1981.
On Dr. King’s birthday of that year, Wonder held a Rally For Peace Press Conference on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. and the song “Happy Birthday” took on an important new meaning.
Following the continued push to honor Dr. King, by 1983 the bill was re-introduced and signed into legislation. MLK Day would finally become a national holiday and day of service in 1986. The US celebrates MLK Day on the third Monday in January.
Listen to “Hotter Than July” and other Stevie Wonder tracks here.
Listen to ‘Happy Birthday’ here:
– Edited by John Daly