Stevie Wonder: "Happy Birthday"

Stevie Wonder was a leader in establishing Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a national American holiday. In 1981, he wrote and produced this song to support the campaign. Of course, the chorus -- "Happy birthday to you!" -- is the catchy part that people remember, but the lyrics are, typical of Stevie, simple and matter-of-fact:

I just never understood
How a man who died for good
Could not have a day that would
Be set aside for his recognition
Because it should never be
Just because some cannot see
The dream as clear as he
that they should make it become an illusion
And we all know everything
That he stood for time will bring
For in peace our hearts will sing
Thanks to Martin Luther King

Happy birthday to you! (repeated)

And so on, for a few verses. The campaign was, of course, successful -- President Reagan signed MLK Day into law in 1983. Held the third Monday of January (MLK was born January 15, but they wanted this to be a Memorial Day/Labor Day, always-Monday type of deal), the first MLK Day was in 1986 and was marked with a giant concert headlined by -- you guessed it -- Stevie Wonder. I looked for that performance but I couldn't find it on YouTube, but this one's got great sound and picture, plus bonus cameos from a variety of celebrities, including Aretha Franklin, Morgan Freeman, Josh Groban, and Cyndi Lauper.

Last year I read parts of Dr. King's book Strength to Love for a class on English prose style. As if being an inspirational social figure wasn't enough, Dr. King is also an incredible writer. His sentences are balanced and beautifully simple -- much like his message of love and peace. The book is composed of sermons, designed to be read aloud. Listen to the music of his words:

"Our planet teeters on the brink of atomic annihilation; dangerous passions of pride, hatred, and selfishness are enthroned in our lives; thruth lies prostrate on the rugged hills of nameless calvaries; and men do reverence before false gods of national and materialism. The saving of our world from pending doom will come, not through the complacent adjustment of the conforming majority, but through the creative maladjustment of a nonconforming minority...I confess that I never intend to become adjusted to the evils of segregation and the crippling effects of discrimination, to the moral degeneracy of religious bigotry and the corroding effects of narrow sectarianism, to economic conditions that deprive men of work and food, and to the insanities of militarism and the self-defeating effects of physical violence."

To hear his words in his own mesmerizing cadence, check out Dr. King's famous "I Have a Dream" speech here.

Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day -- and thanks to Stevie for helping make it happen!