Traditional - Happy Birthday To You

First performance: 23/10/1975


Coverinfo

Bruce performed the song 18 times and once as a snippet:
 
 
2020-01-18 Paramount Theatre, Asbury Park
2014-01-18 Paramount Theatre, Asbury Park
2012-09-22 MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford
2012-01-14 Paramount Theatre, Asbury Park
2011-10-01 Beacon Theatre, New York City
2010-01-16 Paramount Theatre, Asbury Park, NJ 
2009-05-03 Madison Square Garden, New York City
2008-07-28 Giants Stadium, East Rutherford
2006-12-02 Starland Ballroom, Sayreville
2002-04-14 Stone Pony (The), Asbury Park
2002-01-11 B.B. King Niteclub, Mashantucket
 
Bruce sings happy birthday to you as an introduction to growin' up and dedicates it to John....
 
1996-10-22 San Diego Civic Theatre, San Diego
 
1995-05-00 Fogerty Residence, Los Angeles 
Bruce performs in John Fogerty's living room during Fogerty's 50th birthday party. Location and date are uncertain, but an extensive setlist is known from video circulated by participant John Stamos.
 
link to John Stamos' fb page
 
 
 
1988-04-23 Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, Los Angeles
1982-09-25 Stone Pony (The), Asbury Park
1979-01-11 Lock Stock And Barrel, Fair Haven
1975-10-23 Gerde's Folk City, New York City
 
during ROSALITA 
 
1984-09-22 Civic Arena, Pittsburgh
played by Nils for Bruce  
  

Songinfo

"Happy Birthday to You", also known as "Happy Birthday", is a song traditionally sung to celebrate the anniversary of a person's birth. According to the 1998 Guinness World Records, it is the most recognized song in the English language, followed by "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow". The song's base lyrics have been translated into at least 18 languages. The melody of "Happy Birthday to You" comes from the song "Good Morning to All", which has traditionally been attributed to American sisters Patty and Mildred J. Hill in 1893, although the claim that the sisters composed the tune is disputed. Patty Hill was a kindergarten principal in Louisville, Kentucky developing various teaching methods at the Little Loomhouse, and her sister Mildred was a pianist and composer. The sisters used "Good Morning to All" as a song that young children would find easy to sing. The combination of melody and lyrics in "Happy Birthday to You" first appeared in print in 1912. None of the early appearances of the "Happy Birthday to You" lyrics included credits or copyright notices. The Summy Company registered a copyright in 1935, crediting authors Preston Ware Orem and Mrs. R. R. Forman. In 1988, Warner/Chappell Music purchased the company owning the copyright for US$25 million, with the value of "Happy Birthday" estimated at US$5 million. Warner claimed that the United States copyright would not expire until 2030, and that unauthorized public performances of the song are illegal unless royalties are paid. In February 2010, the royalty for a single use was US$700. By one estimate, the song is the highest-earning single song in history. In the European Union, the copyright for the song expired on January 1, 2017. The American copyright status of "Happy Birthday to You" began to draw more attention with the passage of the Copyright Term Extension Act in 1998. The Supreme Court upheld the Act in Eldred v. Ashcroft in 2003, and Associate Justice Stephen Breyer specifically mentioned "Happy Birthday to You" in his dissenting opinion. American law professor Robert Brauneis extensively researched the song and concluded in 2010 that "it is almost certainly no longer under copyright." Good Morning to You Productions sued Warner/Chappell for falsely claiming copyright to the song in 2013. In September 2015, a federal judge declared that the Warner/Chappell copyright claim was invalid, ruling that the copyright registration applied only to a specific piano arrangement of the song and not to its lyrics and melody. In 2016, Warner/Chappell settled for $14 million, and the court declared that "Happy Birthday to You" is in the public domain.
 

Other cover versions

Bruce on the artist

Lyrics

Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday dear [NAME]
Happy birthday to you.