Happy Birthday Mr Weatherman. This one's for you....
Did you know that According to the 1998 Guinness Book of World Records, "Happy Birthday to You" 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 was written and composed by American siblings Patty Hill and Mildred J. Hill in 1893.
The combination of melody and lyrics in "Happy Birthday to You" first appeared in print in 1912, and probably existed even earlier. None of these early appearances included credits or copyright notices. The Summy Company registered for copyright in 1935, crediting authors Preston Ware Orem and Mrs. R.R. Forman.[citation needed] In 1990, Warner/Chappell purchased the company owning the copyright for $15 million,
with the value of "Happy Birthday" estimated at $5 million. Based on the 1935 copyright registration, Warner claims that the United States copyright will not expire until 2030, and that
unauthorized public performances of the song are technically illegal unless royalties are paid to it. In one specific instance in February 2010, these royalties were said to amount to $700. In the European Union, the copyright of the song will expire on December 31, 2016. The actual American copyright status of "Happy Birthday to You" began to draw more attention with the passage of the Copyright Term Extension Act in 1998. When the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the Act in Eldred v. Ashcroft in 2003, Associate Justice Stephen Breyer specifically mentioned "Happy Birthday to You" in his dissenting opinion.
Somt other interesting facts you may not be aware of. In China, giving a gift of a clock for a birthday is considered bad luck. The most common birthday in the us is October 5th. I guess that means a lot of Americans 'get busy' around the Christmas holidays
Globallyt the popular date is in August.
Did you realise that 31,536,000 seconds have passed since your last birthday? You share a birthday with all the following: Aretha Franklin. Elton John, Sarah Jessica Parker and Katharine McPhee. Your birth stone is an aquamarine and your star sign is Aries. On your birthday in 1965, Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. led 25,000 marchers to the state capitol in Montgomery, Alabama, to protest the denial of voting rights to blacks.
One last thought... Paul McCartney's Birth Certificate was auctioned in March 1997, for US $84,146. It is believed to be the world's most expensive Birth Certificate.
Happy birthday VWM, and to the others too, and a very merry un-birthday to the rest of us.
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