Alamy Stock Photoīrooklyn native Nelson George, 63, took the Amtrak train down from New York to DC to join the masses. Jesse Jackson and Martin Luther King III - Wonder made his biggest statement when he sang “Happy Birthday.”Ĥ “Happy Birthday” debuted on Wonder’s 1980 album Hotter Than July. King was a champion for justice and liberty.”īut for many in attendance - including African-American stars such as Diana Ross, Gladys Knight and Gil Scott-Heron, as well as civil rights activists such as the Rev. Designating his birthday a national holiday would create an event for all Americans, for Dr. In his speech delivered that day, Wonder said, “We ought to have a way to honor this human being and reaffirm the ideals he lived and died for. More than 25,000 people descended upon the National Mall, marching from the Capitol to the Washington Monument in the quest for MLK Day. The song - with its jubilant “Happy birthday to ya!” chorus - has been sung at countless birthday celebrations in the 40 years since it was released as a single in 1981 after first appearing on Wonder’s 1980 album “Hotter Than July.”īut the R&B legend gave perhaps the most important performance of the tribute tune at a Washington, DC rally he spearheaded, which was held on King’s birthday, Jan. Reinventing the “Happy Birthday” song is kind of like reinventing the “ABC’s.”īut that’s exactly what the genius of Stevie Wonder accomplished with his “Happy Birthday” classic that became the anthem of the movement to make Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday a national holiday. Martin Luther King Jr.: The best of America King’s impact on Black athletes during the Civil Rights Movementĭear Abby: None of my coworkers remembered my birthday and my manager made me cry Dexter Scott King, son of Martin Luther King Jr., dead at 62 after battling prostate cancerĭr.
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