Stevie’s legendary song “Happy Birthday” was originally part of the long, hard battle to turn Dr. King’s birthday into a national holiday. When Dr. King was assassinated, his approval rating with white people was very low. At that point, he was not beloved by them. It took a lot of careful, steady, thoughtful, diplomatic work by Coretta Scott King to change his image and win over politicians. Stevie Wonder was committed to that struggle and this song is just one of the things he did for Dr. King. In this episode, we talk to King's daughter Bernice as well as the engineers who worked with Stevie on the song. We talk about how they got us to having a King holiday and what that fight meant to Stevie. And why he usually records in the middle of the night.
Guests:
Dr. Chrissy Greer, Professor, Fordham University
Jelani Cobb, Professor, Columbia University
Lon Neumann, Recording Engineer, Happy Birthday
Gary Adante, Lead Engineer, Happy Birthday
Dr. Bernice King, CEO The King Center
Reverend Dr. Barbara Reynolds, Journalist
Credits:
Stevie Wonder - Happy Birthday
- Writer: Stevie Wonder
- Label: Motown Records
- Publisher: Black Bull Music Inc, Jobete Music Co Inc
Public Enemy - By the Time I Get to Arizona
- Writer: Chuck D, Neftali Santiago, Mandrill, Stuart Robertz, G-Wiz & C-Dawg
- Label: Def Jam and Colombia Records
- Publisher: Sony Music Entertainment
Stevie Wonder sings "Happy Birthday" Martin Luther King, CSPAN
Stevie Wonder on creating Martin Luther King Day 1983, CNN
Public Enemy, Arsenio Hall (1993)
Martin Luther King, Jr. on Income Inequality and Redistribution of Wealth, Insaaf Blog
Harold Washington, CBS Chicago
Republican President Reagan’s Jaw-Dropping Press Conference the Day Martin Luther King Holiday Was Passed, Mediaite
Public Enemy Chuck D Interview, ABC News (1992)
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