Lance's program, Sat., 06/27/2009: Happy Birthday Song

[Lance]

Dear friends of CMG:

On Saturday, June 27, 2009, I am presenting a birthday broadcast to the HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU song, created by Mildred J. Hill and Patty Smith Hill, sisters born in Kentucky, USA. It's an international song and sung in just about every country and in instrumental and orchestral transcriptions. No, Mildred J. and Patty Smith Hill are NOT related to yours truly, but I wish they were! Royalties are still being paid on the song.

This is much more than you may want to know about "Happy Birthday," however, the song was the inspiration for others to expand on the tune and some of it incredibly good.

The program is heard at 7:00 p.m. EASTERN time on your computer at this link:

http://wpel.streamon.fm/player/streampl ... 32k&type=1

The program can be heard anywhere in the world as long as you have a computer with speakers and adjust your time schedule to equate to 7:00 p.m. Eastern time. My usual descriptive dialogue about the artist precedes the musical content.

The program includes:

•Orchestral arrangement by Chris Hazell (in a live performance in tribute to Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, soprano)
•John Bayless, pianist/composer performs his Happy Birthday Improvisations in the Style of Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Ravel, Stravinsky, Gershwin and Bayless
•Peter Heidrich: Happy Birthday Variations with Gidon Kremer and Kremerata Baltica [outstanding!]
•Leonid Hambro, pianist, performs his own "Happy Birthday Variations in Ludwig's Style
•Bayless: Two piano transcriptions after Bach's Prelude #1 in C Major from the WTC, and Glory Unto Thee Be Given,"
performed by John Bayless

I hope you will enjoy the program and come back with any comments you have about the music aired or your reaction to the what others can do with this famous tune. Happy listening!

All best wishes,
—Lance

[Wallingford]

Wow! I'll try to tune in to that one, Lance.....especially as my own birthday will be more than just around the bend.

[ch1525]

I have a funny story about Happy Birthday. A couple weeks ago, when it was Pentecost Sunday, the Reverend of the church where I am choir director told me he was going to have people sing Happy Birthday during his sermon since Pentecost is often thought of as the birthday of the Christian church. He wanted me to play along, and I responded that I had no idea how to play it without music. He was surprised and said he thought I would have known it. I said it was just something I never bothered to commit to memory and that I never learned how to play chopsticks either!

Anyway, in the meantime, I was able to find the sheet music to Happy Birthday on my iPhone. So I set it down on the piano and played it right off of my iPhone!!! Steve Jobs would have been proud!