"Happy Birthday" rights

[SillyRed]

Sesame Street has used that song for many years, they must be rich!!
"Grouchy Birthday" was funny!!
Have thay ever got sued for using that birthday song, it isn't public domain, you know. It was even used in the Muppet Show eppy with Lynda Carter.

 

[Jeffrey Gray]

They weren't sued...they always paid the owners for the rights to use the song...and I don't think it's that expensive, or maybe they signed a contract allowing use for multiple years...

 

[SillyRed]

Nickelodeon uses different birthday songs, Bear in the Big Blue House has their very own b-day song based on the musical scale-sort of.

 

[Splurge]

Which birthday song isn't in the public domain? Do you mean "Happy Birthday to You", the song that people try to harmonize?

Or are you speaking of the Beatles' "Happy Birthday" song?

 

[SillyRed]

Neither are Public Domain

 

[Hays]

I've always appreciated that Sesame Street wasn't cheap and paid for the rights to that song; I really hate it when TV shows, restaurant chains, and movies try to make up their own. It's become an American ritual. The Elmo's World Birthday show, although it sang the "Birthday Song" to the tune of Jingle Bells, also has that one; my son learned it from the show.

I thought Michael Jackson actually owned the rights to it now, along with his collection of Beatles songs, but I found an interesting "Urban Legends" link that discusses this if anybody's interested.

http://www.snopes.com/music/songs/birthday.htm

 

[Fozzie Bear]

Here's some history about that song.

http://www.ibiblio.org/team/fun/birthday/

FZ

 

[roadrat15]

That reminds me of an old Cheech and Chong album cut where they claimed the three most popular songs in the history of the U.S. are : Happy Birthday To You, Auld Lang Syne, and Inna Gadda
Da Vidda!