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Happy Birthday to You: The 1893 Song Two Sisters Wrote for a Classroom
12th June 2026 • The Daily Note with James A. Brown • James A. Brown
00:00:00 00:01:00

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Happy Birthday to You was written in 1893 by two sisters, Mildred and Patti Smith Hill, in Louisville, Kentucky. It started as a classroom greeting called Good Morning to All, not the birthday song the whole world knows today. James walks through how a simple tune for schoolchildren became the most frequently sung song in the English language.



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Speaker A:

It's American Rewind.

Speaker A:

You've probably heard this song before.

Speaker A:

In fact, I'd bet you just about anything you've sung it, too, whether you wanted to or not.

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Happy birthday to you Happy birthday to you Happy birthday, dear Happy birthday to you Happy birthday to you Has a melody so simple a toddler could sing it.

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And by most measures, it's the most frequently sung song in the English language.

Speaker A:

n in Louisville, Kentucky, in:

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They composed it as Good morning to all as a greeting for Patti's classroom.

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Mildred died in:

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Neither knew that their little tune would still be sung to this day.

Speaker A:

On that note, I'm James A.

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Brown.

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And as always, be well.

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