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)