The History Behind the Song "Happy Birthday to You" The melody
to the song “Happy Birthday to You” (also known as "The Birthday
Song") was written in the early 1890’s by an American woman by
the name of Mildred Hill. Her sister Patti, who was a teacher,
put the lyric “Good morning dear teacher, good morning to you”
to fit the melody. The song grew in popularity over the years
and was eventually sung in schools across the US. Some forty
years later, it is believed that Patti came up with the words
"Happy Birthday to You, Happy Birthday to You, Happy Birthday
Dear <name>, Happy Birthday to You," and fit those words to her
sister’s melody. The entire song was then published in 1935. The
song was popularized later in the 1930's when it was sung in the
Broadway production of “As Thousands Cheer,” and has since
become the mega-classic hit of all time. One final interesting
tidbit: The "Happy Birthday to You" song (lyrics and melody
together) are still under copyright protection, so every time
you hear it sung on TV