The holiday was first observed in 1986, and it is now observed every third Monday in January. In 1983, a bill was signed into law by President Ronald Reagan establishing Martin Luther King Jr. As an activist, Wonder was one of the figures who campaigned that the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr.
The song was produced and performed by Wonder for the Motown label. Not only was it an enormous commercial success, but it also helped draw attention to the campaign and put pressure on politicians to pass legislation establishing the holiday. Happy Birthday is a song released in 1980 as the fourth single of singer-songwriter, Stevie Wonder Hotter than July, which was released in April 1981. The song was an immediate hit, reaching the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart and staying there for three weeks. So, he wrote “Happy Birthday” as a way to raise awareness about the importance of establishing a national holiday to honor Dr. Find Funny GIFs, Cute GIFs, Reaction GIFs and more.
Wonder, who had been a strong supporter of the civil rights movement throughout his career, wanted to do something to help the campaign. Explore and share the best Stevie-wonder-happy-birthday GIFs and most popular animated GIFs here on GIPHY. Even though many states and cities had already established a holiday to honor King, the campaign for a national holiday was facing significant opposition. and a campaign for the establishment of a national holiday in honor of the civil rights icon.Īt the time, there was a growing movement to have a federal holiday to commemorate the birthday of Dr. In 1981, Stevie Wonder wrote the song “Happy Birthday” as a tribute to Dr.
