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Next Wednesday it will be my turn once again to blow the virtual candles out on the baker's shop treat, and it made me think of how many songs are about birthdays, mostly those which have made it into the charts at some point. I am not thinking of the traditional Happy Birthday song that we sing just before the Birthday Boy or Girl extinguishes the small flames with their mini-hurricane breath, (and has been rumoured to be still under copyright), but I am mostly referring to songs which have been in the charts. Christmas has had its fair share of songs about the festive season; most of them re-entering the charts in December, staying the charts for up to three weeks and then disappearing again come the start of January. Even Easter has had one or two as well such as Bing Crosby's Easter Parade. Birthdays are an all year round thing, and so whenever a song about a birthday enters the charts, it will always coincide with someone's special day.
The ones that I can think of are:
1) HAPPY BIRTHDAY - STEVIE WONDER
2) HAPPY BIRTHDAY - ALTERED IMAGES (Not the same song as Stevie Wonder's - a "same title, different song" to quote Ken Bruce on Popmaster).
3) HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEET SIXTEEN - NEIL SEDAKA (One of many 1960s songs with "Sixteen" in its title).
4) HAPPY BIRTHDAY - TECHNOHEAD (Could have been a cover version of one of the others)
5) BIRTHDAY - PAUL McCARTNEY (1990 number 29 hit)
6) BIRTHDAY 5EX [SIC] - JEREMIH
Party and disco songs seem marginal as a lot of these are played at birthday parties and discos, and most of them are novelty ones - The Birdie Song, perhaps? Anything by Russ Abbot? I looked at these on the Everyhit website, and I believe that there could be dozens more songs which have Birthday as a second or third word in its title, and perhaps even the word Birthday as an incidental mention in the song, in the same way as Christmas was mentioned in another of Stevie Wonder's songs: I Just Called to Say I Love You. Oh, and Irish 1970 Eurovision Song Contest victor Dana who had a hit with All Kinds of Everything was the first (and probably only) artiste to have a UK number one and also happens to share my birthday. Very different to the Commodores and Three Times a Lady which was the song that I came into existence to.
The ones that I can think of are:
1) HAPPY BIRTHDAY - STEVIE WONDER
2) HAPPY BIRTHDAY - ALTERED IMAGES (Not the same song as Stevie Wonder's - a "same title, different song" to quote Ken Bruce on Popmaster).
3) HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEET SIXTEEN - NEIL SEDAKA (One of many 1960s songs with "Sixteen" in its title).
4) HAPPY BIRTHDAY - TECHNOHEAD (Could have been a cover version of one of the others)
5) BIRTHDAY - PAUL McCARTNEY (1990 number 29 hit)
6) BIRTHDAY 5EX [SIC] - JEREMIH
Party and disco songs seem marginal as a lot of these are played at birthday parties and discos, and most of them are novelty ones - The Birdie Song, perhaps? Anything by Russ Abbot? I looked at these on the Everyhit website, and I believe that there could be dozens more songs which have Birthday as a second or third word in its title, and perhaps even the word Birthday as an incidental mention in the song, in the same way as Christmas was mentioned in another of Stevie Wonder's songs: I Just Called to Say I Love You. Oh, and Irish 1970 Eurovision Song Contest victor Dana who had a hit with All Kinds of Everything was the first (and probably only) artiste to have a UK number one and also happens to share my birthday. Very different to the Commodores and Three Times a Lady which was the song that I came into existence to.
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