A Song for Labor Day

There aren’t many songs out there about Labor Day, but even so, I have a clear favorite.  Released in 1955 exclusively on a hard-to-find benefit LP for paraplegic civilians, this is a song so catchy—and so unintentionally humorous—that I can’t resist trying to rescue it from its present obscurity.  So give it a listen and…

Edith Goodyear Alger: Lyricist of “Happy Birthday To You”?

If you go searching for information about the history of the song “Happy Birthday to You,” you’ll quickly run into a tangled web of analyses and debates regarding its copyright status.  Here’s a quick introduction to the facts as generally known.  The tune, originally composed with the lyrics “Good-Morning To All” by sisters Jessica and…