Danny Boy and Happy Birthday - 2 Great Songs, 2 Great Mysteries

If you were to publicly perform or record "Happygreat melody and its original composer is still
Birthday" or "Danny Boy" you would oweshrouded in a cloud of mystery.
someone some money. Maybe. It's a little unclear.What is known for certain, is that the lyrics of
According to Wikipedia, the melody of "HappyDanny Boy were originally written for a different
Birthday to You" was written in Louisville,tune in 1910 by an English lawyer, Frederick
Kentucky by sisters and teachers; Patty Hill andWeatherly. It's interesting to note that that the
Mildred J. Hill in 1893.songwriter never actually visited Ireland, yet the
You could just imagine the very morning they intune would become a national anthem for the
greeted their classroom to a little tune entitledIrish.
"Good Morning to All". Sadly, we don't know whoWeatherly modified the lyrics to fit Londonderry
wrote the lyrics to the song as we know itAir's melody in 1913. The English lawyer saw fit to
today, and so, the the heirs of the lyricist missinggive the tune to an Opera singer by the name of
in action will never see their due!Elsie Griffen, and later to a British Shakspearean
The version as we know it was copyrighted inactress by the name of Ellen Terry. And so
1935 and was purchased by Warner Chappell inDanny Boy was in the midst of becoming a
1990 for US$15 million! With the value of "Happylegend.
Birthday" estimated at US $5 million, someFrom Opera, to an actress' requiem, the song
musician and his/her heirs definitely missed out onendures the test of time with musical icons of
a nice check.every genre keeping Danny Boy alive including
While the current copyright status of the song isone of the master originators of rock-n-roll, Elvis
unclear, Warner claims that unauthorized publicPresley, the great jazz pianist Bill Evans and the
performances of the song are technically illegalpop culture diva Sinéad O'Connor.
unless royalties are paid to it.One great thing about this tune, if you were to
In contrast, the mystery of the well known songrecord it, you wouldn't owe anyone a dime. It's
Danny Boy has indeed been solved. Or has it? Aone of the great tunes that is in the Public
very interesting read by Michael Robinson whoDomain.
reveals that the song Danny Boy is one of overOne has to wonder if Warner Chappel purchased
100 songs composed to the same tune.Happy Birthday for 15 million, how much they
According to Wikipedia, the root of the tunewould have shelled out for Danny Boy? The lost
Danny Boy begins with a song titled Londonderryheirs of the musician who composed Londonderry
Air. Should Londonderry Air be the melody thatAir, stand to be very proud of their musical
carries over 100 songs, surely we should be givingheritage because it is indeed a great song, one
huge credit to its composer. Unfortunately, thiswhich is loved by millions.