Stevie Wonder wrote “Happy Birthday” in response to the campaign to make Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday a national holiday.
Released in 1980, the song uses an upbeat celebration to argue that King’s birthday should be formally honored. Wonder became a prominent public supporter of the campaign, joining activists and helping organize events connected with the effort.
The United States eventually recognized Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a federal holiday. President Ronald Reagan signed the holiday legislation in 1983, and the holiday was first observed nationally in 1986. Some states adopted the observance later or combined it with other commemorations.
The song is therefore both a pop recording and a piece of civil-rights advocacy. It is not a traditional birthday song for a private individual; its subject is the public remembrance of King and his work.