![]() The views expressed in this column are personal views of the writer and don’t necessarily reflect the views of the T-R. Just call them up and sing them a quick “Happy Birthday to you,” this year I’m sure they’d love it.Ĭopy Editor Wes Burns is a Sunday columnist. Warner/Chappell celebrates their 204th (wow) corporate birthday on October 18th this year. In fact, there is a way you can express your sympathy for their current dilemma. I’m sure the wait staff will be happy to no longer have to train newbies to hit the high note in the refrain and I’m sure patrons will be happy to groan along with a song they actually know. The last bars of these songs will soon be sung. Behold, the Applebee’s All-Purpose Celebration Song:ĭid the Applebees legal team think that merely uttering the word “birthday” was enough for Warner/Chappell to file suit? Is this song applicable to other non-birthday situations? Have you ever heard it belted out when someone was at Applebees celebrating something other than a birthday? Actually, have you ever seen someone celebrating something at Applebees that wasn’t a birthday? It’s not exactly the kind of place you go to after you get your doctorate. I know these songs are drek, but if the song is going to be a list of food, shouldn’t one of them be steak?Īt least Longhorn Steakhouse had the common decency to include the word “birthday” in their song. The closest to “country hog” is the babyback ribs, there is no hot dog mentioned. Case in point: Longhorn Steakhouse.Īside from the fried chicken, none of these items appear on Longhorn’s menu. Some restaurant birthday songs are perplexing at best. Don’t worry, Chili’s wait staff, I’m sorry I?came here too. This song is sung at a lightning quick pace, because the grumbling wait staff has to get back to the drudgery of serving you. Some of the songs played into the sympathy of the birthday party, hoping some mild complaining might lead to a greater tip. These songs were terrible, no question about it, but they had a certain charm of “beating the system.” Like during prohibition when people would buy grape juice concentrate that contained explicit instructions on how NOT to turn the product into wine, these corporate birthday songs were winking at the fact they couldn’t sing the actual birthday song, but that they had to do something to get the point across when they handed out the free slice of cake. I’m happy to see the old songs pass but as requisite living in this age of instant nostalgia, I’m a bit melancholy. I can’t imagine these chains will keep singing their makeshift songs when the Cadillac of happy birthday songs, “Happy Birthday,” is available. National restaurant chains have spent countless hours screaming off-key songs directly into the faces of tolerant patrons looking to score a free piece of cake.Īnd now they too go the way of the dodo … hopefully. The dissolution of the Happy Birthday copyright is the correct course of action, don’t get me wrong the fact that it was ever copyrighted material is frankly shocking.įor a few years now television, tired of having to craft not only imaginative plot lines as well as catchy birthday songs, has paid to use the regular Happy Birthday song, so I don’t imagine a sudden rush of shows prominently featuring new uses for “Happy Birthday.” Any stupider than the regular Happy Birthday song? Not in the slightest. He’s laughing and smiling, my goodness, it’s you! So look all around you until you see who, It’s somebody right in this room near you, Since most of the show’s budget was spent on Judith Light’s gigantic hair/sweaters they had no money left to line Warner/Chappell’s deep coffers, which led to the creation of this: ![]() The song that Mama Imelda and Ernesto de la Cruz sang towards the end of the film is called La Llorona a classic and anonymous Me Monday MaEdit. Tony (Tony Danza) and Mona (Katherine Marie Helmond) surprised Angela (Judith Light) with a birthday song during breakfast. Chilis Happy Birthday Song Lyrics Gift Card Happy Birthday Chili S United States Of America Happy Birthday Col Us Chi 025 000 Else bunnymen. The results are invariably cringe-worthy on their own, and only compounded by the awkward dynamics of family birthday dinners at chain restaurants.Case in point: The landmark 80s sitcom “Who’s the Boss?” This economic and legal reality created a cottage industry and cult following of tunes designed to satisfy both the clientele and the legal teams of the corporate eateries. Instead of paying royalties for every time wait staff had to sing "Happy Birthday," some juggernaut food chains opted for their own campy alternatives. Under that arrangement, Warner would charge royalties to any enterprise who used the song, meaning that restaurants such as Applebee's and Chili's would technically have to pay Warner every time their staff, much to the chagrin of thousands of teenagers (and presumably servers), would burst out of the kitchen belting out the tune with a cake and sparklers. The song, originally titled "Happy Birthday to You", dates back to the late 19th century and was eventually sold to Warner/Chappell Music at an estimated value of $5 million.
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