Although it’s popular at birthday parties today, Stevie Wonder’s “Happy Birthday” was originally released in 1981 in support of the burgeoning movement to make Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday a national holiday. That year he went on tour with Gil Scott-Heron on the heels of Hotter Than July, the album containing “Birthday”. The 4-month trek was highlighted by the Rally for Peace Press Conference, one of the catalysts for the creation of MLK Day.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnccZm4uw_M[/youtube]

This 1981 BBC documentary captured that tour, complete with Wonder’s speech at the Rally for Peace alongside Jesse Jackson. The doc would be well worth an hour of attention for the footage of Wonder’s concerts alone, but as an excellent document of Wonder’s political campaign as well, it’s a great watch for remembering Martin Luther King today. Particularly touching is a scene (23:00) of Wonder listening to King’s “I Have A Dream” speech on a Kurzweil Reading Machine for the Blind. For more on the tour and Wonder’s campaign for Martin Luther King Day, the Guardian also has an excerpt from Scott-Heron’s memoir about his own time on the Hotter Than July tour.