-5 out of 5 Tokens-
The one, the only, the most popular birthday song ever created in history (well, CEC history)...this is it, Birthday Star! An original song which also includes "Happy Birthday" at the end, this song for birthday parties has lasted nearly eight years with the only differences with the intros. The lyrics to Birthday Star were actually written by a CEC cast member.
Studio C: When the manager or tech first fires up the show in the morning, they have the option on the Touch Screen to punch in birthday kids' names and their age. During Birthday Star the names cycle through over and over. This was cool, but it made me mad b/c I would be dancing up a storm, but all the parents and kids would say, "Look! I just saw your name on TV...let's wait and see if it comes around again!" It took away the attention, but it was cool anyway. Birthday Star 2001 and Birthday 2002 also have this option.
Danny Eyheralde has some interesting tidbits about this live: "This song was first heard on the April 1992 Show, Physical Fitness. The second version was released in 1995: This is the first version used for the Live & Birthday showtapes that featured video. The original just showed a blank TV screen & audio. on the regular tapes that featured it, while the song played, the main show audio would decrease and the Birthday show would play while the regular show video was on screen."
The second version's instrumental track was recorded by a company that does work for Disney. This show featured many different kinds of intermission music between the Live & Birthday show. "Mouth" had a brief stint in this show in '95 but was later removed. During it's run there were several different pieces of intermission music before the show. It seems as far as the Live show goes each intermission piece was selected based on the type of music used in the Live show that preceded it. In 1998 there were 2 different intros on the Birthday Star showtape. #1 was the intermission music from the Live shows "Lean On Me" & "Give My Regards To Broadway" and #2 was the CEC Announcer skit from May '98.
This is the ultimate birthday song...filled with great lyrics and music. It was upbeat, fun, and I personally believe that this song always made the birthday kid seem special. I have performed Birthday Star for kids of many ages...from one year olds to fifty year olds, this is one special song and I will always remember how much fun I had with it!!!