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Stevie Wonder Headlines First Official MLK Day

After years of campaigning to make Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday a federal holiday, Stevie Wonder commemorates the occasion with a star-studded concert celebration in Washington, D.C.

The idea for the national holiday, which is observed on the third Monday of January each year, falling near King's January 15th birthday, was presented just four days after his assassination in 1968. Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., introduced legislation to honor the civil rights leader's legacy, but it took many years for Congress to warm up to the plan. When President Jimmy Carter called for a vote on the issue nearly a decade later, the bill was shot down by five votes in the House, despite several states already adopting the holiday. "This was the first holiday around a national figure who is not a president, and who is African American," noted Michael Honey, author of Going Down Jericho Road: The Memphis Strike, Martin Luther King's Last Campaign. "Many in Congress did not want to recognize an African American that was thought of as a troublemaker by some in his day." The defeat rankled Stevie Wonder, a major supporter of the cause who toured around the country to bolster the campaign. He penned the anthem "Happy Birthday" in honor of King and performed it at the Rally for Peace Press Conference in 1981. After Congress was deluged with petitions in excess of six million signatures, President Ronald Reagan officially announced the holiday was signed into law in 1983. It takes another three years for the first celebration out of Washington, but it's a big one. Wonder enlists Quincy Jones as music director and stages an all-star televised gala at the Kennedy Center that kicks off simultaneous concerts in New York and Atlanta. Wonder is joined by Bob Dylan for a performance of the anti-apartheid song "The Bell For Freedom Still Rings," before the pair invites folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary in a singalong of "Blowin' In The Wind." Other guests include Diana Ross, The Pointer Sisters, Neil Diamond, Amy Grant, and Tom Petty. For showrunner Quincy Jones, it's an honor to be a part of the event, but the night is special for a different reason. Jones - who worked in the music business for decades as a musician, songwriter, and producer for the industry's hottest acts - is confronted by the breadth of his legacy. He explained in a 2018 interview with The Vulture: "After the performance, we went to a reception, and three ladies came over: The older lady had Sinatra at the Sands, I arranged that; her daughter had my album The Dude; and then that lady's daughter had Thriller. Three generations of women said those were their favorite records. That touched me so much." For years, some states hold out on observing a day straight-up devoted to King, either by giving the day an alternate name or combining it with other holidays. It's officially celebrated by all 50 states in 2000.

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