The Band CocoRosie Wishes Us a (Royalty-Free) Happy Birthday

Last week, a federal judge in L.A. decidedthat the most well-known song ever belongs in the public domain, free for anybody to sing, anytime, without getting permission or paying royalties: that song is “Happy Birthday.” Until now, if you wanted to sing “Happy Birthday” in a movie or a TV showor even in a chain restaurant, you had to pay a music publisher. (Which is why people on TV always sang weird versionsof birthday songs.)

And it just so happens that it’s Studio 360’s 15^th birthdaynext month. So, to celebrate, weasked the band CocoRosiefor an early birthday present. You can hear sisters Bianca and Sierra Casadyperformtheir own version of the newly royalty-free song above. (And maybe we’re biased, but we think it’s the best thing to happen to “Happy Birthday” since it enteredthe public domain.)

You can hear CocoRosie’sfull conversation with Kurt Andersen and a live performance ofsome incredible songs off the band’snew album, Heartache City, on next week’s show.