Back in May, I invited anyone interested to perform/record their version of "Hey Birthday Boy," an ultra-simple birthday song I wrote for Robert Lund's then-upcoming birthday.

The idea was (and remains) to collect as many versions of "Hey Birthday Boy" (and its transgendered twin, "Hey Birthday Girl") as possible, slap them onto a CD, and send copies of the CD to all the participants - as well as to funny music DJs like Dr. Demento, Captain Wayne (The Mad Music Show) and David Tanny (DFSX). And then, who knows? - maybe one of these recordings will become THE fave b-day tune for generations to come.

My plan was to have the CD out by July. It's, what, October now? Rather than put the blame for the delay on myself, where it squarely belongs, I'm going to blame Robert Lund. You see, I don't feel like this collection would be complete without his version of the song. He has put pretty much all of his spare time, however, into his new CD, "Politicked Off!" The good news is that *that* CD should be out by next week, so hopefully I can finally get him to record "Hey Birthday Boy."

What the delay means is that there's still time for YOU - or any musicians you know - to get in on the project. You'll be in good company. So far, here's who has sent me recordings of "Hey Birthday Boy" and/or "Hey Birthday Girl":
- Phil Alexander (with Nonie and Edmund Alexander)
- Phil Alexander (with Nonie, Richard, Edmund and Cecilia Alexander)
- Rob Balder
- Below Average Dave
- Karl Brown
- The Charnstars
- Rick Cormier
- Rick Duncan
- Bob Guest
- Merry & Pippin (with Roslyn Cossins)
- Project Sisyphus
- Dee Range
- Kristof Robertson aka Kriestoph Socrates Robertsonopoulis
- Kristof Robertson aka Special K and The Beast
- Kristof Robertson aka DJ Kristof and Professor Steven Hawking
- Kristof Robertson aka The Insultan of Swing
- Kristof Robertson aka Kristof Expressly
- Tom Smith
- Sudden Death
- Jake Waters

I have also received commitments from:
- Carl Hatmaker
- Robert Lund
- the great Luke Ski
- Worm Quartet

HOW TO PARTICIPATE
1) Check out the demo and the lyrics below, then record *your* version of the song. Put your unique musical stamp on it. Make it your own. Be the cake.
2) Optional: While you're at it, make a second recording, substituting "girl" for "boy" in the last line. I'll include both versions on the CD.
3) Send it to me. I'd prefer MP3s via email (spaff at spaff dot com), but I'm flexible. If you need a mailing address, let me know.

THE DEMO
Here is a simple demo of the song, courtesy of Jake Waters (who graciously did this despite having a killer cold at the time):
www.spaff.com/lund/birthdayboy.mp3

THE LYRICS:
We celebrate your birthday
Even if you don't
Be glad you're getting older
'Cause when you're dead you won't!
So happy happy birthday
From everyone you know
Now we will light the candles
And birth - day - boy - you - blow!

THANK YOU
...to everyone who has contributed, especially for your patience. I promise that the CD is still going to happen. On the bright side, the delay is making the collection that much better.

xoxox
Spaff

Thought you might like to know: the children sang "Hey Birthday Boy" to me on my birthday - spontaneous, like.. (and not just 'cause I was taking a long time blowing the candles out)

Thought you might like to know: the children sang "Hey Birthday Boy" to me on my birthday - spontaneous, like.. (and not just 'cause I was taking a long time blowing the candles out)


Ha! That warms my heart. What a corrupter of youth you are.

I received another lovely version today, from Rob Balder, Godfather of The FuMP. And Carl Hatmaker tells me his nearly complete version kicks asss. This is fun. I'll figure out a way to make all of the versions available to the general public; they're too good not to share.

xoxox
Spaff

I now have a web page up to chart the contributors to the project and the status of the CD:
http://www.spaff.com/birthday
or simply
spaff.com/birthday

Y'all who have graciously contributed versions of "Hey Birthday Boy," please check the page to make sure I have you listed and that I link to the web page you want me to pimp for you.

I think we're getting close to a wrap on this thing. Robert Lund, Worm Quartet, and the great Luke Ski have all told me they'd do versions of the song, so I'm leaving the door open for them. In the meantime, I'll gladly accept any other versions that come in.

xoxox
Spaff