Stevie Wonder, "Happy Birthday"

Despite the cold, it's too optimistic a day for America for me to play Nina Simone's "Why (The King of Love Is Dead)," by far the most mournful of all tributes to the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. With the country excitedly awaiting tomorrow's swearing in of Barack Obama as our president, it seems right to play something celebratory for a man who helped millions to believe in equal opportunity and peaceful coexistence. Happy birthday, Martin.

PS: A parting message to our now ex-president. (Thanks for the idea, Mark.)