Photos From the Night Marilyn Monroe Sang “Happy Birthday” to JFK in 1962

On a spring night in New York City, 35-year-old Marilyn Monroe — sewn into a sparkling, jaw-droppingly tight dress — stood alone in a spotlight on a dark stage. She took a breath, began to sing — and 15,000 men and women who filled the old Madison Square Garden that night knew, simply knew, that they were seeing and hearing something that they would never, ever forget.

The song, of course, was “Happy Birthday,” and Marilyn’s breathy, intimate rendition — sung, as if the two of them were utterly alone, to President John F. Kennedy — has been celebrated, analyzed and lovingly parodied countless times in the five decades since that indelible performance. But beyond the buzz that Marilyn’s “Happy Birthday” generated — including, of course, tossing fuel on the already smoldering rumors about an affair between the movie star and the president — the moment, captured from above by photographer Bill Ray in his iconic picture of Monroe, played a key role in the legends that eventually grew around both the actress and JFK. Marilyn, after all, died less than three months later; Kennedy was assassinated the following fall. For stargazers and dusty old historians alike, the night that Marilyn sang to JFK remains an uncanny, once-in-a-lifetime collision of sex, politics, power and pop culture.

Marilyn Monroe sings "Happy Birthday" to President John F. Kennedy, New York, May 19, 1962.

John F. Kennedy at Madison Square Garden for a "Birthday Salute" in his honor, New York, May 19, 1962.

John F. Kennedy arrives in a limo at Madison Square Garden for a "Birthday Salute" in his honor, New York, May 19, 1962.

John F. Kennedy enters Madison Square Garden prior to a "Birthday Salute" in his honor, New York, May 19, 1962.

The great comedian Jack Benny on the sidewalk outside Madison Square Garden prior to attending a "Birthday Salute" in honor of JFK, New York, May 19, 1962.

The regal Ella Fitzgerald, backstage before singing at a "Birthday Salute" in honor of JFK at Madison Square Garden, New York, May 19, 1962.

The stage and seating at Madison Square Garden during a "Birthday Salute" in honor of JFK, New York, May 19, 1962.

President John F. Kennedy at a "Birthday Salute" in his honor at Madison Square Garden in New York, May 19, 1962.

Vice President Lyndon Johnson, Madison Square Garden, New York, May 19, 1962.

Singer Peggy Lee on stage at Madison Square Garden during a "Birthday Salute" in honor of President Kennedy, New York, May 19, 1962.

Cake at Madison Square Garden during a "Birthday Salute" in honor of President Kennedy, New York, May 19, 1962.

John F. Kennedy at Madison Square Garden during a "Birthday Salute" in his honor, New York, May 19, 1962.

(Photos by Bill Ray, via LIFE)