In a 2009 article for TV Squad, Mike Moody said the episode's "sweetest moment" is at the end when Kompowsky and Bart perform the birthday song for Lisa. Likewise, writer Al Jean listed that scene as one of his five favorite moments from "The Simpsons" in 2003. The reaction to the song "Happy Birthday Lisa" was mixed. Ben Rayner called it a "crap tune", and Chris Selley of "Maclean's" magazine wrote that "Stark Raving Dad" is "an unbearably sappy episode, and that birthday song for Lisa is just... bad." Dave Walker of "The Times-Picayune" listed the episode as one of Jackson's "many memorable TV moments" and called the song "unforgettable".