I'm a little late to my own first anniversary party! It was actually last week, but we had to celebrate Willie Nelson's 90th birthday around that time, and some things are just more important.
Anyway, better late than never; and what better way to celebrate a year of this site - over 100 posts and almost 1,000 views (thank you) - then a playlist of songs that are 'happy'.
1. Pharell Williams: Happy
We should probably start this playlist with an absolute banger - then you can decide whether it goes up or down from here! Pharrell struggled to get the song to a place he was satisfied with it, with the tenth version being the one he finally settled on. It had originally been written for CeeLo Green (Gnarls Barkley), but Pharrell ended up doing it himself, with phenomenal results. A key part of the soundtrack for smash animated film Despicable Me 2, it also won Williams a 2014 Grammy for Best Pop Solo Performance and an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song (it, of course, lost out to Let It Go).
2. Bobby McFerrin: Don't Worry Be Happy
The title from a phrase commonly used by Indian mystic, Meher Baba; the first a cappella number one in the US, with all parts played by Bobby McFerrin; and a video that included actors Bill Irwin and Robin Williams. Yes, this ridiculously catchy song had it all (except instruments, that is) and was rewarded with the 1988 Grammy's for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance and Song of the Year. This catchy little ditty also appeared on the soundtrack to the movie Cocktail.
3. The Turtles: Happy Together
This happy hippy tune came out in 1967 and was written by Alan Garden and Gary Bonner (of New York band, The Magicians) and was a huge hit worldwide for LA band, The Turtles. As a somewhat interesting aside; after the band split in 1970, members Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman, marketed themselves as Flo & Eddie and joined Frank Zappa's Mothers Of Invention. They also showed up in 1980, singing backing vocals on the Boss's Hungry Heart.
4. The Breeders: Happiness Is A Warm Gun
I've gone for the Breeders version here, just to be a bit different, but the song of course is a Beatles tune. It was written by John Lennon - although credited as ever, as a Lennon-McCartney tune - for the apparently often stormy Beatles (White Album). Lennon said that there were three distinct parts to the song - the Dirty Old Man, the Junkie and The Gunman. Lyrically, it was a bit of a double entendre about guns and sexual desire (for Yoko Ono). At the time, the album didn't always garner wholly favourable reviews, but many did pick out this one as a standout, with its 'challenging rhythms and time signature changes.'
5. Buzzcocks: Everybody's Happy Nowadays
This was part of a run of three non-album singles that Mancunian punk legends, the Buzzcocks, put out in 1979, between the 1978 album Love Bites, and 1979s Different Kind Of Tension (the other two being Promises and Harmony In My Head). The theme comes from Aldous Huxley's 1932 novel, Brave New World, where culture has been excised from society, leaving everyone in a mindless state of contentment. Happy indeed.
6. Siouxsie & The Banshees: Happy House
This may just be one of the best post-punk singles out there. Featuring new members, Budgie (ex- The Slits) and John McGeoch (ex- Magazine), the Banshees third album, 1980s Kaleidoscope, was seen as a bit of a direction change, with Budgie bringing in his love of African and reggae rhythms. The song, which made number 17 in the UK, was a somewhat sarcastic look at the 'perfect family' as portrayed in adverts and the like.
7. The Housemartins: Happy Hour
Anyone who was a youth in the UK in the mid-80s can surely only break out in a broad grin every time they hear this one? This was a big hit from what might have been one of the surprise packages of the year - Hull's Housemartins and their debut album, London 0 Hull 4. Guitarist Stan Cullimore apparently had the chord progression for the verses, but wanted to finish the session quickly so he could go out and buy some cakes (so the story goes) - so he reused the same chords for the chorus too - and the demo version was knocked out in ten minutes! Whatever the truth of that, it reached number 3 and was a vibrant song, full of catchy hooks (although the lyrics are a bit darker, and seem to possibly be a bit of an attack on the boorish, often sexist, Yuppie class of young businessmen that were becoming prevalent at that time).
8. No Doubt: Happy Now?
This one is 'happy' in name only, as it one of several songs on No Doubt's excellent third album, Tragic Kingdom, written by Gwen Stefani about her break-up with bandmate Tony Kanal. Taking their trademark blend of driving ska and rock, Happy Now? was never released commercially in the US, but strangely, the band did circulate promo copies of it to some radio stations, so it did get airplay. It was released in Europe and Australia though, but didn't fare as well as the other singles from the album.
9. Nada Surf: Happy Kid
I happily stumbled across this band (consisting of long time members, Matthew Caws, Ira Elliot and Daniel Lorca) three or four years ago, giving me a twenty-plus year back catalogue to catch up on. They have been ploughing the alt-rock furrow, without ever gaining the widespread recognition of some of their peers (except maybe their early single, Popular, which seems to have been a bit of an MTV classic in the late 90s). Their 2002 album, Let Go, has a number of fantastic tunes on it, including this one (and I especially love this radio session version).
10. Altered Images: I Could Be Happy
What a lovely way to end the playlist. If you 'couldn't be happy' listening to this one, then I am sorry for you. This number 7 hit, was yet another slice of joyous pop from early 80s Glasgow favourites - this one from classic 1982 second album, Pinky Blue. Chiming guitars full of hooks and Clare Grogan's delightfully chirpy vocals. Perfect pop.
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