"If You Wanna Be Happy" is a 1963 song recorded by Jimmy Soul, written by Rafael de Leon and adapted by Joseph Royster, Carmella Guida and Frank Guida.
The original single lists a running time of 2:14; some later releases are slightly longer due to an extended fade-out.
Towards the end of the track, a brief dialogue takes place between Soul and a backup singer, based on Bo Diddley's song "Say Man": "Say Man!!"/ "Hey baby."/ "I saw your wife the other day."/ "Yeah??"/ "Yeah, and she's ugly-y-y-y-y!!!"/ "Yeah, she's ugly, but she sure can cook, baby."/ "Yeah, alright."/ Soul's counterpoint melody in a falsetto is heard as the song fades out.
^Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 803.
^"London Group a Tight Little Island of Know-How in Putting Together Hits". Billboard. New York, New York. 1962-09-22. p. 4.
January 01, 1970
wanna, happy, 1963, song, recorded, jimmy, soul, written, rafael, leon, adapted, joseph, royster, carmella, guida, frank, guida, single, jimmy, soulfrom, album, side, release, released1963genredoo, woplength2, 14labels, london, recordssongwriter, rafael, leonj. If You Wanna Be Happy is a 1963 song recorded by Jimmy Soul written by Rafael de Leon and adapted by Joseph Royster Carmella Guida and Frank Guida If You Wanna Be Happy Single by Jimmy Soulfrom the album If You Wanna Be HappyB side Don t Release Me Released1963GenreDoo wopLength2 14LabelS P Q R London RecordsSongwriter s Rafael de LeonJoseph RoysterCarmella GuidaFrank GuidaJimmy Soul singles chronology My Baby Loves to Bowl 1962 If You Wanna Be Happy 1963 Treat Em Tough 1963 Background edit If You Wanna Be Happy is based on the song Ugly Woman by the Trinidadian calypsonian Roaring Lion writing credited to his real name Rafael de Leon recorded in 1934 It hit 1 on the Hot 100 on May 18 1963 as well as on the R amp B singles chart 1 It was issued on Frank Guida s S P Q R label 2 and distributed by London Records and in the United Kingdom on EMI s Stateside label the same month Please Please Me by The Beatles put EMI on the map The original single lists a running time of 2 14 some later releases are slightly longer due to an extended fade out Towards the end of the track a brief dialogue takes place between Soul and a backup singer based on Bo Diddley s song Say Man Say Man Hey baby I saw your wife the other day Yeah Yeah and she s ugly y y y y Yeah she s ugly but she sure can cook baby Yeah alright Soul s counterpoint melody in a falsetto is heard as the song fades out Covers editThis section does not cite any sources Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed July 2020 Learn how and when to remove this message Trini Lopez in 1963 on the live album By Popular Demand More Trini Lopez At P J s Former Rolling Stones bassist Bill Wyman on his solo album Stone Alone in 1976 Joe Dolce in 1981 as the follow up to his international hit single Shaddap You Face It reached the top 40 in New Zealand and 7 in Austria Kid Creole and the Coconuts The Dovells Racey The Skatalites Randy Meisner and Barnes amp Barnes have also released versions Rocky Sharpe and the Replays covered this song as their last chart hit in 1983 Dr Victor amp The Rasta Rebels covered the song in 2009 Jensen Ackles performed a parody version for the Amazon series The Boys in 2022 References edit Whitburn Joel 2004 Top R amp B Hip Hop Singles 1942 2004 Record Research p 803 London Group a Tight Little Island of Know How in Putting Together Hits Billboard New York New York 1962 09 22 p 4 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title If You Wanna Be Happy amp oldid 1216158818, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
