From album
The Who
The Who · 1980 · Track 3
Details
TonalidadD#
Compás4/4
Tempo92 BPM
Duración2:17
CompositorPete Townshend
ÁlbumThe Who
Año1980
Credits
Music Pete Townshend
If you like this, try
The story behind
When Pete Townshend composed Happy Jack, he imagined a peculiar character. The story it tells is about a man who, while vacationing as a youth near the coast, found himself on the beach. Local children used to laugh at him and even played at burying him in the sand. However, this man never showed anger, only responded with a smile. This vocal peculiarity is reflected in the recording, where, at the end of the song, Townshend can be heard shouting "I saw you!". This shout was directed at drummer Keith Moon, who was trying to add his voice to the mix without the rest of the band knowing, something the group did not approve of. In this piece, Roger Daltrey handles the lead vocals, but it is John Entwistle who sings the first verse, one of the few occasions where Entwistle takes on this role in Townshend's compositions. The song's duration is just over two minutes, and it was included in the US edition of the album A Quick One, which was titled Happy Jack there.
The song had a notable impact on the music charts. In December 1966, it was released as a single and reached number three in the United Kingdom. Shortly after, in March 1967, Happy Jack became The Who's first hit to enter the United States "top 40", reaching number twenty-four. The band performed this song live for the first time in 1967 and kept it in their repertoire until 1970. Even Pete Townshend played it at his first solo concert in 1974. Later, in December 1999, short versions, approximately a minute and a half long, were offered at the Shepherd's Bush Empire in London. On one occasion in 1982, during a concert in Indianapolis, the band played an abbreviated version of Happy Jack to please a fan who was holding a sign requesting the song for his birthday and was obstructing the view of other attendees. However, Townshend admitted that he and the rest of the group did not remember the full song. Over time, other artists have covered this piece; for example, the American band Southern Culture on the Skids included it on their album Countrypolitan Favorites in 2007.
0:00