The Happy Organ

Last updated
"The Happy Organ"
Single by Dave "Baby" Cortez
from the album The Happy Organ
B-side "Love Me as I Love You"
Released 1959
Recorded1958
Genre
Length2:06
Label Clock
Songwriter(s) Dave "Baby" Cortez, Kurt Wood
Dave "Baby" Cortez singles chronology
"The Happy Organ"
(1959)
"The Whistling Organ"
(1959)

"The Happy Organ" is the name of an instrumental composition made famous by Dave "Baby" Cortez in 1959. Cortez co-composed it with noted celebrity photographer James J. Kriegsmann and frequent collaborator Ken Wood. A significant portion of the tune bears a strong resemblance to the traditional "Shortnin' Bread" tune. [2] [3] The record topped the Billboard Hot 100 on 11 May 1959 [2] and also reached #5 on Billboard's R&B chart. [4] In Canada the song reached #6. [5]

"The Happy Organ" originally featured lyrics and was intended to be sung accompanied by a piano and an organ. Cortez recorded a vocal for it, but was unhappy with the result. He spotted a Hammond B3 organ in the studio and decided to play the song's melody on it. He also brought in studio drummer, Gary Hammond, to provide percussion. The guitar solo is by session musician Wild Jimmy Spruill. [2] Hearing an organ on a rock or R&B song at the time was unusual, but Cortez helped popularize its use outside of the jazz field.

The piece was Cortez' second single for Clock Records, a New York indie launched in 1958. [2] The next week, the Hot 100's #1 was Wilbert Harrison's cover of "Kansas City", which also included Spruill's guitar. [2] Doug Moody soon left Clock to start up Mystic Records in Hollywood, and Cortez took his next hit, "Rinky Dink", to Chess Records.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Love Is Strange</span> 1956 single by Mickey & Sylvia

"Love Is Strange" is a crossover hit by American rhythm and blues duet Mickey & Sylvia, which was released in late November 1956 by the Groove record label.

Instrumental rock is rock music that emphasizes musical instruments and features very little or no singing. Examples of instrumental rock can be found in practically every subgenre of rock, often from musicians who specialize in the style. Instrumental rock was most popular from the mid-1950s to mid-1960s, with artists such as Bill Doggett Combo, The Fireballs, The Shadows, The Ventures, Johnny and the Hurricanes and The Spotnicks. Surf music had many instrumental songs. Many instrumental hits had roots from the R&B genre. The Allman Brothers Band feature several instrumentals. Jeff Beck also recorded two instrumental albums in the 1970s. Progressive rock and art rock performers of the 1960s and 1970s did many virtuosic instrumental performances.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ben E. King</span> American musician (1938–2015)

Benjamin Earl King was an American soul and R&B singer and record producer. He rose to prominence as one of the principal lead singers of the R&B vocal group The Drifters, notably singing the lead vocals on two of their biggest hit singles "This Magic Moment", and "Save the Last Dance for Me".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shake, Rattle and Roll</span> Song first recorded by Big Joe Turner in 1954

"Shake, Rattle and Roll" is a song, written in 1954 by Jesse Stone. The original recording by Big Joe Turner is ranked number 127 on the Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slim Harpo</span> American blues musician

Slim Harpo was an American blues musician, a leading exponent of the swamp blues style, and "one of the most commercially successful blues artists of his day". He played guitar and was a master of the blues harmonica, known in blues circles as a "harp". His most successful and influential recordings included "I'm a King Bee" (1957), "Rainin' in My Heart" (1961), and "Baby Scratch My Back" (1966), which reached number one on Billboard's R&B chart and number 16 on its broader Hot 100 singles chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Billy Williamson (guitarist)</span> Rock and roll musician

William Famous Williamson was the American steel guitar player for Bill Haley and His Saddlemen, and its successor group Bill Haley & His Comets, from 1949 to 1963.

David Cortez Clowney, known by the stage name Dave "Baby" Cortez, is an American pop and R&B organist and pianist, best known for his 1959 hit, "The Happy Organ".

James Edgar Spruill, also known as Wild Jimmy Spruill, was an American New York based session guitarist, whose guitar solos featured on many rhythm and blues and pop hits of the 1950s and 1960s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet (Bachman–Turner Overdrive song)</span> Song by Bachman-Turner Overdrive

"You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet" is a song by Canadian rock band Bachman–Turner Overdrive (BTO). The song was written by Randy Bachman for the band's third studio album Not Fragile (1974). It was released as a single in 1974, with an instrumental track "Free Wheelin'" as the B-side. It reached the number one position on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart and the Canadian RPM chart the week of November 9, 1974, as well as earning the band their only major hit single in the United Kingdom, peaking at number 2 on the UK Singles Chart. The follow-up single, "Roll on Down the Highway", was also a minor UK hit.

"Hoots Mon" is a song written by Harry Robinson, and performed by Lord Rockingham's XI. It was a number-one hit single for three weeks in 1958 on the UK Singles Chart. It is based on the old Scottish folk song "A Hundred Pipers". It was also one of the first rock and roll songs to feature the Hammond organ, which would become popular in rock and roll music the following year with Dave "Baby" Cortez's "The Happy Organ".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Battle of New Orleans</span> Song written by Jimmy Driftwood

"The Battle of New Orleans" is a song written by Jimmy Driftwood. The song describes the Battle of New Orleans from the perspective of an American soldier; the song tells the tale of the battle with a light tone and provides a rather comical version of what actually happened at the battle. It has been recorded by many artists, but the singer most often associated with this song is Johnny Horton. His version scored number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1959. Billboard ranked it as the No. 1 song for 1959, it was very popular with teenagers in the late 1950s/early 1960s in an era mostly dominated by rock and roll music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">That's All (Genesis song)</span> 1983 single by Genesis

"That's All" is a song by English rock band Genesis. It is a group composition and appears as the second track on their 1983 album Genesis. It was the album's second single after "Mama". On June 17, 1993, MCA Records re-issued and re-released the song as a CD and "HiQ" cassette single.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sleep Walk</span> 1959 single by Santo & Johnny

"Sleep Walk" is an instrumental song written, recorded, and released in 1959 by American instrumental rock and roll duo Santo & Johnny Farina, with their uncle Mike Dee playing the drums. Prominently featuring steel guitar, the song was recorded at Trinity Music in Manhattan, New York City. "Sleep Walk" entered Billboard's Top 40 on August 17, 1959. It rose to the number 1 position for the last two weeks in September and remained in the Top 40 until November 9. "Sleep Walk" also reached number 4 on the R&B chart. It was the last instrumental to hit number 1 in the 1950s and earned a gold record for Santo and Johnny. In Canada, the song reached number 3 in the CHUM Charts. In the UK it peaked at number 22 on the charts.

"Tossin' and Turnin'" is a song written by Ritchie Adams and Malou René, and originally recorded by Bobby Lewis in the fall of 1960. The record was released on the Beltone label in December 1960. It reached number one on both the Billboard Hot 100 on July 10, 1961, and R&B chart and has since become a standard on oldies compilations. It was named the number one single on the Billboard chart for 1961, after spending seven consecutive weeks at the top. It was also featured on the soundtrack for the 1978 film Animal House.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Honeydripper</span> 1945 song by Joe Liggins and His Honeydrippers

"The Honeydripper " is an R&B song by Joe Liggins and his Honeydrippers which topped the US Billboard R&B chart for 18 weeks, from September 1945 to January 1946.

"Good Times" is a song written and recorded by Sam Cooke, released as single in 1964.

"Shortnin' Bread" is an African-American folk song dating back at least to the 1890s. James Whitcomb Riley published it as a poem in 1900, building on older lyrics. A "collected" version of the song was published by E. C. Perrow in 1915. It is song number 4209 in the Roud Folk Song Index.

The Bell Notes were an early American rock and roll group from the East Meadow area of Long Island, New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Talking Out of Turn</span> 1981 single by The Moody Blues

"Talking Out of Turn" is a 1981 single by the English progressive rock band the Moody Blues. It was the third and final single released from their 1981 album Long Distance Voyager.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raining in My Heart</span> 1959 single by Buddy Holly

"Raining in My Heart" is a song recorded by Buddy Holly on October 21, 1958 at the Pythian Temple on West 70th Street in New York City, with the orchestral backing by Dick Jacobs. The music and lyrics are written by the songwriting team of Felice Bryant and Boudleaux Bryant. It was released as a single on Coral Records in 1959, peaking at number 88 on the Billboard chart as the B-side of "It Doesn't Matter Anymore". This recording was included on Buddy Holly's first "greatest hits" compilation album, The Buddy Holly Story, that was released in March 1959.

References

  1. 1 2 Breihan, Tom (February 1, 2018). "The Number Ones: Dave "Baby" Cortez's "The Happy Organ"". Stereogum . Retrieved June 3, 2023. ...he decided to knock out a quick instrumental...over a fired-up R&B groove....Instrumental songs didn't often hit #1 in the rock 'n' roll era...it was pretty rare to hear anyone playing an organ in a rock 'n' roll context at the time.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 John Broven (2009). Record makers and breakers: voices of the independent rock 'n' roll pioneers . University of Illinois Press. p. 363. ISBN   978-0-252-03290-5. Lowell Music's 'Clock' was located at 1619 Broadway. Doug Moody handled sales & promotion.
  3. "Compare Dave 'Baby' Cortez' 'The Happy Organ' with James Whitcomb Riley's 'Shortnin' Bread'". who sampled: Exploring the DNA of music. Retrieved 2014-10-18.
  4. Bronson, Fred (1992). The Billboard Book of Number One Hits, 3rd Edition . New York, New York: Billboard Publications, Inc. p.  52. ISBN   0-8230-8298-9.
  5. "CHUM Hit Parade - April 27, 1959".