(The Hit Hammer is where I'm reviewing each #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100. Starting from when the chart started in 1958 and eventually working my way to the present. To see my inspiration and more information about this blog, please refer down below)
The Turtles - "Happy Together"
Hit Number 1: March 25, 1967
Stay at Number 1: 3 Weeks
Two songwriters by the names of Alan Gordon and Garry Bonner had written a sunshine pop love song. However they had one major problem: They couldn't find anyone who would take the song. Their song had been rejected over 12 times before a band out of Los Angeles, who were having a hard time breaking into the music business, accepted the song. This band felt they had nothing to lose, and they recorded the song without a single clue that they were about to release their first (and only) #1 hit, which would knock the Beatles out of the #1 spot. This song would also become one of the better aging hits out of the 1960s. This band is the Turtles, and the song is "Happy Together".
I'm certain that anyone who is reading this has heard this song before at some point in their lives, even if the title and the band might not sound familiar. However, I'm scratching my head on why this song was rejected so many times before someone finally took it. I mean, "Happy Together" is as obvious as it gets. Not every song needs to have some deep meaning to it, or have over-complex instrumentation to be an incredible song. In fact, sometimes that's completely overdoing it. In the case of "Happy Together", the lyrics aren't designed to make you feel emotion, and there aren't any instrument solos or legendary riffs going on in the song. Instead, the song acts as an easy-to-remember, innocently bright love song with a chorus as grand and majestic as a flight over the Rocky Mountains. (For those who don't know, THAT is a sight to see)
When you first hear the song, it's easy to pinpoint it as a guy and a girl who are, well, happy together. However, this is all something in the guy's head. All this guy seems to think about is this girl, and he constantly imagines them being in a relationship, and how wonderful that would be. But he just doesn't seem to have the guts to express how he feels to her, and he tampers with the idea of calling her on the phone, but we don't ever get to know if he does this. The lyrics are definitely cheesy, but the appeal of "Happy Together" isn't in the lyrics. Instead, it's in that monster hook of a chorus. Lead singer Howard Kaylan belts out the words "I can't see me loving nobody but you for all my LIIIIIFE!" as if he's getting swept up in the excitement of the chorus, and that he knows that's the lifeline of the song. The other Turtles support Kaylan with some backing "ba ba bahs", which further elevate the song's chorus into something that's impossible for us, the listeners, to get out of our heads. But why would we want to?
"Happy Together" was a major breaking point for the Turtles, and they became a pretty successful group for the rest of the 1960s. However, their bass player and main music arranger, Chip Douglas, left the group to become the Monkees' music arranger. The band was never the same after that, and they broke up in 1970. However, Kaylan and fellow Turtle, Mark Volman, still do live shows today with a revised version of the lineup. I don't have any doubts that "Happy Together" is a favorite among their audiences.
GRADE: 9/10
JUST MISSED:
The Mamas & the Papas made a solid bid for their second #1 hit (after "Monday, Monday") but instead they were stuck behind "Happy Together" at the #2 spot for three weeks with their blissfully pleasant song "Dedicated to the One I Love". It's an 8.
10 ALERT!!!:
Speaking of songs with amazing unforgettable choruses, Buffalo Springfield, fronted by a very young Stephen Stills, peaked at #7 behind "Happy Together" with their haunting yet really groovy song about anti-violence called "For What It's Worth". Stop, what's that sound, everybody look, it's a 10.
SONGS REFERENCED:
The Mamas & the Papas - "Monday, Monday"
The Beatles - "Penny Lane"
MY INSPIRATION / MORE INFORMATION:
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