Happy Days Are Here Again
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Happy Days Are Here Again"is a song copyrighted in 1929 by Milton Ager (music) and Jack Yellen (lyrics). The song was recorded by Leo Reisman and His Orchestra, with Lou Levin, vocal (November 1929), and was used in the 1930 film Chasing Rainbows. A brief excerpt of its lyrics suggests the optimism and buoyancy:
- Happy days are here again,
- The skies above are clear again,
- So let's sing a song of cheer again,
- Happy days are here again.
Matthew Greenwald characterized it, "A true saloon standard, Happy Days Are Here Again is a Tin Pan Alley standard, and had been sung by virtually every interpreter since the 1940s. In a way, it's the pop version of Auld Lang Syne."[1] One of the most influential recordings of the song was made 33 years after its first recording; this was Barbra Streisand's version in her 1963 album debut The Barbra Streisand Album. By 2006, 76 commercially released albums included versions of the song.[2]
"Happy Days Are Here Again" has also become closely associated with the 1932 campaign of Franklin Delano Roosevelt for the U.S. presidency, and was prominent at the Democratic Party Convention of that year. [3] Since that time, and until the candidacy of Bill Clinton, the song has been associated with the Democratic Party, and remains a sentimental favorite for Democrats.
[edit] References
- ^ Greenwald, Matthew. "Happy Days Are Here Again". All Media Guide, LLC. Retrieved on October 26, 2006.
- ^ Song Search Results: "Happy Days Are Here Again". All Media Guide, LLC. Retrieved on November 11, 2006.
- ^ Neal, Steven (2004). Happy Days Are Here Again: The 1932 Democratic Convention, the Emergence of FDR--and How America Was Changed Forever. William Morrow. ISBN 0-06-001376-1.