''Don't Worry Be Happy'' is a

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by American recording artist Wanda Jackson. It was released in 1989 via Amethyst Records and contained 12 tracks. It was Jackson's thirty fifth studio recording released in her career and the third issued on the Amethyst label. ''Don't Worry Be Happy'' was a collection of

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

songs, including the title track, which was first recorded as a

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' (G ...

song by Bobby McFerrin.

Background, content and release

During the 1950s and 1960s, Wanda Jackson became among the first women to have commercial success in the

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

and

Rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western music ...

music genres. Her popular singles included "

Fujiyama Mama "Fujiyama Mama" is a song written by Jack Hammer. It was first recorded in 1955 by Annisteen Allen, and in 1957 by rockabilly singer Wanda Jackson, both for Capitol. It did not chart in the United States, but Jackson's recording became a No. 1 ...

", "

Let's Have a Party "Let's Have a Party" is a 1957 song written by Jessie Mae Robinson and recorded by Elvis Presley for the movie '' Loving You''. It was released as a single in the United Kingdom under the title "Party" and peaked at #2 in the UK Singles Chart. W ...

", " Right or Wrong" and "

Tears Will Be the Chaser for Your Wine "Tears Will Be the Chaser for Your Wine" is a song written by Leroy Coates and Dale Davis. It was recorded and released as a single by American Country music, country, Rock and roll, rock, and Christian music, Christian artist, Wanda Jackson. The ...

". In the 1970s, she left her long-time record label to concentrate on gospel music. With her commercial success behind her, Jackson released recordings through the 1980s on a series of labels, including Amethyst Records. This included her third Amethyst release, ''Don't Worry Be Happy''. The album was recorded in 1989 at Studio Seven, a recording venue located in

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, and ...

. The sessions were produced by Gregg W. Gray. ''Don't Worry Be Happy'' was a collection of ten gospel songs. The title track was a gospel reworking of Bobby McFerrin's pop hit. The album also included a cover version of

Cristy Lane Cristy Lane (born Eleanor Johnston; January 8, 1940) is an American Christian and country music singer. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, she had a series of hits on the North American country charts with songs like " Let Me Down Easy", " I Just ...

's " One Day at a Time". Several tracks were re-packaged for ''Don't Worry Be Happy''. The latter song, "Don't Be Afraid", "This World Is Not My Home", "Jesus Put a Yodel in My Soul" and "Where Are the Babies" were first included on Jackson's 1984 studio album '' Teach Me to Love''. Several new recordings were also included, such as "She Broke Her Promise" and "Instrument of Power". The project was released on Amethyst Records as a

cassette Cassette may refer to: Technology * Cassette tape (or ''musicassette'', ''audio cassette'', ''cassette tape'', or ''tape''), a worldwide standard for analog audio recording and playback ** Cassette single (or "Cassingle"), a music single in the ...

. Five songs were included on either side of the tape. It was thirty fifth studio release of Jackson's career.

Track listing

Personnel

All credits are adapted from the

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner notes are desce ...

of ''Don't Worry Be Happy''. Musical and technical personnel * Ken Collins –

Guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

* Rocky Gribble –

Banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...

, guitar * Gregg W. Gray – Background vocals, producer * Wanda Jackson – Lead vocals * Melodee Johnson – Background vocals * Carolyn McCoy – Background vocals * Mike Shelton – Background vocals * Marty Shrabel –

Bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

* Ric Wright – Guitar * Lynn Williams –

Drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

* Steve Wright – Drums

Release history

References

{{Wanda Jackson 1989 albums Wanda Jackson albums