"Happiness" is a song written by American
country musician
Bill Anderson, and first recorded by Anderson on his 1963 album ''Still''.
In the United Kingdom, the song is best known in the version by comedian and singer
Ken Dodd. Dodd's recording, arranged by
Ivor Raymonde and released on EMI's
Columbia
Columbia may refer to:
* Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America
Places North America Natural features
* Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region in ...
label, reached number 31 on the
UK Singles Chart in 1964. Although not one of Dodd's biggest chart hits, it became known as the comedian's
signature song
A signature (; from la, signare, "to sign") is a Handwriting, handwritten (and often Stylization, stylized) depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and ...
.
A version of the song was used as the theme for the 2001 UK TV series ''
Happiness''. The song is traditionally played by Cheltenham Town FC at home matches following a victory. The song has also been covered by
Foster and Allen on their album ''Putting On The Style''.
During the
COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the song was recorded as a tribute to the
National Health Service by celebrities from the
Liverpool area, including
Ricky Tomlinson,
Glenda Jackson,
Rick Astley,
Jimmy Tarbuck,
Shirley Ballas,
Claire Sweeney,
Les Dennis and
Carol Decker. The video was released by the Ken Dodd Charitable Foundation, in association with the Comedy Trust and the
Royal Court Theatre.
Coronavirus: Stars record Ken Dodd's Happiness song in tribute to NHS", ''BBC'', 13 April 2020
Retrieved 17 April 2020
References
Bill Anderson (singer) songs
1963 songs
Ken Dodd songs
Columbia Graphophone Company singles
1964 singles
Songs written by Bill Anderson (singer)
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