"It Can Happen" is a song by the

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. In ...

band Yes, from their 1983 album '' 90125''. It was released as the third single from that album, reaching number 51 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in 1984. It also reached number 5 on the ''Billboard''

Mainstream Rock chart Mainstream Rock is a music chart in '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States, a category that combines the formats of active rock and heritage rock. The chart was launched i ...

History

Following the 1981 breakup of the band, bassist

Chris Squire Christopher Russell Edward Squire (4March 1948 – 27June 2015) was an English musician, singer and songwriter best known as the bassist and backing vocalist of the progressive rock band Yes. He was the longest-serving original member, having r ...

and drummer Alan White joined with

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

n guitarist

Trevor Rabin Trevor Charles Rabin (; born ) is a South African rock musician and composer. Born into a musical family and raised in Johannesburg, Rabin took up the piano and guitar at an early age and became a session musician, playing and producing with a va ...

to form a new band called

Cinema Cinema may refer to: Film * Cinematography, the art of motion-picture photography * Film or movie, a series of still images that create the illusion of a moving image ** Film industry, the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking ...

. An early version of song "It Can Happen", sung by Squire, was written and recorded during this time. Squire, White and Rabin eventually joined forces with former Yes members Jon Anderson, Tony Kaye and

Trevor Horn Trevor Charles Horn (born 15 July 1949) is an English music producer, label and recording studio owner, musician and composer. He is best known for his production work in the 1980s, and for being one half of the new wave band The Buggles (wit ...

, changing the name of their new band Cinema to "Yes" in the process. Anderson rewrote the lyrics of "It Can Happen" and it was included in ''90125'', with Anderson singing the verses. '' Cash Box'' said that "starting off with a thoroughly danceable snare beat, lead vocalist Jon Anderson's smooth voice and the single’s upbeat melody are further proof of the band’s newfound knack for commercial viability" and praised the

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

and instrumental performances. The Cinema version of the song was released on 1991's ''

Yesyears ''Yesyears'' is the first box set by English progressive rock band Yes, released in August 1991 on Atco Records. After the group left Atco for Arista Records when they became an eight-man formation in 1990, the deal gave Atco the right to the ...

'' box set, and later on the remastered version of ''90125''. The version sung by Anderson was released as a single in 1984, and was included in several later Yes compilations, including the '' In a Word: Yes (1969–)'' box set and '' The Ultimate Yes: 35th Anniversary Collection''. A video for the song is included in the '' Greatest Video Hits'' DVD, and a live performance appears in the '' 9012Live'' concert video. The dialogue that can be heard under the guitar solo - about 3 minutes and 17 seconds in - on the ''90125'' version, is taken from ''

The Importance of Being Earnest ''The Importance of Being Earnest, A Trivial Comedy for Serious People'' is a play by Oscar Wilde. First performed on 14 February 1895 at the St James's Theatre in London, it is a farcical comedy in which the protagonists maintain fictitious ...

'' by Oscar Wilde. The lines, "...Come, old boy, you had much better have the thing out at once...." and "...that is exactly what dentists always do. Now, go on! Tell me the whole thing" are spoken by the character Algernon Moncrieff in the play.

References

{{authority control Yes (band) songs Song recordings produced by Trevor Horn Songs written by Chris Squire Songs written by Trevor Rabin Songs written by Jon Anderson 1983 songs 1984 singles Atco Records singles