''So Happy'' is the second music

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 comedian and singer

Eddie Murphy Edward Regan Murphy (born April 3, 1961) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and singer. He rose to fame on the sketch comedy show ''Saturday Night Live'', for which he was a regular cast member from 1980 to 1984. Murphy has als ...

, released in August 1989 by

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

. A

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

and

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

effort with often humorous sexual lyrics, it was co-written and co-produced by Murphy with several high-profile contemporary musicians, such as

Nile Rodgers Nile Gregory Rodgers Jr. (born September 19, 1952) is an American musician, record producer and composer. The co-founder of Chic, Rodgers has written, produced, and performed on records that have sold more than 500 million albums and 75 million ...

and Larry Blackmon, at various

recording studio A recording studio is a specialized facility for sound recording, mixing, and audio production of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from a small in-home project studio large enoug ...

s in California, New York, Florida, and the Bahamas. The album was not a commercial success and received mixed reviews.

Release

''So Happy'' was released by

in August 1989 and failed to significantly impact the pop

record chart A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of Sound recording and reproduction, recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often ...

s. It reached number 70 on ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' magazine's

Top Pop Albums The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular Album, music albums and extended play, EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine and is frequently used to convey the ...

and number 22 on the

Top Black Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a music chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales in the United States and is compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The chart debuted as Hot R&B LPs in the issue dated Jan ...

chart. The pop-funk song "Put Your Mouth on Me" was released as the album's lead single, performing well on both ''Billboard''s

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 ...

and

black singles The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

charts.

Critical reception

Reviewing ''So Happy'' in August 1989, ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

'' journalist Chris Heim viewed it as an improvement over Murphy's first album, saying that the comedian "seems more comfortable in the role of vocalist this time". Similarly, ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the crea ...

'' critic

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...

observed a greater seriousness in Murphy's "wheedling croon" that is ideal for the album's cartoonish style of funk and "wicked

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...

rip". While questioning the depth behind the sexual desires in Murphy's lyrics, Christgau highlighted the singer's humor on songs such as "Love Moans": "He's big on locations, spends an entire song convincing her to do it in a chair. Inspirational Dialogue: She: 'Are you close?' He: 'If I get any closer I be behind you.'"

Don Waller Don Waller (September 1, 1951 – November 17, 2016) was a music journalist, publisher and rock vocalist. He co-published the Los Angeles music magazine ''Back Door Man'', wrote freelance articles for '' Radio & Records'', ''Mojo'', ''Billboard' ...

was more critical in his review for the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

''. He applauded the sexual conceit of "Put Your Mouth on Me" and the compelling musical qualities in "Bubble Hill" and the title track, but found rest of the album derivative and Murphy merely "better than your average shower singer". In Mark Coleman and

J. D. Considine J. D. Considine (born 1957) is a music critic who has been writing about music professionally since 1977. Background J. D. Considine's work has been published in numerous newspapers and music magazines, and he has contributed to several books. ...

's entry on Murphy in ''

The Rolling Stone Album Guide ''The Rolling Stone Album Guide'', previously known as ''The Rolling Stone Record Guide'', is a book that contains professional music reviews written and edited by staff members from ''Rolling Stone'' magazine. Its first edition was published in 1 ...

'' (1992), the comedian is criticized for not only lacking "the equipment to carry off his soul-star ambitions", but seeming "genuinely uncomfortable trying to deliver any but the most basic emotions" and resorting to an emphasis on "musical jokes" that "wears thin throughout ''So Happy''".

Track listing

Personnel

Information is taken from

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

Musicians

Walter Afanasieff Walter Afanasieff (born Vladimir Nikitich Afanasyev; February 10, 1958), formerly nicknamed Baby Love in the 1980s, is an American record producer and songwriter of Russian-Chinese descent. He was a collaborator with Mariah Carey on her first ...

, David Allen Jones, Carmen Rizzo,

Narada Michael Walden Narada Michael Walden ( ; Michael Walden; born April 23, 1952) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. He acquired the nickname Narada from Sri Chinmoy. He began his career as a drummer, working primarily in the jazz ...

– drums *

Gigi Gonaway Gregory "Gigi" Gonaway is an American drummer and percussionist, born in Phoenix, Arizona. His father, Eldridge Gonaway was an attorney and city developer and his Mother, Lois (née Warrior) is a retired registered nurse. Gonaway has been making ...

, Bongo Bob – percussion *Lanar Brantley,

Randy Jackson Randall Darius Jackson (born June 23, 1956) is an American record executive and television presenter, perhaps best known as a judge on ''American Idol'' from 2002 to 2013. Jackson began his career in the 1980s as a session musician playing bas ...

– bass *Walter Afanasieff – synthesized bass *Walter Afanasieff, John Barnes, Eric Daniels, Merv De Peyer, David Allen Jones, Kevin Kendricks, Eddie Murphy,

Aaron Zigman Aaron Zigman (born January 6, 1963) is a classically-trained American composer, producer, arranger, songwriter, and musician who has scored music for films including ''The Notebook'', ''The Company Men'', '' Bridge to Terabithia'', ''John Q.'', ...

– keyboards *Vernon "Ice" Black, Johnny Gill, Paul Pesco, Dick Smith, Charlie Singleton, Marty Walsh – guitar *Chip McNeill – saxophone *Claytoven Richardson, Randy Jackson, Skyler Jett, Alfa Anderson, Briz, Christopher Max,

, Audrey Wheeler, Cindy Mizelle, David Allen Jones, Dick Smith, Stacy McDonald, Larry Blackmon, Tomi Jenkins – backing vocals

Production

*Produced by

, David Allen Jones, Carmen Rizzo, Eddie Murphy,

and

*Engineers: John Barnes, Knut Bohn, Dana Jon Chapelle, David Frazer, Daniel Lazerus, Jay Mark, Barney Perkins, Carmen Rizzo, Brad Sundberg, Ralph Sutton *Assistant and Second Engineers: Paul Angelli, Ed Brooks, Dana Jon Chapelle, Mark Herman, Mike Strick *Mixing: John Barnes, David Frazer, Barney Perkins, David Rideau *Cecil Holmes – executive producer *Tony Sellari – art direction *Bonnie Schiffman – photography

Charts

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1989 albums Eddie Murphy albums CBS Records albums Albums produced by Walter Afanasieff Albums produced by Nile Rodgers Albums produced by Narada Michael Walden Pop albums by American artists