Howard "Happy" Goodman (November 7, 1921 – November 30, 2002) was an American gospel singer. In 1949, he founded the vocal group
The Happy Goodman Family The Happy Goodman Family is a Southern gospel group that was founded in the 1940s by Howard "Happy" Goodman and performed together for several decades. The Happy Goodmans achieved significant popularity in the 1960s. In 1968, they won the first Gr ...
which included combinations of all eight
Goodman siblings and his wife
Vestal Goodman (née Freeman).
Early life
Howard was born on November 7, 1921, in
Dora, Alabama, U.S., Howard was one of four children,
Rusty
Rusty may refer to something covered with rust or with a rust (color). Rusty is also a nickname for people who have red hair, have a rust-hued skin tone, or have the given name Russell.
Rusty may also refer to:
People
*Rusty Anderson (born 1959 ...
, Bobby and
Sam
Sam, SAM or variants may refer to:
Places
* Sam, Benin
* Sam, Boulkiemdé, Burkina Faso
* Sam, Bourzanga, Burkina Faso
* Sam, Kongoussi, Burkina Faso
* Sam, Iran
* Sam, Teton County, Idaho, United States, a populated place
People and fictional ...
, who were both also in the
Happy Goodman Family. He met his wife,
Vestal Goodman, and got married in 1949.
Career
Howard began his career with his brothers,
Sam and Rusty, performing
Contemporary Christian and
Southern gospel
Southern gospel music is a genre of Christian music. Its name comes from its origins in the southeastern United States. Its lyrics are written to express either personal or a communal faith regarding biblical teachings and Christian life, as ...
in the 1940s, followed by
Vestal after getting married in 1949. Howard continued his southern gospel career until his death in 2002.
"Look for Me"
"Look for Me" was a song written by
Rusty Goodman, and reperformed by Tanya Goodman Sykes, the daughter of
Rusty Goodman.
Awards
* Grammy Award for Best Gospel/Contemporary Christian Music Performance (1969)
* Grammy Award for Best Gospel Performance, Traditional (1979)
Death
Howard was hospitalized for seven months as a result of various complications following a
knee surgery
In humans and other primates, the knee joins the thigh with the leg and consists of two joints: one between the femur and tibia (tibiofemoral joint), and one between the femur and patella (patellofemoral joint). It is the largest joint in the hu ...
, He was undergoing therapy and rehabilitation when he developed
pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...
a week prior to his death. He died on November 30, 2002 in
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goodman, Howard
1921 births
Southern gospel performers
2002 deaths
People from Walker County, Alabama