Photo Credit:
Writer: Pete Townshend
Producer: Kit Lambert
Recorded: November 10th, 1966, at CBS Studios in London, England
Released: December 1966 (U.K.), March 1966 (U.S.)
Players: | Roger Daltrey — vocals Pete Townshend — guitar, vocals John Entwistle — bass, vocals Keith Moon — drums |
Album: | A Quick One (Decca, 1967) |
"Happy Jack" was the Who's first Top 40 hit in the U.S.
Singer-guitarist Pete Townshend says the song was inspired by his visits to Britain's Isle Of Wight, where his father, a saxophonist, frequently played as part of the Royal Air Force dance band theSquadronaires: "There was no character called Happy Jack, but I played on the beach a lot, and it's just my memories of some of the weirdos who lived on the sand."
Singer-bassist John Entwistle recalled "Happy Jack" as "the best my bass ever sounded on a single…I had to develop a very melodic style because there's only two guitars in the group, and there had to be something going on over the power chords. I think Pete finally realized I'm not a bass player; I'm a bass guitarist. I play the guitar, but lower."
At the end of the song, Townshend can be heard yelling, "I saw yer," which was directed at drummer Keith Moon, who was trying to join in on the vocal parts. Entwistle remembered, "Keith always tried to creep in and do the high parts in the backing vocals, but he sang out of tune, so we'd try to keep him out. When we'd finished 'Happy Jack,' Keith kept hanging about, and we told him to go home but he wouldn't. He was hiding in the studio while we did the backing vocals, 'laugh, laugh, laugh' and 'lap, lap, lap,' and he was singing behind us. And Pete turned 'round at the end and said 'I saw you!'"
"Happy Jack" did not appear on an album in the U.K. until the Meaty Beaty Big And Bouncy collection in 1971. The Happy Jack album that came out in the U.S. was a collection of Who singles made expressly for the American market.