Of their busy 12 months of 1966, The Who have been simply unveiling their second album, A Fast One, when their legions of British followers discovered there was a brand new single for them to purchase that wasn’t on the report. On December 15, the band had a brand new entry on the UK singles chart for the fifth time that 12 months with the standalone A-side “Happy Jack.”
The Pete Townshend tune has usually divided opinion amongst Who followers, and was definitely stylistically at odds with their 4 earlier chart entries that 12 months, “Substitute,” “A Legal Matter,” “I’m A Boy,” and “The Kids Are Alright.” However in chart phrases, it turned one of many band’s largest UK hits. After getting into the charts at No.30, “Happy Jack” climbed by means of the vacation interval and got here to relaxation at No.3 in late January 1967, outsold solely by The Monkees’ ‘I’m A Believer’ and Tom Jones’ “Green, Green Grass Of Home.”
What’s extra, “Happy Jack” was the tune that gave The Who their first High 40 hit within the States. Issued with a Ralph Steadman-designed image sleeve within the US, it climbed to No.24 the next June. Certainly, A Fast One was renamed for the only on its American launch, and the success of “Happy Jack” was additional fuelled by the group’s belated dwell US debut, in New York, throughout March 1967.
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Again at dwelling, the success of the tune was helped by The Who’s look, on December 23, on the ultimate version of the long-running pop present Prepared, Regular, Go! The much-loved sequence was coming to an finish after a run of three years and 4 months, and the band appeared alongside the Spencer Davis Group, Donovan, Alan Worth, Paul Jones, and Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich.
Purchase or stream “Happy Jack” on the career-spanning Who assortment Most As & Bs, which options all of The Who’s A- and B-side single releases throughout 5 CDs.
