Get Happy (song)

"Get Happy"
Song by Ruth Etting
from the album Summer Stock
Songwriter(s)Ted Koehler
Composer(s)Harold Arlen

"Get Happy" is a song composed by Harold Arlen, with lyrics written by Ted Koehler. It was the first song they wrote together, and was introduced by Ruth Etting[citation needed] in The Nine-Fifteen Revue in 1930.[1] The song expresses the gospel music theme of getting happy, an expression of religious ecstasy for salvation.

It is most associated with Judy Garland, who performed it in her last MGM film Summer Stock (1950) and in live concert performances throughout the rest of her life. The versions from Summer Stock finished at #61 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs survey of top tunes in American cinema. An instrumental, hot jazz arrangement of the song, performed by Abe Lyman's Brunswick Recording Orchestra, served as the original theme music for Warner Bros.' Merrie Melodies cartoons from 1931 to 1933.

Elvis Costello named his fourth studio album, released in 1980, after the song.[2]

Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga performed the song in the American musical thriller film Joker: Folie à Deux (2024).[3] Lady Gaga released a solo cover version of the song on Harlequin (2024), her companion album to the film.[4]

References

  1. ^ Arlen, Samuel. "Harold Arlen – Biography – A Dream to Perform". Harold Arlen. Archived from the original on January 19, 2019. Retrieved 8 March 2011.
  2. ^ Clayton-Lea, Tony (1999). Elvis Costello: A Biography. London: Andre Deutsch Ltd. p. 71. ISBN 978-0-233-99339-3.
  3. ^ Mier, Tomás (September 3, 2024). "See Lady Gaga's Harley Quinn Sing a Judy Garland Song to the Joker in Folie à Deux". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 4, 2024.
  4. ^ Daw, Stephen (September 27, 2024). "Lady Gaga's 'Joker' Companion Album 'Harlequin': All 13 Songs Ranked". Billboard. Retrieved September 27, 2024.