If You Wanna Be Happy

"If You Wanna Be Happy"
Single by Jimmy Soul
from the album If You Wanna Be Happy
B-side	"Don't Release Me"
Released	1963
Format	7" vinyl
Genre	Doo-wop
Length	2:14
Label	S.P.Q.R./London Records
Songwriter(s)	Joseph Royster Carmella Guida Frank Guida

"If You Wanna Be Happy" is a 1963 song recorded by Jimmy Soul, written by Joseph Royster, Carmella Guida and Frank Guida.

"If You Wanna Be Happy" is based on the song "Ugly Woman" by the Trinidadian calypsonian Roaring Lion recorded in 1934. It hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on May 18, 1963, as well as the R&B singles chart. It was issued on Guida's S.P.Q.R. label and distributed by London Records, and in the United Kingdom on EMI's Stateside label.

The original single lists a running time of 2:14; some later releases are slightly longer due to a longer fade-out. The song was banned on many radio stations, due to the use of the words "Ugly Girl/ Woman." Towards the end of the song, a brief dialogue takes place between Soul and a backup singer, based on Bo Diddley's song "Say Man": "Say Man!!"/ "Hey baby"/ "I saw your wife the other day."/ "Yeah??"/ "Yeah, and she's ugly-y-y-y-y!!!"/ "Yeah, she's ugly, but she sure can cook, baby"./ "Yeah, alright."/ Soul's counterpoint melody in a falsetto is heard as the song fades out.

The song is featured in the films Clean and Sober (1988), Chances Are (1989), Mermaids (1990) Rocky and Bullwinkle (2014) and on the soundtrack of My Best Friend's Wedding (1997). The song, or possibly Roaring Lion's version, can also be heard in Tiger Bay (1959) sung by a group of street musicians at a wedding.

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Wikipedia