My Happiness (1948 song)
| "My Happiness" | |
|---|---|
| Song | |
| Published | 1948 |
| Songwriter(s) | Betty Peterson Blasco, Borney Bergantine |
"My Happiness" is a pop music standard which was initially made famous in the mid-20th century. An unpublished version of the melody with different lyrics was written by Borney Bergantine in 1933.
The most famous version of the song, with lyrics by Betty Peterson Blasco, was published for the first time in 1948.[1]
The first known recording of this version was in December 1947 by the Marlin Sisters, but the song first became a hit in May 1948 as recorded by Jon and Sondra Steele[1][2] (Damon 11133) (number two) with rival versions by the Pied Pipers (Capitol 1628/15094) and an a cappella version by Ella Fitzgerald[2] (Decca 24446) entering the charts that June reaching respectively numbers three and six with the Marlin Sisters version (Columbia 38217) finally charting with a number 24 peak that July. A version by John Laurenz (Mercury catalog number 5144, with the flip side "Someone Cares"),[3] entered the Billboard magazine charts on August 7, 1948, where it stayed for two weeks, peaking at number 26.[4]
Connie Francis rendition
[edit]| "My Happiness" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Connie Francis | ||||
| B-side | "Never Before" | |||
| Released | 1958 | |||
| Recorded | 6 November 1958 | |||
| Studio | Radio Recorders (Hollywood) | |||
| Genre | Easy listening | |||
| Length | 2:28 | |||
| Label | MGM (K 12738) | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Betty Peterson Blasco, Borney Bergantine | |||
| Producer(s) | Morton Craft, Jesse Kaye | |||
| Connie Francis US singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Connie Francis – whose favorite song at the age of eight had been the Jon and Sondra Steele version of "My Happiness" – remade the song in a November 6, 1958 session at the Radio Recorders studio in Hollywood, California,[5] produced by Morton Craft and Jesse Kaye; David Rose conducted the orchestra. The song almost became Francis's first number one hit in the first months of 1959, but was kept at number two by another remake of a standard: the Platters' version of "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes".[6]
Other versions
[edit]- Elvis Presley - "My Happiness" is one of two songs—the other being "That's When Your Heartaches Begin"—Presley recorded in July 1953 during his first recording session at the Memphis Recording Service (Sun Studios). In January 2015, Presley's version of "My Happiness" was sold to musician Jack White at an auction for $300,000.[7]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. p. 45. ISBN 0-214-20512-6.
- ^ a b Gilliland, John. (197X). "Pop Chronicles 1940s Program #21 – All Tracks UNT Digital Library". Digital.library.unt.edu. Retrieved 2021-02-11.
- ^ "MERCURY 78rpm numerical listing discography: 5000 - 5500". 78discography.com.
- ^ Earl W. Clark, Allen J. SingerBeverly Hills Country Club 1439622345 – 2010 -"Jon and Sondra Steele were a married act who sang soft, sentimental ballads in sweet harmony. Their biggest, and perhaps only hit, was their cover of “My Happiness” in 1948. This tune had been recorded by a number of artists, but the ...
- ^ Schmitt, Al; Droney, Maureen (2018). Al Schmitt – On The Record: The Magic Behind the Music. Lanham, Maryland, USA: Rowman & Littlefield. p. 36. ISBN 9781538137666.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits (8th ed.). Billboard Books. p. 240. ISBN 0-8230-7499-4.
- ^ "Elvis Presley's first recording sells for $300,000". BBC News. 9 January 2015. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
