Happy Days (TV theme)

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"Happy Days"
Single by Pratt & McClain
from the album Pratt & McClain Featuring Happy Days
B-side"Cruisin' with the Fonz"
ReleasedMarch 1976[1]
Recorded1975[1]
StudioABC, Los Angeles, California
GenreRock, theme song
Length2:40[1]
LabelReprise Records[1]
Songwriter(s)Charles Fox, Norman Gimbel[1]
Producer(s)Steve Barri, Michael Omartian[1]
Pratt & McClain singles chronology
""Whachersign"[2]"
(1976) 		"Happy Days"
(1976) 		"Devil with a Blue Dress"
(1976)

"Happy Days" is a song written by Norman Gimbel and Charles Fox. It is the theme of the 1970s television series Happy Days.[3] It can be heard during the TV show's opening and closing credits as it runs in perpetual rerun syndication.

"Happy Days" was first recorded in 1974 by Jim Haas with a group of other session singers for the first two seasons.[4] These versions were used only during the closing credits of Seasons 1 and 2, with an updated take on "Rock Around the Clock" by Bill Haley and His Comets used as the opening theme. "Happy Days" was re-recorded by Pratt & McClain at ABC Recording Studios in Los Angeles in December 1975[5] with different lyrics for both the opening and closing credits for Seasons 3 through 10, with the duo including the song on their 1976 album Pratt & McClain Featuring Happy Days and releasing it as a single. Bobby Arvon recorded an updated version in 1983 for Season 11, with the same lyrics as the version used for seasons 3-10.

Pratt & McClain's album version of the song peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100,[6] No. 7 on the Easy Listening chart,[6] and No. 31 on the UK Singles Chart.[7] In Canada, "Happy Days" reached No. 3.[8]

Australian band Silver Studs did a rendition of the theme for their debut album. It became their biggest hit single in Australia, reaching No. 4 in June 1976.[9]

In 2014, a re-recording of the song was used in commercials for Target. An instrumental version of the song plays in the background of some of the "Cooking with Sara" Flash games.

Personnel

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  • Jerry McClain, Truett Pratt, and later Bobby Arvon (1983–84 TV only) – lead vocals
  • Charles Fox, Michael Ormartian – keyboards

Chart history

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Silver Studs version

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Australian group Silver Studs released a version in 1976.

Weekly charts

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Weekly chart performance for Silver Studs' version
Chart (1976) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[9][15] 5

Year-end charts

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Year-end chart performance for Silver Studs' version
Chart (1976) Position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[15] 27

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f "Pratt & Mc Lain* With Brotherlove - Happy Days". Discogs. 1976. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
  2. ^ "Pratt & McClain | Songs". AllMusic. Retrieved 20 November 2013.
  3. ^ "Pratt & McClain - Music Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
  4. ^ "Song: Happy Days". SecondHandSongs.
  5. ^ Kirsch, Bob (7 December 1974). "Studio Track". Billboard. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
  6. ^ a b c "Pratt & McClain - Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
  7. ^ a b Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 433. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  8. ^ a b RPM Top Singles, June 12, 1976
  9. ^ a b "Midoztouch Discussion Forum". Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  10. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 237. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  11. ^ Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
  12. ^ Cash Box Top 100 Singles, June 5, 1976
  13. ^ "Top Singles – Volume 26, No. 14 & 15, January 08 1977". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Archived from the original on March 19, 2016. Retrieved December 6, 2017.
  14. ^ "Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, December 25, 1976". Archived from the original on October 20, 2018. Retrieved June 2, 2018.
  15. ^ a b "National Top 100 Singles for 1976". Kent Music Report. 27 December 1976. Retrieved 15 January 2022 – via Imgur.
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