On June 25 in 1988, singer Jimmy Soul died of a heart attack at the age of 45. Who was Jimmy Soul, you ask? He had a short career in music, starting off as a gospel singer as a teenager and then had a huge hit with a calypso-sounding song rejected by Gary U.S. Bonds. The song, “If You Wanna Be Happy” went on to become a number one song in 1963. Unfortunately, he never had a hit song again, and he gave up his music career to join the army.
In case the title does not ring any bells for you, the lyrics go:
If you wanna be happy for the rest of your life,
Never make a pretty woman your wife;
So from my personal point of view,
Get an ugly girl to marry you.
The hit song was a version of a previously recorded Calypso song, “Ugly Woman.” I doubt the song is politically correct these days. But I’m not sure how anyone can hear it without smiling at least a little and wanting to get up and dance. You can see it here in this final scene from the movie Mermaids (1990), starring Cher, Winona Ryder, and a very young Christina Ricci in her first movie role. So, if you wanna be happy, just put on Soul’s one big hit song.
Bonus “If You Wanna Be Happy” Information: Although nobody tops Jimmy Soul’s version of the song, actor Robert Mitchum did an interesting take on the song, entitled “From a Logical Point of View.” Yes, I actually own Robert Mitchum’s calypso CD. On several places around the Internet, several people incorrectly list the singer of Jimmy Soul’s version as The Coasters, including on some YouTube clips. Although The Coasters did not record the hit “If You Wanna Be Happy,” they had several other big hits, including “Yakety Yak” and “Charlie Brown.” The lead singer of the Coasters, Carl Gardner, passed away less than two weeks ago on June 13. Rest in peace.
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