"Happy Man" by The Greg Kihn Band

Song#:  1035
Date:  05/22/1982
Debut:  86
Peak:  62
Weeks:  7
Genre:  Rock, Power Pop



Pop Bits:  Kihn finally got a hit on the chart with "The Breakup Song (They Don't Write 'Em)" (#15) from his sixth album, "Rockihnroll." He tried to keep some of the momentum going with this first single off of his next LP, "Kihntinued," but the tune could barely get out of the bottom third of the chart. It was a slight bump in the road, but he would rebound in a big way the following year.

ReduxReview:  This kind of showcases what Kihn does best - around 3 minutes of punchy power pop. His material is always solid and usually quite catchy. Much of it may not linger in your mind for long but that's okay. Just listen, enjoy, rinse, and repeat. While this song doesn't match the greatness of "The Breakup Song," it's a worthy single that should have done a bit better.

ReduxRating:  6/10

Trivia:  The Band's keyboardist, Gary Phillips, was previously in the San Francisco rock band Earth Quake. They issued two albums for A&M beginning in 1971. Their manager, Matthew Kaufman, wasn't happy with how A&M was handling the band, so he went off and founded Beserkley Records. Earth Quake released four more LPs on the Beserkley label before breaking up in 1980. The meeting of Phillips and Greg Kihn eventually led to Kihn getting signed to Beserkley, which served as his home record label from 1976 to 1985. Phillips would join Kihn's band in 1983.

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