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DaleHauskins View Drop Down
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Points: 239 		Direct Link To This Post Topic: Happy the Man
    Posted: October 09 2014 at 13:26
 Whhoa,can't believe you're just gettin' enlighten and schooled up on this Tobias....















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Edited by DaleHauskins - October 09 2014 at 13:28
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Tobias273 View Drop Down
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Points: 8 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 09 2014 at 12:22
Oh wow. That's even more obscure than if they based their name on the Genesis song. I've read Goethe's Faust (but in german) and I could only guess how it's associated with the phrase Happy the man (it's surely used in the english translation and reflects the story but it's still rather vague). Both the Bible (most Bible translations are based on Luthers bible at least) and Faust are essentially german and as I found out the guitarist and the bassist first met in germany. I guess they liked the german culture but the association with both books is very vague.
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Points: 3126 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 08 2014 at 11:41
Originally posted by rushfan4 rushfan4 wrote:

Originally posted by Darious Darious wrote:

Originally posted by Atavachron Atavachron wrote:

BTW they took their name from the Genesis single.
That's lovely, although Happy The Man website states something different on the band's history tab. The small print there reads as follows: "It was now early 1973, and Whitaker’s elder brother, Ken, having elected to become the band’s sound engineer, suggested the name Happy The Man, a reference to Goethe’s "Faust", and the Bible, rather than the obscure Genesis single which, at the time, nobody in the band even knew existed"
The origin of the band name from page 1 of this thread.

Correct! Wow ..that other theory has been quite cemented into people's heads. even mine.
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timothy leary View Drop Down
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Points: 5319 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 08 2014 at 11:05

Happy the Man

Happy the man, and happy he alone,
He who can call today his own:
He who, secure within, can say,
Tomorrow do thy worst, for I have lived today.
Be fair or foul or rain or shine,
The joys I have possessed, in spite of fate, are mine.
Not Heaven itself upon the past has power,
But what has been, has been, and I have had my hour.


John Dryden 1670??
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Points: 66582 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 08 2014 at 10:58
Originally posted by Darious Darious wrote:

Originally posted by Atavachron Atavachron wrote:

BTW they took their name from the Genesis single.
That's lovely, although Happy The Man website states something different on the band's history tab. The small print there reads as follows: "It was now early 1973, and Whitaker’s elder brother, Ken, having elected to become the band’s sound engineer, suggested the name Happy The Man, a reference to Goethe’s "Faust", and the Bible, rather than the obscure Genesis single which, at the time, nobody in the band even knew existed"
The origin of the band name from page 1 of this thread.
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Points: 3126 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 08 2014 at 10:52
Originally posted by Tobias273 Tobias273 wrote:

I've never heard of them before. Is their name based on an unreleased Genesis song ("Happy the Man")? I thought this was going to be about that songUnhappy

Happy The Man were American Genesis fans and they probably owned the single/45. I'm sure they intended to adapt the name. They were mostly instrumental , influenced by Gentle Giant, Yes, Genesis, and Mahavishnu Orchestra, created a voice of their own ..becoming Happy The Man. Their music has personality and their distinctive sound is totally original...which!..makes them unique in a day and age where many Prog bands have struggled with musical identity. Happy The Man are one of a kind.
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Points: 8 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 08 2014 at 10:01
I've never heard of them before. Is their name based on an unreleased Genesis song ("Happy the Man")? I thought this was going to be about that songUnhappy
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Points: 66582 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 26 2014 at 12:59
I just learned of this missing link album between Happy The Man and Oblivion Sun.
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timothy leary View Drop Down
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Points: 5319 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 19 2014 at 12:22
Masters of syncopation and way way undervalued.
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Dean Watson View Drop Down
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Points: 167 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 19 2014 at 11:03
My introduction to them is as follows:

We decided to drive to NYC from Toronto for a weekend.  Being a musician, we hit all the music stores there.  I was a big fan of UK at the time and I was sitting at a Fender Rhodes piano playing - probably - In The Dead Of Night, and the salesrep comes up to me and says "If you like that stuff, you'll like Happy The Man".  So, on a whim, right after, my friend and I went to the nearest record store and purchased "Crafty Hands".  We couldn't listen to it while we were away and anxiously waited to get back to T.O. and put the LP on.  We got back, put it on the stereo and that was that!  We were hooked on HTM.  Been so ever since.
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Points: 3126 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 19 2014 at 08:49
I have always been a devoted fan. I first discovered Happy The Man in 1979 when I traveled the road with a Progressive Rock band that was doing 50% originals and 50% prog covers. As we traveled...a DJ gave the first 2 Happy the Man albums to my drummer. After our gig, we sat and listened to the albums at our headquarters in Media P.A. At that time we were using western P.A. as a springboard. We were amazed by their music, although I had seen their name posted in various towns/cities that I performed in during the 70's. I had never heard the band prior to that evening. Finally on one particular night we played this huge club in P.A. and a DJ handed me a copy of Crafty Hands. He was brutal as he remarked to me that no one was interested in this type of music. Finally I put 2 and 2 together realizing that because Prog was getting pushed further and further away from media promotion, that new bands like Happy the Man really didn't have a chance at anything short of clubs and theatres.

Eventually the drummer and I attempted to race across town to see the band on our breaks and didn't get any further than the parking lot at our venue...as we were stopped by roadies who told us we wouldn't make it back in time for the next set. We were disgusted. When we played in Fort Dix , NJ...Happy the Man were performing at Alexanders. Nektar were also performing there. I played Kit Watkins keyboard parts on guitar and during soundchecks, we ran through several Happy the Man pieces. They were a major influence on my writing. I also recall playing in Maryland and Delaware and seeing their name posted here and there. It was a fantastic time traveling the east coast and playing the same circuits as these bands. Happy The Man were so incredibly outstanding that fine musicians in the important cities were shocked by their tightness. Everyone on the circuit in 79' knew about the band and praised them endlessly. I miss those times and I greatly miss Happy The Man. I long for some record label to officially release their performance at Nearfest in 2000. The piece "Service With A Smile" was released on a compilation cd from Wayside Music years ago. It was a performance from Nearfest 2000 and it was beautiful. Someone must have that performance on tape and I hope that someone will go the distance one day and release it in it's entirety.
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Points: 20650 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 19 2014 at 08:30
I would have liked to have heard a couple of albums with Gabriel and Happy the Man in a collaborative effort.
I think they would have done some really interesting music. His first 4 albums are good but after that I think his work became somewhat boring compared to his older material. Happy The Man might have been what he needed to keep his songs proggier but with a new edge using some of their musical ideas.
One does nothing yet nothing is left undone.
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Points: 1474 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 18 2014 at 19:52
Originally posted by Slartibartfast Slartibartfast wrote:

Originally posted by dr wu23 dr wu23 wrote:

Great band....have all of their releases including Deaths Crown .
 
I thought that Gabriel wanted them for his backing band at one time after he left Genesis..?

Me too. Big smile

Oh and by the way, if an American band has one French member play drums with them for a while, they automatically become a French band.  That's just the way it works.  Sorry.  Tongue


Yeah apparently it only works with French musicians. Tongue
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dr wu23 View Drop Down
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Points: 20650 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 16 2014 at 09:40
Originally posted by Slartibartfast Slartibartfast wrote:

Originally posted by dr wu23 dr wu23 wrote:

Great band....have all of their releases including Deaths Crown .
 
I thought that Gabriel wanted them for his backing band at one time after he left Genesis..?

Me too. Big smile

Oh and by the way, if an American band has one French member play drums with them for a while, they automatically become a French band.  That's just the way it works.  Sorry.  Tongue
LOL
One does nothing yet nothing is left undone.
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Darious View Drop Down
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Points: 246 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 16 2014 at 07:02
Originally posted by Slartibartfast Slartibartfast wrote:

Oh and by the way, if an American band has one French member play drums with them for a while, they automatically become a French band.  That's just the way it works.  Sorry.  Tongue
Yeah, so I heard - Phil Collins looks a bit Italiano to me. He is such a little Joe Pesci at times. Shall we consider Genesis as Progressivo Italiano from now on? LOL
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Points: 29630 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 16 2014 at 06:18
Originally posted by dr wu23 dr wu23 wrote:

Great band....have all of their releases including Deaths Crown .
 
I thought that Gabriel wanted them for his backing band at one time after he left Genesis..?

Me too. Big smile

Oh and by the way, if an American band has one French member play drums with them for a while, they automatically become a French band.  That's just the way it works.  Sorry.  Tongue
Released date are often when it it impacted you but recorded dates are when it really happened...
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dr wu23 View Drop Down
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Points: 20650 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 15 2014 at 22:25
Great band....have all of their releases including Deaths Crown .
 
I thought that Gabriel wanted them for his backing band at one time after he left Genesis..?
One does nothing yet nothing is left undone.
Haquin
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Prog_Traveller View Drop Down
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Points: 1474 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 15 2014 at 16:39
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Bergamini

Edited by Prog_Traveller - September 15 2014 at 16:40
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DaleHauskins View Drop Down
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Points: 239 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 15 2014 at 16:20
Their drummer Coco is French;and mostly known playing in French bands.
http://www.everythinghappytheman.com/coco.html
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Prog_Traveller View Drop Down
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Points: 1474 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 15 2014 at 16:12
Originally posted by DaleHauskins DaleHauskins wrote:

Well,at least you know now Happy the Man wasn't a US prog band.


Of course they were(and are). Most of the members are from the US and they were formed in the US. One foreign member(who wasn't an original member and only on one album) doesn't change that. Here look at this if you don't believe they are a US band. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Happy_the_Man


Edited by Prog_Traveller - September 15 2014 at 16:19
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