Happy Together – Turtles | Top 40 Chart Performance, Story and Song Meaning
Chart Performance: Pop (#1 for 3 weeks); 1967
Story Behind The Song By Ed Osborne
In 1965 a struggling LA surf band known as the Crossfires were ready to throw in the towel when they were offered contract with White Whale Records. With the British Invasion in full swing, the guys decided to switch musical streams, starting with a name change.
The “Tyrtles” (as in the Byrds) was a bit much, and they settled on the conventional spelling. They did, however, follow the Byrds’ lead and covered a Dylan song, It Ain’t Me Babe, for their first single. The Turtles also incorporated the Zombies’ soft-vocal-over-rockin’-instrumental sound for Babe, which went to #8 in 1965.
After rejecting Eve Of Destruction as a follow-up, the band’s chart fortunes flagged. While playing a club gig in New York City, two songwriters played the Turtles a terrible sounding demo of a tune other artists had already passed on.
The Turtles felt it fit their formula and began playing Happy Together live to resounding response. On vinyl, Happy hit #1 in March of 1967: the Turtles biggest-ever record.
This content and all Song Meaning articles were created and written by Top 40 Contributing Editor Ed Osborne. © 2024 Ed Osborne. All Rights Reserved. In addition to these song meaning articles, Ed has written our “Year in Music 1960s-1990s” articles.
Produced by:
- Joe Wissert
Lyrics Written by:
- Alan Gordon
- Garry Bonner
Ed Osborne
Hi. I got my first record at age two and never looked back, spending a decades-long career in radio and the music business. Even after years of reading about and listening to all types of music, I am still fascinated by it. Apart from that, I’m endlessly intrigued by art, nature, and the inner lives of people (and dogs).