"Happy Jack" is a rock song from British rock band, The Who

The Who

The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...

, released in December 1966 in the UK and peaking at #3. It was their first top forty hit in the USA, released in March 1967 and peaking at #24. It was included on the USA version of their second album. The album was titled A Quick One

A Quick One

A Quick One is the second album by English rock band The Who, released in 1966. The American record company executives at Decca Records released the album under the title Happy Jack, rather than the sexually suggestive title of the original UK release, and due to "Happy Jack" being a top 40 hit in...

in the UK and retitled Happy Jack for the USA.

This song features Roger Daltrey on lead vocals with John Entwistle singing the first verse (it's one of the only songs composed by Pete Townshend to feature John Entwistle on lead vocals). At the tail end of "Happy Jack", Townshend

Pete Townshend

Peter Dennis Blandford "Pete" Townshend is an English rock guitarist, vocalist, songwriter and author, known principally as the guitarist and songwriter for the rock group The Who, as well as for his own solo career...

 can be heard shouting "I saw you!", and it is said that he was noticing drummer Keith Moon

Keith Moon

Keith John Moon was an English musician, best known for being the drummer of the English rock group The Who. He gained acclaim for his exuberant and innovative drumming style, and notoriety for his eccentric and often self-destructive behaviour, earning him the nickname "Moon the Loon". Moon...

 trying to join in surreptitiously to add his voice to the recording, something the rest of the band disliked.

According to some sources, Townshend reported the song is about a man who slept on the beach near where Townshend vacationed as a child. Children on the beach would laugh at the man and once buried him in the sand. However, the man never seemed to mind and only smiled in response.

Live performances

This song was first performed by The Who in 1967 and continued to be played until 1970. It was also performed in Townshend's first solo concert in 1974. The most recent performances of this song were short one-and-a-half minute versions at the Shepherd's Bush Empire, London on December 22 and 23, 1999.

A tease of this song was played at a 1982 concert in Indianapolis

Indianapolis

Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...

 to appease a fan who was holding a sign saying, "Play Happy Jack, It's My Birthday!", which was blocking the vision of several fans behind him. However, Townshend stated that he and the band couldn't remember how to play the full song anymore.

Cover versions

American rock band Southern Culture on the Skids

Southern Culture on the Skids

Southern Culture on the Skids, also sometimes known as SCOTS, is an American rock band that was formed in 1983 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina...

 covered it on their 2007 album Countrypolitan Favorites. The song was used as the soundtrack to an endearing but controversial Hummer

Hummer

Hummer was a brand of trucks and SUVs, first marketed in 1992 when AM General began selling a civilian version of the M998 Humvee. In 1998, General Motors purchased the brand name and marketed three vehicles: the original Hummer H1, based on the Humvee; and the H2 and H3 models that were...

TV commercial in 2005.