The Story Behind “Happy Jack” by The Who and Why It’s Paul McCartney’s Favorite Song by the Band

The Who had much success in England before they broke through in America. The band landed five Top-10 singles in the UK before they even hit the Top 40 in the United States. “I Can See for Miles” was the American commercial breakthrough. It peaked at No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was the highest-charting single the band ever had in the U.S.

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The Who achieved much more success on the albums chart, where they consistently reached the Top 10, starting with Tommy. Despite not reaching the Top 10 with singles, Who’s Next, Quadrophenia, The Who by Numbers, Who Are You, Face Dancesand It’s Hard all reached single-digit positions on the U.S. albums chart. Even though it’s considered a classic today, “My Generation” peaked at No. 74 on the Billboard chart. “Substitute,” “A Legal Matter,” “The Kids Are Alright,” and “I’m a Boy” failed to chart.

Pete Townshend was writing novelty songs for his own amusement when he stumbled upon the first song to make a real noise in America. Let’s take a look at the story behind “Happy Jack” by The Who.

Happy Jack wasn’t old, but he was a man
He lived in the sand at the Isle of Man
The kids would all sing. He would take the wrong key
So they rode on his head on their furry donkey

It Was Paul McCartney’s Favorite Song

The Who recorded “Happy Jack” on November 10, 1966, at CBS Studios in London. Townshend’s family vacationed in the Isle of Man when he was a child, and there was a man who played with the children who inspired the song. In his 2012 memoir Who I Am, Townshend wrote, “I completed and assembled demos for a number of tracks intended for The Who’s still-untitled second album. I bought a cello and played it on ‘Happy Jack,’ a nonsense song I wrote about a village idiot from the Isle of Man. This is Paul McCartney’s favorite Who song—tellingly because it was partly inspired by ‘Eleanor Rigby,’ which I thought was a small masterpiece.”

The kids couldn’t hurt Jack
They tried and tried and tried
They dropped things on his back
And lied and lied and lied and lied and lied

The Who Sings Burl Ives

As with most songs by The Who, singer Roger Daltrey sang Townshend’s lyrics. He had to interpret them and present them night in and night out. “Happy Jack” presented quite a challenge. In 2015, Daltrey told Uncut magazine, “I remember when I first heard ‘Happy Jack,’ I thought, ‘What the f–k do I do with this? It’s like a German oompah song!’ I had a picture in my head that this was the kind of song that Burl Ives would sing, so ‘Happy Jack’ was my imitation of Burl Ives!”

But they couldn’t stop Jack, or the waters lapping
And they couldn’t prevent Jack from feeling happy

Daltrey Was Inspired by the Drummer

It was the contribution of drummer Keith Moon that moved the singer. Continued Daltrey, “But listen to Moon on that track—in those days, he was so distinctive. Even from the very first night he played with us. We got Keith, this kid we didn’t know out of the audience, on the drums, and it was like this f–king jet engine starting. I was like, ‘What the f–k’s this?!’ It was such instant chemistry. Really, we couldn’t have had any other drummer. He was incredible.”

The kids couldn’t hurt Jack
They tried and tried and tried
They dropped things on his back
And lied and lied and lied and lied and lied

Townshend Was Also Inspired by the Drummer

Keith Moon was determined to sing on “Happy Jack.” During the session, they tried to include him on backing vocals, but it just wasn’t working. Finally, they asked him to leave the studio. The drummer went to the control room, where he did everything he could to distract his band members. Realizing they were never going to get a finished track, producer Kit Lambert insisted Moon lie still on the studio floor out of sight. Moon couldn’t control himself as they continued to record the vocals, as he slowly raised up to peer through the glass at the musicians gathered around the microphone. At the end of the song, Townshend exclaims, “I saw you!” Lambert left the moment on the master, and it became such an integral part of the song that Townshend would repeat it live when the band played the song in concert.

But they couldn’t stop Jack, or the waters lapping
And they couldn’t prevent Jack from feeling happy

The Atmosphere of the Lyrics Was Meant to be Kafkaesque

On May 20, 1967, the same day “Happy Jack” entered the U.S. chart, “Pictures Of Lily” reached No. 4 in the UK. The Who were playing at a festival in Belgium that night, fired up by the realization their hard work was beginning to pay off. One of the differences from the original recording Townshend made was the section about feeling happy. Townshend shared some of the original lyrics in Who I Am, But they never stopped Jack, nor the waters’ lapping. And they couldn’t distract him from the seagulls’ flapping. These are the original words, slightly altered on The Who’s version; the atmosphere of the lyric is meant to be Kafkaesque.”

A Promotional Film Was Shot for the Song 

In 1966, The Who were scheduled to film a television series similar to The Monkees. They filmed a clip for the pilot episode as robbers attempting to heist a safe. A cake distracts them, and they begin smearing themselves with frosting. The police arrive and chase them out of the room. They never completed the show, but the footage was edited to “Happy Jack” as a promotional clip and appeared on The Kids Are Alright DVD. 

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Photo by Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

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