Happy Town
Encyclopedia
Happy Town is the third album
by American
singer-songwriter
Jill Sobule
, released in 1997. (see 1997 in music
). The album contained the singles "Bitter" and "When My Ship Comes In" as well as the fan favorite "Half a Heart," and the satirical social commentary "Soldiers of Christ" where Sobule sings from the point of view of a Christian
Conservative
to illustrate the existence of Homophobia
in religion. Meanwhile, "Love Is Never Equal" appeared on the 2005 Jenny McCarthy
film Dirty Love
.
The album cover illustration, which initially featured a Prozac pill, was changed to show a pair of test tube
s when Wal-Mart
refused to carry the album in its stores. The company asserted that the original image promoted drug abuse
.
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
by American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
Jill Sobule
Jill Sobule
Jill Sobule is an American singer-songwriter best known for the 1995 single "I Kissed a Girl", and "Supermodel" from the soundtrack of the 1995 film Clueless...
, released in 1997. (see 1997 in music
1997 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1997.-January:*January 9 – David Bowie performs his 50th Birthday Bash concert at Madison Square Garden, New York City, USA with guests Frank Black, The Foo Fighters, Sonic Youth, Robert Smith of The Cure, Lou Reed, and Billy...
). The album contained the singles "Bitter" and "When My Ship Comes In" as well as the fan favorite "Half a Heart," and the satirical social commentary "Soldiers of Christ" where Sobule sings from the point of view of a Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
Conservative
Conservative Christianity
Conservative Christianity is a term applied to a number of groups or movements seen as giving priority to traditional Christian beliefs and practices...
to illustrate the existence of Homophobia
Homophobia
Homophobia is a term used to refer to a range of negative attitudes and feelings towards lesbian, gay and in some cases bisexual, transgender people and behavior, although these are usually covered under other terms such as biphobia and transphobia. Definitions refer to irrational fear, with the...
in religion. Meanwhile, "Love Is Never Equal" appeared on the 2005 Jenny McCarthy
Jenny McCarthy
Jennifer Ann "Jenny" McCarthy is an American model, comedian, actress, author, activist, and game show host. She began her career in 1993 as a nude model for Playboy magazine and was later named their Playmate of the Year. McCarthy then parlayed her Playboy fame into a successful television and...
film Dirty Love
Dirty Love
Dirty Love is a 2005 comedy written by and starring Jenny McCarthy and directed by John Mallory Asher. At the time of filming McCarthy and Asher were married, they divorced the month the film went into wide release...
.
The album cover illustration, which initially featured a Prozac pill, was changed to show a pair of test tube
Test tube
A test tube, also known as a culture tube or sample tube, is a common piece of laboratory glassware consisting of a finger-like length of glass or clear plastic tubing, open at the top, usually with a rounded U-shaped bottom....
s when Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. , branded as Walmart since 2008 and Wal-Mart before then, is an American public multinational corporation that runs chains of large discount department stores and warehouse stores. The company is the world's 18th largest public corporation, according to the Forbes Global 2000...
refused to carry the album in its stores. The company asserted that the original image promoted drug abuse
Drug abuse
Substance abuse, also known as drug abuse, refers to a maladaptive pattern of use of a substance that is not considered dependent. The term "drug abuse" does not exclude dependency, but is otherwise used in a similar manner in nonmedical contexts...
.
Track listing
- "Bitter" (BaroneRichard BaroneRichard Barone is a rock musician born in Tampa, Florida who gained attention as frontman for The Bongos. He works as a songwriter, arranger, author, director, and producer, releases albums as a solo artist, tours, and has created major concert events at Carnegie Hall, Hollywood Bowl and New York's...
, Sobule) – 3:30 - "Happy Town" (Goldenberg, Sobule) – 3:46
- "Barren Egg" (Eaton, Sobule) – 3:37
- "Half a Heart" (DeMain, Sobule) – 3:47
- "When My Ship Comes In" (Eaton, Gaye, Hunter, Sobule, Stevenson) – 3:50
- "Clever" (Eaton, Sobule) – 3:18
- "I'm So Happy" (Eaton, Sobule) – 2:43
- "Little Guy" (Sobule) – 3:24
- "Underachiever" (Sobule) – 3:42
- "Love Is Never Equal" (Eaton, Sobule) – 3:15
- "Soldiers of Christ" (Eaton, Sobule) – 3:20
- "Attic" (Sobule) – 2:10
- "Sold My Soul" (Eaton, Sobule) – 3:35
- "Super 8" (Galdston, Sobule) – 2:26
Personnel
- Jill Sobule – vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, acoustic guitar, bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
, drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
, eboEboEbo can refer to:* Ebbo, an archbishop of Reims* Ebo , a spider genus* Ebo Elder, a professional boxer* Ebo, Angola, a municipality* Igbo people, an ethnic group based in Nigeria, sometimes called Ebo...
, vibraphoneVibraphoneThe vibraphone, sometimes called the vibraharp or simply the vibes, is a musical instrument in the struck idiophone subfamily of the percussion family.... - Sam Bacco – percussion
- George Bradfute – electric guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
- Louis Brown – tubaTubaThe tuba is the largest and lowest-pitched brass instrument. Sound is produced by vibrating or "buzzing" the lips into a large cupped mouthpiece. It is one of the most recent additions to the modern symphony orchestra, first appearing in the mid-19th century, when it largely replaced the...
, cornetCornetThe cornet is a brass instrument very similar to the trumpet, distinguished by its conical bore, compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B. It is not related to the renaissance and early baroque cornett or cornetto.-History:The cornet was... - Chris Carmichael – strings
- Steve EarleSteve EarleStephen Fain "Steve" Earle is an American singer-songwriter known for his rock and Texas Country as well as his political views. He is also a producer, author, a political activist, and an actor, and has written and directed a play....
– electric guitar, vocals - Robin Eaton – guitar
- Phil Galdston – keyboards
- Mark Goldenberg – guitar, keyboards, vocals
- Mickey Grimm – percussion, drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
- Jim Hoke – clarinetClarinetThe clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
, fluteFluteThe flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
, harmonicaHarmonicaThe harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
, autoharpAutoharpThe autoharp is a musical string instrument having a series of chord bars attached to dampers, which, when depressed, mute all of the strings other than those that form the desired chord. Despite its name, the autoharp is not a harp at all, but a chorded zither. -History:There is debate over the...
, bass clarinet, soprano saxophoneSoprano saxophoneThe soprano saxophone is a variety of the saxophone, a woodwind instrument, invented in 1840. The soprano is the third smallest member of the saxophone family, which consists of the soprillo, sopranino, soprano, alto, tenor, baritone, bass, contrabass and tubax.A transposing instrument pitched in... - Byron House – upright bass
- Brad Jones – organOrgan (music)The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
, bass, pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, harmoniumHarmoniumA harmonium is a free-standing keyboard instrument similar to a reed organ. Sound is produced by air being blown through sets of free reeds, resulting in a sound similar to that of an accordion...
, keyboards, Moog synthesizerMoog synthesizerMoog synthesizer may refer to any number of analog synthesizers designed by Dr. Robert Moog or manufactured by Moog Music, and is commonly used as a generic term for older-generation analog music synthesizers. The Moog company pioneered the commercial manufacture of modular voltage-controlled...
, vibraphoneVibraphoneThe vibraphone, sometimes called the vibraharp or simply the vibes, is a musical instrument in the struck idiophone subfamily of the percussion family.... - Viktor KraussViktor KraussViktor Karl Krauss is a bassist.He has worked with Peter Rowan and Lyle Lovett, among other musicians.He is the brother of bluegrass musician Alison Krauss. He has played on some of his sister's albums, together with those of her dobro player, Jerry Douglas.-External links:*...
– upright bass - Roger Moutenot – Moog synthesizer
- Al Perkins – pedal steel
- Ross Rice – bass, piano, drums, harmonium, WurlitzerWurlitzerThe Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, usually referred to simply as Wurlitzer, was an American company that produced stringed instruments, woodwinds, brass instruments, theatre organs, band organs, orchestrions, electronic organs, electric pianos and jukeboxes....
Production
- Producers: Robin Eaton, Mark Goldenberg, Brad Jones
- Engineers: Brad Jones, Dominick Maita, Elijah Shaw
- Mixing: Roger Moutenot
- Mixing assistants: Rich Cohan, Sandy Jenkins, Chris Stone
- Programming: Mark Goldenberg
- Photography: Annette Aurell
- Arranger: Phil Galdston
- Production Coordination: Barbara Moutenot
- Cover Design: Brad Talbott
- Illustrations: Brad Talbott
- Background Vocals: Bob, Jim, Mary Ellen and Matthew Sobule