Happy Days! (1976) 2/25/20

A few years back, I had the honor of playing Howard Cunningham in a stage production of "Happy Days, The Musical."

It was fun to watch the young people in the cast discover the characters--and more than that--fall in love with the music, especially the "Happy Days" theme, which I consider to be a "Great Song of the '70s."

When "Happy Days" first came to ABC-TV in 1974, there were a few things that changed rather quickly: The oldest Cunningham kid, Chuck, vanished without a trace, and the Fonz went from being a minor character in a white windbreaker...to a leather clad hero of legendary proportions.

And the original theme song was Bill Haley's "Rock Around the Clock...until 1976, when show creator Garry Marshall decided it was time to create a theme specifically for the show.

He contacted the songwriting team of Norman Gimbel (who wrote "Killing Me Softly" for Roberta Flack) and Charles Fox (who wrote the theme from "The Love Boat"). They teamed up with musicians Truitt Pratt and Jerry McClain... and the rest is history!

The song went to #5 on the US Hot 100 and #3 in Canada...and thanks to reruns, you can still hear it every day.

Goodbye Gray Skies, Hello, Blue! Here's today's "Great Song of the '70s"--just for you!