Ev'rybody's Gonna Be Happy

"Ev'rybody's Gonna Be Happy" is a song by Ray Davies, released as a UK single by the Kinks in 1965. As the follow-up to the number-one hit "Tired of Waiting for You", and having their previous three singles all chart among the top two, it was less successful, reaching number 17.[2] It broke a run of what would have been thirteen consecutive top-ten singles in the UK.

"Ev'rybody's Gonna Be Happy"
Dutch picture sleeve
Single by the Kinks
from the album Kinda Kinks (US edition)
A-side"Who'll Be the Next in Line" (US)
B-side"Who'll Be the Next in Line" (UK)
Released19 March 1965
Recorded22–23 December 1964[1]
StudioPye, London
Genre
Label
Songwriter(s)Ray Davies
Producer(s)Shel Talmy
The Kinks UK singles chronology
"Tired of Waiting for You"
(1965)		 "Ev'rybody's Gonna Be Happy"
(1965)		 "Set Me Free"
(1965)
The Kinks US singles chronology
"Set Me Free"
(1965)		 "Who'll Be the Next in Line" / "Ev'rybody's Gonna Be Happy"
(1965)		 "See My Friends"
(1965)

The song was written as a musical experiment, rather than as an intended single, according to Davies in an interview, where he also claimed that the demo became the master version of it.[3]

Background

Both sides of the single were recorded in December 1964 in the same session as the B-side and final overdubs for "Tired of Waiting for You".[4] "Ev'rybody's Gonna Be Happy" drew inspiration from the Earl Van Dyke trio, whom the Kinks had previously toured with.[4] Upon hearing the playback, the Kinks producer Shel Talmy was skeptical of the single's release, as he did not like the sound, in contrast to Davies who was convinced that it would become a hit.[5]

Following the disappointing performance in the UK, Reprise held off releasing the single in the US. They did release follow-up "Set Me Free" but when the next UK single "See My Friends" was judged to be even less suitable, they flipped the "Ev'rybody..." single with "Who'll Be the Next in Line" as the A-side, releasing it four months after the UK version. Although only a moderate hit, reaching number 34, it was more successful than "See My Friends" which, when it was eventually released in the US in September, failed to reach the Billboard Hot 100 (peaking at #111).

As well as being the US B-side, "Ev'rybody's Gonna Be Happy" was included as the first track on side 2 of the US version of the Kinda Kinks album.

Cash Box described it as a "catchy, high-spirited, rhythmic multi-beat teen-oriented terpsichorean item."[6]

Personnel

According to band researcher Doug Hinman:[1]

The Kinks

Additional musicians

  • Rasa Davies – backing vocal
  • Unidentified girlfriends of band members – backing vocals

Charts
Chart (1965) Peak
position
France (IFOP)[7] 31
Germany (Official German Charts)[8] 29
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[9] 28
Sweden (Tio i Topp)[10] 12
UK Singles (OCC)[11] 17

References
  1. Hinman 2004, p. 51.
  2. Kinks in the UK Charts, The Official Charts. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
  3. Rogan, Johnny (5 March 2015). Ray Davies: A Complicated Life. Random House. ISBN 978-1-84792-331-8.
  4. Kitts, Thomas M. (23 January 2008). Ray Davies: Not Like Everybody Else. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-135-86795-9.
  5. Rogan, Johnny (5 March 2015). Ray Davies: A Complicated Life. Random House. ISBN 978-1-84792-331-8.
  6. "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. 31 July 1965. p. 12. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  7. "InfoDisc : Les Tubes de chaque Artiste commençant par K" (in French). InfoDisc. Select "Kinks" from the artist drop-down menu. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  8. "The Kinks – Ev'rybody's Gonna Be Happy" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts.
  9. "Nederlandse Top 40 – The Kinks" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
  10. Hallberg, Eric; Henningsson, Ulf (2012). Tio i Topp - med de utslagna "på försök" 1961–74 (in Swedish). Premium. p. 205. ISBN 978-91-89136-89-2.
  11. "Kinks: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.

Sources
  • Hinman, Doug (2004). The Kinks: All Day and All of the Night: Day by Day Concerts, Recordings, and Broadcasts, 1961–1996. San Francisco, California: Backbeat Books. ISBN 978-0-87930-765-3.
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