Get Happy was composed by Harold Arlen with lyrics by Ted Koehler in 1929, marking the first collaboration between the two songwriters and launching Arlen's career as one of the Great American Songbook's most important composers. The song originated when Arlen improvised a catchy piano vamp during a rehearsal, which caught the ear of a director who connected him with Koehler. The lyricist drew on African-American gospel traditions, evoking the ecstatic expression of "getting happy" associated with receiving the Holy Spirit. Ruth Etting introduced the song in the Broadway revue The Nine-Fifteen Revue in 1930, and while the show struggled, the song endured through sheet music sales. Its gospel-infused melody, with wide interval jumps and rhythmic challenges, has made it more popular among instrumentalists than vocalists. The Arlen-Koehler partnership went on to produce standards including Stormy Weather and I've Got the World on a String. Notable recordings include Coleman Hawkins's relaxed 1943 swing interpretation, Bud Powell's influential up-tempo 1950 piano feature on Jazz Giant, and Ella Fitzgerald's definitive vocal reading from her 1960 Harold Arlen Songbook. Judy Garland became closely associated with the tune through the 1950 film Summer Stock and her concert performances. Get Happy remains a widely performed standard across jazz and popular music.
