"The Happy Organ," Dave "Baby" Cortez (1959)

An instrumental chart-topper guaranteed to improve your mood

Peak: #1 on the Hot 100
Streams: 1.9 million

As you may have noticed, I love writing about instrumentals that hit the top 10. That’s not only because they’re a relic of a bygone pop era, but also because they come in so many flavors. There was a time when a disco classical remake, a funky breakdown, and an Olympic theme could all hit within a few months of each other. Many segments of the listening public were primed to love wordless songs, whereas instrumentals are now mostly relegated to niche subgenres.

Given the volume of instrumentals scaling the charts during this period, it’s unsurprising that several of them went all the way to #1. You had the Miami Vice theme, the Chariots of Fire theme, and the Soul Train theme. You had “Fly, Robin, Fly” by Silver Convention and “Grazing in the Graze” by South African jazz legend Hugh Masekela. Again, there’s a little something for everyone.

But of the 25 instrumentals to top the Hot 100, the one I suspect is for the most people is “The Happy Organ” by Dave “Baby” Cortez. To me, it still sounds like a hit.

Apparently, this tune was meant to be recorded with vocals, but Cortez didn’t like how he sounded. Instead, he launched this peppy ditty into the world on its own, and damn, if that doesn’t make him seem prescient. In 1959 there weren’t that many organs on mainstream tunes, but that gospel flavor has since become bedrock to pop music. Meanwhile, Wild Jimmy Spruill’s guitar solo adds a rockabilly flair that sounds great to this day.

Now… does this song mimic the American folk tune “Shortnin Bread”? Yes, it does, but who cares? The melodic familiarity only makes it more accessible. You can tap your toe and realize, “Hey, I can sing along to this if I want to!”

I just read a YouTube comment from someone who says they play this song as their “happy wake up music” and that’s perfect. This is absolutely a tune you can use to get yourself out of bed.

Cortez clearly understood what made “The Happy Organ” work, because in 1962 he reached the top 10 again with “Rinky Dink,” an instrumental that could be “Happy Organ”’s cousin. It sounds so familiar to me, but I can’t place how. Perhaps it’s just been playing in the background of my entire life.

There’s not a lot of information about Dave “Baby” Cortez on the internet — even to confirm whether he’s alive or dead. But I hope that’s because he lived a normal, happy life.

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