Makin' Happy

"Makin' Happy" is a song by American singer and songwriter Crystal Waters, released in 1991 as the second single from her debut studio album, Surprise (1991). It was the follow-up to Waters' hugely successful song "Gypsy Woman" and achieved moderate success in European countries. In the US, the song spent one week at number-one on the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart and it also reached the top of the Canadian RPM Dance/Urban chart. In the United Kingdom, the single peaked at number 18.

"Makin' Happy"
Single by Crystal Waters
from the album Surprise
Released1991
GenreHouse
Length
  • 5:33 (album version)
  • 6:21 (Hurley's Happy House Mix)
Label
Songwriter(s)
  • Neal Conway
  • Mark Harris
  • Crystal Waters
Producer(s)The Basement Boys
Crystal Waters singles chronology
"Gypsy Woman"
(1991)		 "Makin' Happy"
(1991)		 "100% Pure Love"
(1994)
Music video
"Makin' Happy" on YouTube

Critical reception

Alex Henderson from AllMusic complimented the song as a "highly addictive and enjoyable house/neo-disco fare".[1] Larry Flick from Billboard described it as "a frenetic and hypnotic jam".[2] He remarked that it "maintains a similar deep house vibe [as her first single]. Waters more than proves her songwriting talent here, while her unique feline vocals will test some and delight others."[3] Andy Kastanas from The Charlotte Observer declared it as "a housy tune that's bound to, well, make you happy, what else?"[4] Push from Melody Maker felt it "would certainly do well as a follow-up. You might mistake it for Flowered Up's "Take It" until the oompah-bumped house beats and Crystal's jazzy vocals weigh in. The lyrics are basically all about having sex, when, where and how you fancy."[5]

Machgiel Bakker from Music & Media called it "pop-house".[6] An editor also commented in an album review, "Just repeat the words 'Makin' Happy' endlessly and you'll get a good flavour of 'Gypsy Woman, Part II'."[7] James Hamilton from Music Week's RM Dance Update wrote that "the strange nasally pitched girl is less Eartha Kitt-like for her follow-up to 'Gypsy Woman', a jauntly trotting repetitive canterer with some "ooh wee ooh wee ooh" (and a guy's "so happy") instead of all the "la da dee, la dee da"."[8] Stuart Maconie from New Musical Express declared it as "a spectacularly bangin' tune".[9] Jonathan Bernstein from Spin described it as "ebullient".[10]

Track listing and formats
  • UK 7-inch vinyl single
  1. "Makin' Happy" (Hurley's Happy House Mix) — 3:49
  2. "Makin' Happy" (Basement Boys Happy Club Mix) — 3:31
  • UK CD maxi-single
  1. "Makin' Happy" (Hurley's Happy House Mix) — 3:49
  2. "Makin' Happy" (Hurley's Happy House Mix II) — 6:22
  3. "Makin' Happy" (Basement Boys Happy Club Mix) — 3:31
  4. "Makin' Happy" (Basement Boys Happy Club Mix II) — 7:52
  • Netherlands and UK 12-inch vinyl single
  1. "Makin' Happy" (Hurley's happy house mix) — 6:22
  2. "Makin' Happy" (basement boys happy club mix) — 7:52
  • UK CD maxi-single
  1. "Makin' Happy" (Hurley's Happy House Mix 7") — 3:52
  2. "Makin' Happy" (Hurley's Happy House Mix 12") — 6:24
  3. "Makin' Happy" (Basement Boys Happy Club Mix 12") — 7:52
  • US 12-inch vinyl maxi-single
  1. "Makin' Happy" (Hurley's Happy House Mix) — 6:23
  2. "Makin' Happy" (Hurley's Insane Mix) — 6:24
  3. "Makin' Happy" (Basement Boys Happy Club Mix) — 7:52
  4. "Makin' Happy" (Basement Boys Happy Hump) — 6:14

Charts
Chart (1991) Peak
position
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[11] 21
Canada Dance/Urban (RPM)[12] 1
Europe Dance (Music & Media)[13] 5
France (SNEP)[14] 17
Ireland (IRMA)[15] 22
Italy (Musica e dischi)[16] 9
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40 Tipparade)[17] 2
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[18] 27
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[19] 22
UK Singles (OCC)[20] 18
UK Dance (Music Week)[21] 9
US Dance Club Songs (Billboard)[22] 1
US Dance Singles Sales (Billboard)[23] 1
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[24] 63
US Radio Songs (Billboard)[25] 58

References
  1. Henderson, Alex. "Crystal Waters – Surprise". AllMusic. Retrieved 2020-11-04.
  2. Flick, Larry (1991-06-22). "Dance Trax: Hi-NRG Awards Set; Waters Flowing; Princely Track" (PDF). Billboard. p. 31. Retrieved 2020-10-11.
  3. Flick, Larry (1991-08-10). "Single Reviews" (PDF). Billboard. p. 67. Retrieved 2020-10-23.
  4. Kastanas, Andy (1991-08-28). "Sounds of Progress". p. 10. The Charlotte Observer.
  5. Push (1991-07-27). "Albums". Melody Maker. p. 32. Retrieved 2023-04-29.
  6. Bakke, Machgiel (1991-09-28). "Dance: Dancing All Over The Airwaves" (PDF). Music & Media. p. 13. Retrieved 2020-10-20.
  7. "New Releases: Albums" (PDF). Music & Media. 1991-08-10. p. 10. Retrieved 2020-10-04.
  8. Hamilton, James (1991-08-10). "DJ Directory: Hot Vinyl" (PDF). Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental Insert). p. 6. Retrieved 2020-10-03.
  9. Maconie, Stuart (1992-01-04). "Singles". New Musical Express. p. 15. Retrieved 2023-02-20.
  10. Bernstein, Jonathan (1994-06-01). "SPINS: Crystal Waters - Storyteller". Spin. Retrieved 2020-03-16.
  11. "Crystal Waters – Makin' Happy" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  12. "Top RPM Dance/Urban: Issue 1663." RPM. Library and Archives Canada.
  13. "European Dance Radio" (PDF). Music & Media. 1991-09-28. p. 13. Retrieved 2021-10-25.
  14. "Crystal Waters – Makin' Happy" (in French). Les classement single.
  15. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Makin' Happy". Irish Singles Chart.
  16. "Classifiche". Musica e Dischi (in Italian). Retrieved 2022-05-29. Set "Tipo" on "Singoli". Then, in the "Artista" field, search "Crystal Waters".
  17. "Crystal Waters - Makin' Happy" (in Dutch). top40.nl. Retrieved 2018-03-31.
  18. "Crystal Waters – Makin' Happy" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  19. "Crystal Waters – Makin' Happy". Swiss Singles Chart.
  20. "Crystal Waters: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.
  21. "Top 60 Dance Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 1991-09-07. p. 22. Retrieved 2020-09-28.
  22. "Crystal Waters Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard.
  23. "Crystal Waters Chart History (Dance Singles Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
  24. "Crystal Waters Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard.
  25. "Crystal Waters Chart History (Radio Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.