Happy The Man was one of the few state of the art progressive rock bands in the 1970s that rivaled the classic British bands. Formed in Harrisonburg, Virginia in 1973, Happy The Man was influenced by British progressive groups such as Genesis and King Crimson.
By 1976 they came to the attention of Peter Gabriel who considered using the band on his first solo album. Although this failed to materialize, Happy The Man came to the ear of Arista Records, securing a recording deal the same year.
The original line-up featured five excellent musicians: Stanley Whitaker on guitars and vocals; Kit Watkins on keyboards; Frank Wyatt on saxophone, flute, keyboards; Rick Kennell on bass; and Mike Beck on drums.
Happy The Man recorded their first, self-titled, album under the production supervision of Ken Scott (who had worked with Supertramp and David Bowie).
Greeted with excellent reviews, the band recorded their second album, Crafty Hands, for Arista in 1978, produced once more by Ken Scott, and featuring Ron Riddle on drums.
The two remastered editions will be available October 29, 2012 in Europe.
Buy Happy The Man and Crafty Hands