"Knock, knock. Who's there? It's the Happy Gang! Well, come on in!"
The Happy Gang. Troupe of musical entertainers heard 1937-59, weekdays at lunchtime, in a CBC radio variety show of the same name. The show began 14 Jun 1937 on station CRCT (a CBC affiliate in Toronto), moved to the CBC network four months later, and ran for 22 years, nearly 4900 broadcasts in total. It was heard in its prime years by some two million Canadians daily and also was carried for a time in the USA by the MBS network.
The Happy Gang was organized by the singer-pianist Bert Pearl (b Winnipeg 2 Feb 1913, d Los Angeles 17 Jun 1986).
The show adhered to a rigid formula, beginning with the sound of knocking on a door, followed in turn by Bert Pearl's question 'Who's there?,' the collective response 'It's the Happy Gang!' and Pearl's invitation 'Well, come on in!' The group then sang the theme 'Keep Happy with the Happy Gang,' written by Pearl.
source: The Canadian Encyclopedia
Canadian Happy Gang and their amazing history
I was born in 1940 and grew up listening to the Happy Gang on the radio. I never tired of Bert Pearl's words ""Knock, knock. Who's there? It's the Happy Gang! Well, come on in!"By 1938, The Happy Gang was a popular light-entertainment staple on CBC. The midday program aired for 30 minutes five times a week, featuring a cast of musicians playing popular songs of the day peppered with frothy banter and corny jokes. In the show's heyday, two million listeners were tuning in daily in Canada alone, and the program was exported to the United States.
Headed by "Old Pappy," Winnipeg-born pianist and bandleader Bert Pearl, the Gang was originally put together for a summer replacement show. It lasted over 20 years, from 1937 to 1959
The Happy Gang made many records for the RCA Victor - "Carry On", "Bugle Call Rag", "Don't Play Bingo Tonight, Mother" - and the memory of their contribution in uplifting the spirits of a war-torn country has not been forgotten.
Canadian Happy Gang at a Glance
Category: File - :TheHappyGang-display CBCMuseum.jpg|thumb|right|The Happy Gang display at the CBC Museum, 2009
The Happy Gang was a Canadian Broadcasting Corporation radio lunchtime variety show that ran from from 1937 to 1959. The show began on CRCT, a CBC affiliate in Toronto, moved to the CBC network four months later, and ran for 22 years, totalling nearly 4900 broadcasts.
The series also served as the template for CBC's French language service, Les Joyeux Troubadours, which was broadcast in Quebec from 1941 to 1977.
In 1937, CBC Regional Program Director George Taggart was given the assignment to come up with a Monday-through-Friday half-hour variety program that would fill the period 1.00 to 1.30 PM E.S.T. His tight budget permitted only four musicians. To ?lead the band?, and as Master of Ceremonies, Taggart's choice was Bert Pearl. His fellow musicians were trumpeter Robert (Bob) Farnon, violinist Blain Mathe and organist Kathleen (Kay) Stokes. Herb May, who served his apprenticeship with CBO Ottawa and had been moved to Toronto, became the show's first regular announcer. George Temple was appointed producer. Singer-accordionist Eddie Allen joined in 1938 and remained with the Gang for the remainder of their history, along with Mathé and Stokes.
Other instrumentalists who were members of the troupe include:
* trumpeter Bobby Gimby - from 1943-April 1959
* saxophonist-clarinetist Cliff McKay - 1943-52 and returned to replace Gimby
* keyboardist Jimmy Namaro - 1943 to 1959
* bassist Joe Niosi - 1945 to 1959
* organist Lou Snider - 1948 to 1957
* pianist Lloyd Edwards - 1950 to 1959
* saxophonist-clarinetist Bert Niosi - 1952 to 1959
* accordionist Les Foster - 1955 to 1959.
The show's announcers were Herb May until 1938, Hugh Bartlett 1938-1952, and Barry Wood 1952-1959.
Remembering "The Happy Gang"
- Remembering The Happy Gang
- The double knock on the door occurred every afternoon at 1.
"Who's there?"
"It's the Happy Gang."
"Well, come on in!"
Then Eddie Allen, Bert Pearl, Bobby Gimby and the rest of the cast of Canada's most popular radio program would break into "Keep happy with the Happy Gang."
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Happy Gang Index
- Canadian Happy Gang and their amazing history
- Canadian Happy Gang at a Glance
- Play the old radio show promo
- Remembering "The Happy Gang"
- Great Canadian Music from Amazon
- Quick, what do you think of Canadian Happy Gang?
- Canadian Music Videos
- Vote for your favorite Canadian stuff
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- Shout Out For Canadian Happy Gang!
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