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Is Everybody Happy?

Ted Lewis

Ted Lewis

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This 1929 short "Is Everybody Happy?" featuring Ted Lewis and his band was the first of several to be titled with his famous catchphrase. -A full-length film musical starring Lewis was also released by Warner Brothers under the same name in October of 1929.

For sentimental, hard-luck tunes Ted Lewis adopted a battered top hat referring to himself as "the high-hatted tragedian of song" and frequently strayed from lyrics, improvising chatter around them to create a more spontaneous effect. Lewis and his band appeared in a few other film musicals the same year most notably the Warner Brothers revue "The Show Of Shows". Their repertoire may have grown a bit corny as time went on, but Ted and the band did manage to remain commercially successful at a time when many groups disbanded.