Pharrell Williams' massive hit "Happy," like his assist on Robin Thicke's creeper song "Blurred Lines," wasn't exactly the product of Williams' singular soulful genius; I reckon everyone knows "Lines" was a contemporary rewrite of a well-known Marvin Gaye song, "Got to Give It Up." Well, in the same manner "Lines" was appropriated, "Happy" was also nicked. In this instance Pharrell chose to rewrite a more obscure late-'70s B-side by Velvet Hammer. As far as I've seen on teh internets/paper, Pharrell takes full writer credit for "Happy." I can only reckon another a preempitve lawsuit is looming.

The original song, a cool crossover track, was co-written by none other than Andre "Anybody Got A Raw Egg" Williams. The group Velvet Hammer was first a studio group Williams put together in Detroit in 1967, THEN reactivated in Chicago in 1977. They had an album, Call Me!, of disco and funk. Their jams were solid period get down/get on it kinda jams like "Whip Your Booty!" The album is good and was even reissued in 2001 as Whip Your Booty on Soul-Tay-Shus. Both versions of "Happy" now share opposite sides of a 45 on the Originals label. Uh...I'm not sure if the single is a perfectly legit, but there you go. Currently, original copies of both the OG Velvet Hammer 45 AND the promo 45 issue of Pharrell's "Happy" rate about $200 a copy.