The Happenings--See You in September (1966)

      Not all of the music being heard in the mid to late 60's could be considered rock. The pop music of the mid-50 never really went away with the advent of rock and roll, and with the advent of the Beatles and the British Invasion there were artists who mixed the softer sounds of that era's music, with a modern sound. Thus was born what we knew as "soft rock". The Association brought the genre to the fore, but it wasn't until the early 70's that it hit it's stride with groups such as Bread and The Carpenters. This music became a middle ground for those who liked early rock and roll, but didn't care for the direction of the music as heard post-Sgt. Pepper. More than a few older adults, who couldn't stomach rock at all, but wanted to be up with the times found this sound to be appealing as well. There were a number of artists who spent their careers to some degree. The Lettermen, The Sandpipers, and The Happenings were three who had success on the pop charts during the early days of the genre.
     The Happenings formed in New Jersey in 1965 and were together until 1970. One of it's members, David Libert, became a manager of several major acts including, Alice Cooper, Parliament/Funkadelic, The Runaways, Living Colour and others. They seemed to straddle covers from pop acts in the late 50's/early 60's (such as "See You In September" which was a hit for Steve Lawrence in 1962), and what would be considered "oldies" by listeners of the day, such as George and Ira Gershwin hit, "I've Got Rhythm" (which reached #3 on the charts in 1967). The idea was to take songs which were considered successful and put a group harmony spin on it.
     The group reformed later and continue to tour on cruises and short tours across the country. You can find more about them here: http://www.thehappenings.com/http://www.thehappenings.com/