This song reminds us to return to "Back to Happiness," a time when music was based on family and playing music on the farm's front porch, with neighbors and travelers passing through. The late 1930s and early 1940s was a period in time when radio was a significant contributor to our Folk Music Heritage. On December 8, 1941, Grandpa Jones was heading into the famous Virginia Radio stage to do a show on WWVA when the news was announced on the radio: Japan's attack on Pearl Harber. This singular news event shocked the world and altered the direction of folk music. It took over 20 years for some musicians of the fantastic radio era to find their way back to the road, “Back To Happiness.” Many left their instruments to fight in World War II. While here in Mountain View, Arkansas. The time they stood still. Back to Happiness is based on an article in "The Devil's Box" by Tennessee Valley Old Time Fiddle Association Volume 14 Nov 1 to March 1, 1980. and on a poem by Grandpa Jones in 1937. In this 1980 publication, according to the article, out of a small college in Tennessee, everyone was feeling the hard times. It was a period when radio was the one thing that could cheer and point to better times ahead and offer the listener's ear happiness. Upbeat, happy tunes, back to joy, "Back to Happiness."
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