The Happiness of Having You is the twenty-first studio album by American country music artist Charley Pride. It was released in November 1975 via RCA Victor Records and was produced by Jerry Bradley. It was Pride's twenty first studio recording released in his music career and contained ten tracks. The album included two singles which became major hits on the country charts: "My Eyes Can Only See as Far as You" and the title track.
Background and content Charley Pride had nearly a decade of country music success by 1975. This included a string of number one hits during this period, including "It's Gonna Take a Little Bit Longer", "She's Too Good to Be True" and "A Shoulder to Cry On". As the decade progressed, his music took a more country pop style, which included this album. The Happiness of Having You was recorded at the RCA Victor Studio in August 1975. The sessions were produced by Jerry Bradley. The record consisted of ten tracks. Most of the album's material was new music composed by songwriters such as Johnny Duncan, Ben Peters and Kenny O'Dell. Also included on the LP was a cover of Kris Kristofferson's "Help Me Make It Through the Night".
Release and chart performance The Happiness of Having You was released in November 1975 via RCA Victor Records. The project marked Pride's twenty first studio album. It was also Pride's second studio album released in 1975. The project was originally distributed as a vinyl LP, containing five songs on both sides of the record. It was also simultaneously issued as a cassette with a nearly identical track listing. In later years it would issued digitally for music downloads and for streaming purposes, including Apple Music. The Happiness of Having You spent a total of 22 weeks on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart. In February 1976, it peaked at number two on the chart. The album's title track was released as the lead single in November 1975. It became a major country hit after peaking at number three on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart in January 1976. "My Eyes Can Only See as Far as You" was spawned as the album's second single in February 1976. Spending 14 weeks on the same chart, it peaked at number one in May 1976. Both singles would also reach number one on the RPM Country Singles chart in Canada.
Track listings Vinyl version
Cassette version
Digital version
Personnel All credits are adapted from the liner notes of The Happiness of Having You.
Musical personnel
Hayward Bishop – drums Harold Bradley – guitar David Briggs – piano Pete Drake – steel guitar Johnny Gimble – fiddle The Jordanaires – background vocals The Sheldon Kurland Strings – string instruments Mike Leach – bass Charlie McCoy – harmonica The Nashville Edition – background vocals Charley Pride – lead vocals Hal Rugg – steel guitar Dale Sellers – guitar Bobby Thompson – banjo Pete Wade – guitar Tommy Williams – fiddle Chip Young – guitar Reggie Young – guitar
Technical personnel Jerry Bradley – producer Herb Burnette – art direction John Donegan – photography Bill Harris – recording engineer Al Pachucki – recording engineer Tom Pick – recording engineer David Roys – recording technician Chuck Seitz – recording technician Mike Shockley – recording technician Roy Shockley – recording technician Pinwheel Studios – art direction Bill Vandevort – recording engineer
Chart performance Chart (1975–76) Peak position
Release history Region Date Format Label Ref. Japan November 1975 Vinyl RCA Victor Records United States Cassette 2010s Sony Music Entertainment
References