The Stoat & Bear wonder....
 

Picture it, Sicily, 19.. oops, wrong tangent.

Picture it: you're in the office of one of the biggest music publishers of all time, and they are asking you to tell them what three 'feelgood' songs to include on their latest upcoming album: "The Best Feelgood Songs In The World"

What are your three nominees ? (Dupes are OK if someone's already mentioned one)

Bear's:
Make Your Own Kind Of Music by Mama Cass Elliot
I Am The City by ABBA
Video Killed The Radio Star by The Buggles.

Stoat's:
Dancing Queen by ABBA
She Drives Me Crazy by Fine Young Cannibals
California Dreaming by The Mamas & The Papas

Wig in a Box (from the Hedwig and the Angry Inch soundtrack)
What a Wonderful World (sung by Louis Armstrong)
Hot Stuff (sung by Donna Summer)

Those are the three that pop into my head this morning :)

MacArthur Park - Richard Harris
The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald - Gordon Lightfoot
Heroin - Velvet Underground

If by "feel good" we mean "upbeat" then this is a tricky category, because things that are too upbeat tend to wear badly for me. (For example, the song "Walking On Sunshine," widely held to be a feel good standard, depresses me thoroughly.) And, I am immensely cheered by music that others might find sad, angry, edgy, or whatever.

Mind you, I'm not one of those mopey, angsty listeners. I just find forced optimism annoying, and a lot of songs hit me as the audio equivalent of someone coming up to me on a Monday morning and saying."Hey, don't be a frownie face! SMILE buster!"

But, here are three songs that are actually upbeat, but I like them anyway.

"Candide" Overture (along with the rest of that work, really) - Leonard Bernstein

Bang Bang - Squeeze (according to wikipedia, the band actually hates this early track, but it makes me grin.)

Let's Dance - David Bowie

On the other hand, here are some classic "happy" songs that cause my inner cynic to bust from its cage and come out roaring.

"Put On A Happy Face" from Bye Bye Birdie
"Happy Talk" from South Pacific
"Celebration" - Kool and the Gang (for that matter, EVERY typical piece of stadium rock or wedding reception standard - from YMCA to the Chicken Dance - that is so the category from hell!)

Oh, I seem to have misread the original post. :D

Okay, I'll add a few more to my personal list of good cheer:

Smash It Up - The Damned

Always Look On The Bright Side of Life - Life of Brian (sorry 'bout that, NA)

Peaches en Regalia - Frank Zappa

Peace Train - Cat Stevens

The entire catalogs of Dave Brubeck and Vince Guaraldi

Dancin' Fool - Frank Zappa
Young Lust - Aerosmith
Baroque Hoedown - Kingston & Perrey

Okay, hate to keep barging back in - but really, trust me on this one

Anything by Slim Gaillard!

If you haven't got the wonderful compilation Laughing In Rhythm - please don't hesitate. It will add years to your life!

I have a 200-song playlist that I shuffle, generally, but I typically feel very happy when these songs come up:

Harmour Love - Syreeta
Somewhere Over the Rainbow/Wonderful World - Israel Kamakawiwo'ole
If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out - Cat Stevens
Ooh La La - The Ditty Bops
Low Rider - War
Whatever Lola Wants - Sarah Vaughn (the techno remix too)
Under Pressure - Bowie and Queen
Maidstone - Squeeze
19-2000 - Gorillaz
The Only Living Boy in New York - Simon & Garfunkel
Red Rubber Ball - Simon & Garfunkel
Le Festin - Camille
Such Great Heights - Postal Service
Beautiful Child - Rufus Wainwright
Ana Ng - They Might Be Giants
Sweet Caroline - Neil Diamond
Ballad of John and Yoko - The Beatles
Don't Worry Baby - The Beach Boys
When Your Mind's Made Up - Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova
Theme from Magnificent Seven - Elmer Bernstein
In the Heights - from the musical In the Heights
Go With the Flow - from the WDW musical Finding Nemo
For Now - from the musical Avenue Q
Our Time - from the musical Merrily We Roll Along
A Little Priest - from the musical Sweeney Todd

"I Can See Clearly Now"
"What A Wonderful World"
"It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year" (technically, a Christmas song, but you didn't say they couldn't be)

Dear Morrigoon (and Cherny),

"I can see clearly now" and "What a Wonderful World" are my #4 and 5 respectively.

In fact, I created a video presentation of the first 16 years of my eldest daughter's life for her birthday party - and used #5 as the soundtrack. It was awesome, and her dozen or so friends gave me huge compliments (while I was quietly all choked up).

Love and hugs,

The Stoat XXX.

Well coming from an older generation and different genre of taste:

For Good - wicked sound track
Life is a Highway - Rascal Flatts
Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride - soundtrack from Lilo & stitch

Lots of songs make me happy. The list is huge and changes all the time. But in answer to the OP's question, I'll go one step further.
I'll tell you and show you.

Sunchyme ~ Dario G

Slow (Chemical Brothers Remix) ~ Kylie Minogue *

Love Will Never Do (Without You) ~ Janet Jackson

These three always, always cheers my sad ass up when I'm gloomy.

A runner up is:

Tears Dry On Their Own

Even though the words say it's a sad song, the music lifts my spirits.

The following are ones I love, too. :)
*This one was not chosen to butter up the Australian OP's.
:D

Manhattan Transfer's Java Jive

Benny Goodman's Sing, Sing, Sing

Nat "King" Cole's Route 66

I keep thinking the thread title is the name of the new Disney cruise ship.

I just heard this playing in the background of a Sopranos episode and I had to add an alternate 3:

Dave Brubeck's Take Five

and

Vince Guaraldi's Linus and Lucy (should have been in my original three, but it fell out of my head, Route 66 took its place)
Henry Mancini's Baby Elephant Walk

There are a boatload more, but any of these pieces of music can instantly improve my mood.

The theme song to Bonanza

Pride and Joy - Stevie Ray Vaughn

The Bird - Morris Day and the Time

Nellie the Elephant - The Toy Dolls

Those songs all get me giggly (or at the very least, smiling).

Halcali's Strawberry Chips may now be in the running.

What do they taste like ? :p

Oh, and I forgot to mention:

A Swinging Safari - Bert Kaempfert. :cheers:

Aw, MS, more than half of my songs are pre-eighties, and a bunch of them are from musicals... we're not so different!

Well so far I'm finding myself nodding my head in agreement with so many of the choices folks have listed and for those songs I don't have any knowledge of I've gone to youtube or itunes and checked some of them out...lots of great music being listed on here for sure!

My happy songs make me happy because I have to get up and dance (interesting when I hear them in the car):

Stormy Weather - Royal Crown Revue
Wake Me Up Before You Go Go - Wham
Blowin' to California - Stompy Jones

Little Bitty Pretty One and Runaround Sue always get everyone out on the dancefloor.

And I keep thinking about 96 Tears by ? and the Mysterians. Classic.

The Boys are Back in Town - Thin Lizzy
Livin La Vida Loca - Ricky Martin
Modern Love - David Bowie

And the soundtracks for the Lizzie McGuire Movie and Freaky Friday.

Suffer for fashion by Of Montreal. They're the masters of somber lyrics coupled with super upbeat songs that make me happy.

This one makes me very happy.

:)

Me likes!
:)

The Sun Has Got His Hat On from Me and My Girl.

I can't stop listening to this one now ! :snap: :cheers:

Under the "should be sad but makes me feel warm, squishy, and happy"

At Last - Etta James