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