Song of the Day 11/1: Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem, “Mr. Blue Sky”

h/t Jason330

When the latest performance by the Muppet house band debuted Oct. 23 in a YouTube streaming event called “Dear Earth,” devoted to celebrating the only planet known to harbor human life, Jason330 was all over it. He loves this tune — and so, apparently, do most people of his generation. When an outfit in Britain called Greatest Hits Radio asked listeners to name the “happiest song ever,” “Mr. Blue Sky” was the No. 1 answer.

For non-fans of the Muppets, Dr. Teeth — based loosely on Dr. John — is the leader of the house band from the original “Muppet Show” syndicated TV series. They’ve also appeared in all the Muppet movies, and have covered dozens of popular tunes over the years, all of which can be found at this fan site.

The original 1977 ELO recording was released as a single, but it only reached No. 35 in the U.S. (No. 6 in the UK). It nevertheless became such a fan favorite that it’s now considered the band’s signature song. Jeff Lynne composed it while he was holed up in a Swiss chalet trying to write music for a follow-up to the band’s breakthrough hit album “A New World Record.”

“It was dark and misty for two weeks, and I didn’t come up with a thing,” Lynne said. “Suddenly the sun shone and it was, ‘Wow, look at those beautiful Alps.’ I wrote Mr. Blue Sky and 13 other songs in the next two weeks.” The clanging percussion sound is drummer Bev Bevan banging on a fire extinguisher.