“Love and Happiness” is a soul and R&B song written by Al Green and Mabon “Teenie” Hodges. Green recorded it for his 1972 album I’m Still in Love with You, produced by Willie Mitchell. The original recording, made on 23 October 1972, runs 5:07. Green described the performance as “raw and gritty need” and “a slow fever, building on the beat”, with staccato horns. Hodges counted off the take that was used by stamping his foot on a cardboard box. A UK single followed in April 1973. The song gained popularity in the United States through radio play and a Soul Train performance in March 1973, and an edited US single released in 1977 reached No. 104 on the pop chart and No. 92 on the R&B chart. Soul Train historian Stephen McMillian called it “quintessential Al Green”, and Rolling Stone ranked it No. 98 in its 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. Covers by Etta James, Living Colour and David Sanborn, among others, followed.
