David Cortez Clowney (August 13, 1938 – May 31, 2022), known by the stage name Dave "Baby" Cortez, was an American pop and R&B organist and pianist, best known for his 1959 hit, "The Happy Organ". His father played the piano, and encouraged him to pursue a musical career. Clowney played the piano for 10 years, then he took up the organ. and also sang with two doo-wop groups, the Pearls and the Valentines, in the mid-1950s.

"The Happy Organ" was the first pop/rock hit to feature the electronic organ as lead instrument; it featured drummer Gary Hammond and was co-written by the celebrity photographer James J. Kriegsmann and frequent collaborator Kurt Wood. The guitar solo was by session musician Wild Jimmy Spruill. The record, crediting Clowney as Dave "Baby" Cortez, was the first instrumental No. 1 on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 chart. The original 45-rpm single was released on the independent Clock Records label,

! width="40"| US<br>R&B

! width="40"| Canada

! width="80"| Label

! rowspan="1"| Release Date

|-

| rowspan="2"| 1959

| align="left"| "The Happy Organ"

| 1

| 5

| 6

| rowspan="2"| Clock

| February 19, 1959

|-

| align="left"| "The Whistling Organ"

| 61

| -

| -

| May 25, 1959

|-

| rowspan="3"| 1962

| align="left"| "Rinky Dink"

| 10

| 9

| 6

| Julia / Chess

| June 19, 1962

|-

| align="left"| "Happy Weekend"

| 67

| -

| 32

| Chess

| September 21, 1962

|-

| align="left"| "Fiesta"

| 96

| -

| -

| Emit

| September 28, 1962

|-

| rowspan="2"| 1963

| align="left"| "Hot Cakes!"

| 91

| -

| -

| rowspan="2"| Chess

| March 11, 1963

|-

| align="left"| "Organ Shout"

| 76

| -

| -

| July 21, 1963

|-

| 1966

| align="left"| "Count Down"

| 91

| -

| -

| Roulette

| May 12, 1966

|-

| 1973

| align="left"| "Someone Has Taken Your Place"

| -

| 45

| -

| All Platinum

| April 13, 1973

|}

References

  • Dave Cortez Interview at NAMM Oral History Collection (2012)