There is something really infectious about a song that simply wants to make you feel good. With “Happiness Looks Good on You,” George Collins set out to do exactly that, deliberately stepping away from the more reflective and introspective territory that has characterised much of his songwriting to create a joyful, celebratory track steeped in vintage soul and Gospel influences.

Inspired by childhood memories of watching Soul Train, as well as a lifelong admiration for The Staple Singers, the song channels the warmth, optimism and irresistible spirit of classic soul. The accompanying video takes that nostalgia a step further, taking inspiration from Billy Joel’s wonderfully retro “Tell Her About It” and imagining Collins performing with a vintage soul band on a 1960’s television show.

Created in collaboration with visual artist Marta Vorontsova, the video brings together Collins’ love of classic music, his playful sense of humour and a distinctly old-school visual aesthetic. We caught up with George to talk about the inspiration behind “Happiness Looks Good on You,” the making of the video, his love of vintage soul and the process of bringing the two together.

Tell us the story of this track. Why did you choose to visualize it specifically in this way?

As I was reviewing my catalog and planning my latest album “New Ways of Getting Old,” I realized that many of my songs are reflective and introspective and that I had very few “happy” songs. This was surprising to me, as I am generally an upbeat and happy person! So I intentionally set out to write a happy song. From the outset, I knew that I wanted it to be a celebratory song with a vintage soul vibe and a Gospel choir. I used to watch the TV show “Soul Train” when I was young, and I loved the Staple Singers – I thought Pops Staples was the coolest old dude in the world! I listened to their music continuously while I was writing and recording “Happiness Looks Good on you.”

What was the inspiration behind this new video (visuals, storyline, etc.)?

I am a huge fan of Billy Joel, and he, like me, is also a huge fan of vintage music – as evidenced by his wonderful retro album, “An Innocent Man.” He has a video of a track from that album, “Tell Her About It,” in which he plays a singer backed by a soul band performing on The Ed Sullivan Show in the 1960s. I love that song and the video, and I wanted to do something similar for my song.

What was the process of making the video?

I have been working with an amazing visual artist, Marta Vorontsova, for several years – she has created many of my lyric videos, and her work is absolutely first rate. (https://www.instagram.com/_imagikali_/) So I sent her the track and my basic ideas and she got to work creating the video. It was an iterative, interactive process, and after a lot of back and forth we ended up with a video we could both be proud of – and that I sincerely hope my audience will enjoy!