Songfacts®:

• Feeling glum? Just put on a happy face and you'll surely feel better. There is evidence that smiling can improve mood, but there's also evidence that people that tell you to smile are much more likely to get punched in the face.
  
  Unsurprisingly, the relentlessly chipper "Put On A Happy Face" comes from musical theater. It's from the 1960 Broadway musical Bye Bye Birdie, with cleverly crafted lyrics by Lee Adams and music is by Charles Strouse. The musical, starring Dick Van Dyke and Chita Rivera, was a smashing success, earning the Tony Award for Best Musical. It was made into a film in 1963.
• The arrangement of the song is more thematic of an earlier era, and it could easily pass for a 1940s or even a 1920s song. In the musical it is performed by the character Albert, though in the 1963 film version it is performed by two characters, Albert and Rosie, played by Dick Van Dyke and Janet Leigh. It is easily the most widely recorded song from Bye Bye Birdie and has long become a standard; its title has also become a cliché. >>

  Suggestion credit:
  Alexander Baron - London, England, for above 2
• Charles Strouse, who wrote the music, had a pop hit to his credit: "Born Too Late" by the Poni-Tails, which hit #7 in 1958. He and "Put On A Happy Face" lyricist Lee Adams teamed up to write two minor hits from 1960: "One Boy" by Joanie Sommers and "One Last Kiss" by Bobby Vee. In 1964 they wrote the novelty hit "We Love You Beatles" for The Carefrees. Other popular musicals they wrote include Golden Boy (starring Sammy Davis Jr.) and Applause. The most popular song they composed is certainly "Those Were The Days," the theme song to the TV series All In The Family.
• Artists to cover this song include Stevie Wonder, Tony Bennett and Blossom Dearie. Bennett's version was used in a 2016 commercial for Michelob Ultra where fitness buffs scowl through their workouts but put on their happy faces when they crack a beer.