HMC Purpose
Mission
The Happy Music Center’s (HMC) mission is to enhance individual and community well-being through the support of digital music and the genre of happy music that promotes harmony, happiness, and health, among all involved.
Purpose
HMC will actively support musical collaboration and the growth of traditional and electronic/digital musicians by providing online lessons, website suggestions, mentoring, professional connections, information sources, grants, awards, and scholarships to promising young and gifted artists. HMC’s assistance program will give priority support to events, festivals, concerts, and social media platforms that demonstrably enhance the well-being of individuals and communities through music.
Music is the global language, and the HMC goal is to use happy music to build positive local, regional, national, and international benefits and well-being.
HMC Team
Johnny Young – Co-founder and President. Johnny grew up in Epping, a town of 100 people in western North Dakota, whose main street today is still not paved. His mother ran a café that seated up to 13 people. He took accordion lessons starting at age eight and, by age 10, had played as a soloist with the Epping High School band and won a local talent show. He did take a year of piano lessons from his cousin, Bernie. He learned to read sheet music and even played dinner music one summer at a country club in suburban Chicago. Once a guest came up as he was playing, and asked if he could play “A Summer Place.” He embarrassingly said, “I am playing it!” He put the accordion aside for 55 years, rarely taking it out of its case, except to play a polka for his relatives.
During those years, he pursued a medical career and earned two master’s degrees and a doctorate in medicine. Dr. Young’s long and distinguished medical career in Bakersfield, California, contained numerous notable events. He went on many short-term medical missions to Guatemala under the auspices of Helps International.
About three years ago, he became acquainted with Richard Noel, a professional digital accordionist. The latter also lived in Bakersfield and became an inspiration for Johnny to pick up the accordion again. Johnny describes the digital accordion as a “747 airplane, but he only has a private pilot’s license!” There are so many buttons and options it is easy to end up “someplace else.” Johnny specializes in polkas and waltzes because they are such happy music. He says, “You can’t listen or dance to a polka and be depressed at the same time.”
Johnny recently retired from his medical practice and has dedicated the next phase of his life to creating the Happy Music Center. Although Johnny practiced medicine as a family physician, he believes that true wellness requires a healthy body, mind, soul, and emotions–“A Cheerful heart is a good medicine,” and “The heart at peace gives life to the body.” His goal is to put a “smile on your face, a song in your heart, and a skip in your step” with a genre of Happy Music.
Buz Wilburn – Co-founder and CEO. Buz is a seasoned marketing veteran from the music and entertainment industries. He has spent more than seven decades in the broad spectrum of activities that comprise the creation, marketing and public relations of many high-profile music stars and corporate entertainment entities. Early in his career, he was public relations rep for the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee, and was closely associated with the successful country artists Roy Acuff, Hank Williams, Minnie Pearl, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Flatt & Scruggs, Patsy Cline, Ernest Tubb, and Sonny James. He co-founded the Music City News Newspaper with country music star Faron Young and served as its publisher and editor-in-chief. Music City News was the first and most successful newspaper devoted entirely to the country music industry during his tenure.
Next, Buz joined Capitol Records and held various positions, including National Promotion Manager, National Marketing Manager, and International Marketing Manager, directing the marketing activities of Capitol Records affiliates worldwide and Executive Director of A&R at Capitol Records, Hollywood, California. He advised the team that created Apple Records and served as liaison to the Beatles. At Capitol, Buz was personally responsible for the success of many Capitol and Apple artists, including the Beatles, the Lettermen, Merle Haggard, Buck Owens, Bobbie Gentry (“Ode to Billie Jo”), Linda Ronstadt, Peggy Lee (“Is That All There Is?”), Joe South (“Games People Play”), The Band, Anne Murray (“Snowbird”), Lou Rawls and Wayne Newton.
In the mid-seventies, he founded Music Marketing International, Inc. Its client roster included Capitol Records of Canada, and Chelsea Records, which he co-owned with Wes Farrell, distributed by RCA. Also, MGM Records, General Recording Corporation, The Academy of Country Music Award Show, Anne Murray, Pat Boone, Dale Evans, Wayne Newton, The Lettermen, and Shirley Jones. He specializes in corporate and celebrity branding, strategic planning, market analysis, and creative product management. These abilities and successful experiences serve him well in overseeing the image creation, advertising, public relations, media activities, and marketing of The Happy Music Center Intl., Inc. projects.