[1] The original show followed a format of light entertainment, special guests, music, and information about Dutch life.
[3] Founding host Eddie Startz claimed in 1936 that the show had received one million letters and QSL cards in the eight years since it went on the air in 1928.
Popular music from Europe and various other countries was mixed with vintage recordings and multilingual light patter, switching back and forth in up to seven languages each Sunday.
At some point during each programme, he would tap a teacup with a spoon and play his signature tune, “A Nice Cup of Tea” by Henry Hall to introduce the show's mail call segments.
[4] A large segment of the programme was devoted to popular recorded music from western Europe and the United States, though he also tried to broaden tastes by playing "typical" music of different cultures accompanied by a travelogue type monologue such as accompanying The Desert Song with a descriptions of camels walking across the desert.
[4]The programme became popular since it gave listeners a chance to travel in their armchair during a period when international travel was difficult for most people and the travelogue segments eventually expanded during the Startz-era into special episodes made up of voyage by sound where Startz narrated virtual tours and cruises to distant locations assisted by sound effects, music, and narration.
[4] Happy Station was intended as a respite from the news of crisis and conflict that dominated short wave radio, saying: "We believe in amusing, our listeners abroad.
[15][16] While the Germans used forced labour to rebuild a partially-damaged transmitter and use it for radio propaganda, Startz dropped out of broadcasting for the remainder of the war.
In 1941, the family escaped Nazi-occupied Holland by fleeing through France, Spain and Cuba before settling on Trinidad and then Curaçao.
He became a semi-professional touring performer for two years, appearing occasionally on television and radio while holding down a job in international marketing.
Fluent in English, German, and French, he was appointed the host of Happy Station after the show's founder, Edward Startz, retired after 41 years.
[20] Meijer hosted English and Spanish versions of the show played over 15 hours on Sundays as it was broadcast to different areas around the globe.
In the 1990s, Happy Station was again shortened in order to accommodate a Radio Netherlands news bulletin at the start of the hour.
"[23] Jonathan Groubert, who had often acted as Myers's sidekick, took over the show in 1993 and presented it for two years until 1995 when Radio Netherlands ended the series.
[27] On March 12, 2009, the program was resurrected as an independent broadcast produced by Taiwan-based PCJ Media via Radio Miami International (WRMI), which was also transmitted globally through podcasting and Internet streaming audio.
[28] Tom Meijer, who hosted RNW's Happy Station in the 1970s and 1980s was involved as a consultant, and made occasional on-air contributions.