You've Made Me So Very Happy

"You've Made Me So Very Happy" is a song written by Brenda Holloway, Patrice Holloway, Frank Wilson and Berry Gordy, and was released first as a single in 1967 by Brenda Holloway on the Tamla label. The song was later a huge hit for jazz-rock band Blood, Sweat & Tears in 1969, and became a Gold record.

"You've Made Me So Very Happy"
Single by Brenda Holloway
from the album The Artistry of Brenda Holloway
B-side"I've Got to Find It"
ReleasedAugust 17, 1967
RecordedJuly 21, 1967
StudioHitsville West Studios, Los Angeles
GenreSoul
Length
  • 2:54 (7" version)
  • 2:52 ("16 Big Hits" stereo mix)
LabelTamla
Songwriter(s)Berry Gordy Jr., Brenda Holloway, Patrice Holloway, Frank Wilson
Producer(s)Frank Wilson, Berry Gordy Jr.
Brenda Holloway singles chronology
"Just Look What You've Done"
(1967)		 "You've Made Me So Very Happy"
(1967)		 "Give Me a Little Inspiration"
(1988)
"You've Made Me So Very Happy"
Single by Blood, Sweat & Tears
from the album Blood, Sweat & Tears
B-side"Blues – Part II"
Released1969
Recorded1968
GenreJazz rock, soft rock[1]
Length4:19 (LP)
3:26 (single)
LabelColumbia
Songwriter(s)Berry Gordy Jr., Brenda Holloway, Patrice Holloway, Frank Wilson
Producer(s)James William Guercio
Blood, Sweat & Tears singles chronology
"I Can't Quit Her"
(1968)		 "You've Made Me So Very Happy"
(1969)		 "Spinning Wheel"
(1969)

Overview

Brenda Holloway version

Brenda Holloway had been recording for Motown Records since 1964, and by 1967 had struggled with the label over control of and support for her music. As she was a Los Angeles resident with much of the rest of the Motown roster living near the label's Detroit, MI headquarters, Holloway felt overlooked and neglected during her five years on the label. In 1967, Holloway was hoping for the release of her long-awaited second album, Hurtin' & Cryin, with her latest single, "Just Look What You've Done," intended as the first single.[2] For unknown reasons, the record was shelved.[2]

"You've Made Me So Very Happy, " which became Holloway's final single on Motown's Tamla label, was co-written by Holloway with her sister, Patrice, producer Frank Wilson, and Motown label head Berry Gordy. Despite its optimism, the impetus for the song was a breakup Holloway was going through at the time.[3] Holloway and Gordy argued over the song's arrangement during the recording process, a fight Holloway lost and a confrontation that underscored her decision to depart from the label afterward.[3]

Reaction to the song was stronger than Holloway's previous offerings, rising to number 39 on the Billboard Hot 100 and becoming her third Top-40 pop single.[4] It peaked at number 40 on the Billboard R&B singles chart.[5] Shortly after its release, Holloway left Motown and the song was eventually featured on her "second" album, The Artistry of Brenda Holloway. After two years singing backgrounds for acts such as Joe Cocker, Holloway retired to marry a preacher and raise a family. By the mid-1990s, she had returned to music full-time.[6]

Blood, Sweat & Tears version

Brenda Holloway's "You've Made Me So Very Happy" received a boost when the jazz-rock group Blood, Sweat & Tears covered it in 1969.[7] Included on the group's eponymous second album, it became one of Blood, Sweat & Tears' biggest hits, reaching number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States in April 1969.[8] The song was kept from the number 1 spot by Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In by The 5th Dimension.[9] Outside the US, "You've Made Me So Very Happy", went to number 35 in the United Kingdom in May 1969.[10]

Other cover versions

Chart history

Brenda Holloway version
Chart (1967) Peak
position
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[11] 48
US Billboard Hot 100[12] 39
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[13] 40

Blood, Sweat & Tears version
Chart (1969) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 2
US Billboard Adult Contemporary[14] 18
UK Singles Chart 35

Personnel

Brenda Holloway version

Blood, Sweat & Tears version

References
  1. Farley, Keith. "Songs You Know by Heart: Songs of Love - Various Artists | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic.
  2. Ryan, Jack (2012). Recollections, the Detroit Years: The Motown Sound by the People who Made it. Glendower Media. pp. 46–47. ISBN 978-0-914303-04-6.
  3. Betts, Graham (2014-06-02). Motown Encyclopedia. AC Publishing. ISBN 978-1-311-44154-6.
  4. Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 8th Edition (Billboard Publications), page 289.
  5. "Brenda Holloway Songs ••• Top Songs / Chart Singles Discography • Music VF, US & UK hits charts". Musicvf.com. Retrieved 2016-10-01.
  6. "Brenda Holloway: Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved 2020-11-13.
  7. Gilliland, John (1969). "Show 25 - The Soul Reformation: Phase two, the Motown story. [Part 4] : UNT Digital Library" (audio). Pop Chronicles. University of North Texas Libraries.
  8. Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 8th Edition (Billboard Publications), page 68
  9. The Hot 100 (The week of April 12, 1969) at www.billboard.com
  10. Official Charts Company info OfficialCharts.com. Retrieved 20 August 2009.
  11. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 100114." RPM. Library and Archives Canada.
  12. "Brenda Holloway Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  13. "Brenda Holloway Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard.
  14. Whitburn, Joel (1993). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–1993. Record Research. p. 30.
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