You've Made Me So Very Happy

"You've Made Me So Very Happy"
Single by Brenda Holloway
from the album Hurtin' & Cryin (canceled) & The Artistry of Brenda Holloway (non-US)
B-side "I've Got to Find It"
Released August 17, 1967
Format 7" single
Vinyl single
Recorded 1967; Nashville West Studios, Los Angeles
Genre Soul
Length 2:54 (7" version)
2:52 ("16 Big Hits" stereo mix)
Label Tamla
Writer(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"
Released 1969
Format 7"
Recorded 1968
Genre Jazz-rock
Length 4:19 (Lp)
3:26 (single)
Label Columbia
Writer(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)

"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.

Overview

Recording

By 1967, Brenda Holloway had been recording for Motown Records since 1964 and had struggled with Berry Gordy over control of her music, alleging that Gordy had forced her to sing Mary Wells' "leftover tracks" after the Motown singer left the label in 1964. Some of the songs in question included modest hits such as "When I'm Gone" and "Operator". Holloway was planning to release her long-awaited second album, Hurtin' & Cryin, which had released "Just Look What You've Done" as the leading track, but for unknown reasons the record was shelved. Along with her sister Patrice, using music provided by Frank Wilson and with additional help from Gordy himself, Holloway co-wrote "You've Made Me So Very Happy". Coincidentally, Holloway recorded the song after a breakup with a boyfriend.

Release and reaction

Reaction to the song was stronger than Holloway's previous offerings, rising to number 39 on the Billboard Hot 100 and becoming Holloway's third Top-40 pop single.[1] The song peaked at number 40 on the Billboard R&B singles chart.[2] Shortly after the release of the song, Holloway left Motown and the song was eventually featured on the "second" Holloway album, The Artistry of Brenda Holloway. After two more years singing background for acts such as Joe Cocker, Holloway retired to marry a preacher and have a family. Holloway would eventually return to music full-time by the mid-1990s. Meanwhile, Holloway's song got a boost when the jazz-rock group Blood, Sweat & Tears covered it in 1969.[3] The song became one of the group's biggest hits, reaching number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States in April 1969[4] and number 35 in the United Kingdom in May of that year.[5]

The song was also covered by fellow Motown acts such as Edwin Starr and Blinky on their 1969 duet album Just We Two, Chris Clark on her 1969 album CC Rides Again, The Temptations in 1970, The Miracles, also in 1970, and Diana Ross in 1994 on a Berry Gordy tribute album. Lou Rawls also covered the song. Cher recorded the song in 1969 for her album 3614 Jackson Highway, but the track was ultimately left off the final tracklist. Bobbie Gentry included her rendition on her 1969 album Touch 'Em with Love as did Shirley Bassey on her 1976 album Love, Life and Feelings. It also been covered by pop musician Gloria Estefan; she included the song on her album Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me in 1994, which was a collection of covers that inspired her musical career. In 1977, Barry Williams performed the song on an episode of The Brady Bunch Variety Hour. In 2012, it was covered by Julian Ovenden on his debut album.

Chart history

Brenda Holloway version

Chart (1967) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 39
U.S. Billboard R&B Singles Chart 40

Blood, Sweat & Tears version

Chart (1969) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 2
UK Singles Chart 35

Credits

Brenda Holloway version

Blood, Sweat & Tears version

References

  1. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 8th Edition (Billboard Publications), page 289.
  2. ↑ "Brenda Holloway Songs ••• Top Songs / Chart Singles Discography • Music VF, US & UK hits charts". Musicvf.com. Retrieved 2016-10-01.
  3. ↑ Gilliland, John (1969). "Show 25 - The Soul Reformation: Phase two, the Motown story. [Part 4] : UNT Digital Library" (audio). Pop Chronicles. Digital.library.unt.edu.
  4. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 8th Edition (Billboard Publications), page 68
  5. ↑ UK Singles Chart info Chartstats.com. Retrieved 20 August 2009.
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