You've Made Me So Very Happy

"You've Made Me So Very Happy" is a song that was 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.

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 eventually 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". Ironically, Holloway recorded the song after a breakup with a former boyfriend.

Release and reaction

Reaction to the song was stronger than Holloway's previous offerings, rising to number 40 on the Billboard Hot 100, and becoming Holloway's third Top-40 pop single. The song also peaked at number 39 on the R&B singles chart. 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 like 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. The song became one of the group's biggest hits, reaching number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States, and number 1 in the United Kingdom. The song was also covered by fellow Motown acts such as The Temptations in 1970, and Diana Ross in 1994 on a Berry Gordy tribute album. Lou Rawls also covered the song.

Credits

Brenda Holloway version

*Lead vocals by Brenda Holloway
*Background vocals by assorted vocalists
*Instrumentation by The Funk Brothers
*Produced by Frank Wilson