"You've Made Me So Very Happy" | ||||
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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 |
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Recorded | 1967 | |||
Studio | Nashville West Studios, Los Angeles | |||
Genre | Soul | |||
Length |
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Label | Tamla | |||
Writer(s) | Berry Gordy, Jr., Brenda Holloway, Patrice Holloway, Frank Wilson | |||
Producer(s) | Frank Wilson, Berry Gordy, Jr. | |||
Brenda Holloway singles chronology | ||||
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"You've Made Me So Very Happy" | ||||
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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) |
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Label | Columbia | |||
Writer(s) | Berry Gordy Jr., Brenda Holloway, Patrice Holloway, Frank Wilson | |||
Producer(s) | James William Guercio | |||
Blood, Sweat & Tears singles chronology | ||||
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"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.
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.
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. The song peaked at number 40 on the Billboard 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 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. The song became one of the group's biggest hits, reaching number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States in April 1969 and number 35 in the United Kingdom in May of that year.