You've Made Me So Very Happy

Album: Blood, Sweat & Tears (1969)
Charted: 35 2
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Songfacts®:

  • This was originally a #39 hit for Motown artist Brenda Holloway in 1967. Holloway shares writing credit on the song with Berry Gordy, Frank Wilson and Patrice Holloway.
  • Blood, Sweat & Tears founder and keyboard player Al Kooper came up with the idea to cover this song, but he left the group before they recorded it. His replacement, David Clayton-Thomas, took over and sang lead on this track. Clayton-Thomas explained: "They had tried it with Al Kooper and they weren't happy with the vocals, so they never did record it. Then up at [drummer] Bobby Colomby's place one day, he was playing me a bunch of stuff that they had been considering, and I heard 'You've Made Me So Very Happy.' I said, 'Whoa, who's that? That's Brenda Holloway! I know that song!' So we did the chart and it went into the show, and we played it down at the club, and we ran up in the studio and recorded it."
  • This was the first of three US #2 songs (also "Spinning Wheel" and "And When I Die") on BS&T's second LP, Blood, Sweat & Tears.
  • Virtually a small orchestra, this song stood out as Blood, Sweat & Tears established a milestone in rock history with its large horn section and jazz-blues orientation. >>
    Suggestion credit:
    Bertrand - Paris, France
  • In his bang-up biography Backstage Passes and Backstabbing Bastards, Al Kooper relates the discovery of saxophonist and arranger Fred Lipsius: "Fred showed up at rehearsal a few days later, and I couldn't believe it. Sam Straight. Short hair, square clothes, the whole bit. Then he unpacked his alto and started playing and that was it for me. I didn't care what this guy looked like, he could play the f--king saxophone and make it cry f'chrissakes! We played him all my tunes and he said he was in. Freddie was as sweet and innocent as anyone could possibly be, and a corruption process was essential. He'd never listened to rock 'n' roll; he was a hard-core jazzer, but had soul in huge doses. We used to force-feed him marijuana and make him listen to James Brown with headphones on. He got the picture, and pretty soon we had us a rockin' alto player."
  • Blood, Sweat & Tears closed their Woodstock set with this song. When the festival started on August 15, 1969, Blood, Sweat & Tears was the #1 album in America. Since they were wildly popular at the time, the group commanded a premium fee: $15,000, which was second only to Jimi Hendrix. Unfortunately for BS&T, they were never paid (the festival lost money) and were not included in the film, since they would have been owed a portion of the receipts had they appeared.

Comments: 14

  • Bruce E. HarrisonI never knew Blood, Sweat, And Tears had performed at Woodstock! #WHO KNEW?
  • Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn this day in 1969 {April 6th} "You've Made Me So Very Happy" by Blood, Sweat, and Tears peaked at #2 {for 3 weeks} on Billboard's Top 100 chart, for the three weeks it was at #2, the #1 record for those three weeks was "Aquarius/Let The Sunshine In" by The 5th Dimension...
    "You've Made Me So Very Happy" reached #18 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary Tracks chart...
    "You've Made Me So Very Happy" was the band's first of three consecutive records to peak at #2, their other two #2 records were "Spinning Wheels" for three weeks and "When I Die" for one week, all three peaked at #2 in 1969...
    Between 1969 and 1975 the NYC-formed band had ten records on the Top 100 chart, three made the Top 10, the above three...
    They had one Top 20 record, "Hi-De-Ho", it reached #14 in 1970...
    Lead singer David Clayton-Thomas, born David Henry Thomsett, celebrates his 80th birthday in five months on September 13th, 2021...
    And from the 'For What It's Worth' department, the remainder of Billboard's Top 10 on April 6th, 1969:
    At #3. "Dizzy" by Tommy Roe
    #4. "Galveston" by Glen Campbell
    #5. "Time of The Season" by The Zombies
    #6. "Only The Strong Survive" by Jerry Butler
    #7. "It's Your Thing" by The Isley Brothers
    #8. "Hair" by The Cowsills
    #9. "Run Away Child, Running Wild" by The Temptations
    #10. "Twenty Five Miles" by Edwin Starr
  • Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn February 16th 1969, Blood, Sweat & Tears performed "Smiling Phases" on the CBS-TV program 'The Ed Sullivan Show'...
    Was track two of side one from the group's second studio album, 'Blood, Sweat & Tears', and on March 23rd, 1969 the album peaked at #1 {for 7 non-consecutive weeks} on Billboard's Top 200 Albums chart...?
    The song wasn't released as a single, but three other tracks from the album made Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart and they all peaked at #2; "You've Made Me So Very Happy", "And When I Die", and "Spinning Wheel".
  • Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn September 16th 1967, Brenda Holloway performed "You've Made Me So Very Happy" on the ABC-TV program 'American Bandstand'...
    Thirteen days earlier on September 3rd, 1967 it entered Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart at position #81; and on October 29th, 1967 it peaked at #39 {for 1 week} and spent 10 weeks on the Top 100...
    It reached #40 on Billboard's R&B Singles chart...
    Between 1964 and 1967 she had six records make the Top 100 chart; her biggest hit was "Every Little Bit Hurts", it reached #13 {for 2 weeks} on May 31st, 1964...
    Ms. Holloway celebrated her 68th birthday three months ago on June 21st {2014}.
  • Meocyber from Alma, Co First, John you nailed it w/ who you mentioned as primo musicians. Then it was called "blue eyed soul". I'd add Joe Cocker, Janis, of course Lennon-McCartney, Jagger , Daltrey and Jim Morrison. BST and Chicago were knockout horn bands. The fact that "Everyday people" (totally great song) took #1 then just showed the amazing amazing diversity, depth and quality of the top 40 in 1967-1970
  • John from Mentor, OhSpring 1969...my senior year...driving to school in my 1994 Chevy Nova convertible(with the leaky roof!)this song, more than any other, puts my amcient arse there, again!
    David Clayton Thomas is killer...the mellow intro segues to the power...back to the mellow...back to the power...of that generation of Caucasion soul/rock guys, he's on the short list with Bill Medley and Felix C(Rascals)& that Soul Survivor guy!!
  • Ladiorange from Gardena/london, CaOkay, first of all, this song was written by the sisters Brenda Holloway and Patrice Holloway. Brenda was signed to Motown at the time and wrote most of her sixties hits. I'm not sure why Berry Gordy Jr and Frank Wilson are always given equal credit. Maybe their produced the original? Also, I think that David Clayton Thomas has a great voice but the overall production is thanks to James William Guercio.
  • Alan from Louisville, KyLighten up, Mike -- what do you have against Sly?
  • Aj from Cleveland, GaHow could this only go to #2 !?!
  • Kat from Hamden, Ct And Somerset, NjThis was also covered by Gloria Estefan in 1994 released on the album "Hold Me Thrill Me Kiss Me." The album was strictly cover songs including: Hold Me Thrill me Kiss Me, Everlasting Love, Love On a Two Way Street, It's Too Late, and Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying.
  • Peter from Toronto, CanadaDavid Clayton Thomas is from Toronto. His band The Bossmen had a single called "Brainwashed" in the early 60's. The band bleeped out the word "damn" and everyone thought it was censored. This gave it a boost in record sales.
  • Mike from Ames, IaKept off the top of the charts by "Everyday People" by Sly & The Family Stone.

    Those ba*stards...
  • Mark from Los Angeles, CaWritten by Mel Torme?!?
    No way, written by: Berry Gordy, Jr/Brenda Holloway/Patrice Holloway/Frank Wilson.
  • Charles from Charlotte, NcWritten by Mel Torme who also wrote Nat King Cole's "The Christmas Song" which is one of the most beloved Christmas songs ever.
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