Sometimes your own song that you record first becomes more closely identified with another artist such is the case with the 60’s classic “You’ve Made Me So Very Happy”. Motown artist Brenda Holloway is not only the first to cut this classic but she is also one of the writers, which was an anomaly in that particular era of Motown where artists rarely wrote and performed their own material.
Then… a little group named Blood, Sweat & Tears came along and put their version out in 1968 and well, as they say the rest is history. But, the beauty in all of this is that because Brenda has a co-writer credit on the song the royalties on the song quite possibly have provided her with some happiness.
Ivan Orr is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, performer, and writer. A native of Charlottesville, Virginia Ivan was involved with the forming and nascent days of The Music Resource Center as its first Program Director. A graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University’s Department of Music, Ivan currently resides in Richmond, VA where he maintains an active performance and production schedule while serving as the Music Editor for Grown Folks Music, a position he has held since 2010.
