Blood, Sweat, & Tears - "You Make Me So Very Happy"

Canadian-American jazz-rock music group Blood, Sweat & Tears are noted for their combination of brass and rock band instrumentation. The group recorded songs by rock/folk songwriters such as Laura Nyro, James Taylor, the Band and the Rolling Stones as well as Billie Holiday and Erik Satie. They also incorporated music from Thelonious Monk and Sergei Prokofiev into their arrangements.

They were originally formed in 1967 in New York City. Since their beginnings, the band has gone through numerous iterations with varying personnel and has encompassed a multitude of musical styles. The band is most notable for their fusion of rock, blues, pop music, horn arrangements and jazz improvisation into a hybrid that came to be known as "jazz-rock". Unlike "jazz fusion" bands, which tend toward virtuosic displays of instrumental facility and some experimentation with electric instruments, the songs of Blood, Sweat & Tears merged the stylings of rock, pop and R&B/soul music with big band, while also adding elements of 20th-century classical and small combo jazz traditions.

They were rule breakers who found ways to bend and blend genres into something completely new. Here’s to the dreamers.

So today, with sunshine on my shoulders, I choose Blood, Sweat, & Tears’ “You Make Me So Very Happy” as my, don’t sweat the small stuff, stand up for yourself, believe in your own abilities, song for a, make someone happy, give the gift of time and attention, walk at their pace for them to see what companionship can do, Thursday.