Blood, Sweat & Tears (1967-1972)

Welcome to Rock and Roll Flashback!  I'm Jumpin' John, and in this episode I will discuss an American jazz rock music group founded in New York City in 1967 who were noted for a combination of brass with rock instrumentation.  That group is Blood, Sweat & Tears!

All podcasts on the Rock and Roll Flashback Podcast are produced by brothers-in-law Bill Price and "Jumpin' John" McDermott.  The Podcast Theme Song, "You Essay", was written by John.  It was initially recorded by Bill and John on April 1, 2004 with several revisions since then. 
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Transcript

Thank you for that introduction, and welcome to Rock and Roll Flashback!  I'm Jumpin' John, and in this episode I will discuss an American jazz rock music group founded in New York City in 1967 who were noted for a combination of brass with rock instrumentation.  That group is Blood, Sweat & Tears!

Few bands embodied the musical adventurousness of the late 1960's more completely than Blood, Sweat & Tears (also sometimes referred to as BS&T).  At a time when rock music was rapidly expanding beyond its blues and folk roots, the group fused rock with jazz, soul, classical influences, and sophisticated horn arrangements to create a sound unlike anything else on the radio.  While many artists occasionally incorporated brass instruments, Blood, Sweat & Tears made the horn section the heart of their identity.  Although the band's greatest commercial success occupied only a few years, its influence has been remarkably durable.  Blood, Sweat & Tears helped establish jazz-rock as a commercially viable style, inspired countless horn-driven bands, and produced recordings that remain staples of classic rock radio more than half a century later.

The story begins with the talented keyboardist, singer, and songwriter whose birth name was Alan Peter Kuperschmidt.  By 1967 the 23 year old Al Kooper had already built an extraordinary résumé.  He had played the famous organ part on Bob Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone," worked as a songwriter, producer, and session musician, and become convinced that American rock was ready for something more adventurous.  Al was inspired by jazz ensembles and by innovative groups such as Chicago's blues contemporaries and the British blues movement.  Kooper envisioned a large ensemble in which brass instruments would be equal partners with guitars, rather than just decorative additions.

The original Blood, Sweat & Tears lineup reflected that ambition.  Alongside Kooper were guitarist Steve Katz, bassist Jim Fielder, drummer Bobby Colomby, and an ambitious horn section that gave the band a richness and complexity unusual in rock.  Rather than relying solely on original compositions, the group mixed blues, jazz, folk, classical music, and contemporary songwriting into a highly eclectic repertoire.

[Play the intro to Blood, Sweat & Tears "I Can't Quit Her"]

The band's debut album, 1968's Child Is Father to the Man, was unlike virtually anything else being released by a major rock act.  Although the album received positive reviews and later became recognized as a classic, it was only a modest commercial success, reaching #47 on the Billboard 200 chart.  Al Kooper's songs sat comfortably beside material influenced by jazz improvisation and orchestral arranging.  

Here is an excerpt from Blood, Sweat & Tears version of "I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know":

Creative tension within the band soon emerged.  Kooper was the band's visionary founder, but disagreements developed over musical direction, leadership, and performance style.  Ironically, the man who conceived Blood, Sweat & Tears departed before the group achieved its greatest popularity.  Al Kooper's exit remains one of rock's most significant examples of a founder leaving just before explosive commercial success.

Al Kooper and trumpeters Randy Brecker and Jerry Weiss all left BS&T after the first album.  Replacing Kooper seemed nearly impossible.  Folk singer Judy Collins had heard David Clayton-Thomas singing one night at a New York City club and told her friend, BS&T drummer Bobby Colomby, about him.  So founding members Bobby Colomby and Steve Katz recruited Canadian-born singer David Clayton-Thomas.  Clayton-Thomas's powerful, soulful voice differed dramatically from Kooper's more conversational style.  Clayton-Thomas possessed remarkable range, authority, and rhythmic precision.  His voice could deliver jazz phrasing, rock energy, and soul passion with equal conviction, giving the band an instantly recognizable front man.  The decision transformed Blood, Sweat & Tears.  

Three more musicians joined to bring the band to a total of nine members.  Columbia assigned James Guercio as producer for the album.  Interestingly, Guercio was simultaneously working with the band Chicago Transit Authority.  In October 1968 BS&T began working on a new album.  

[Play intro from Blood, Sweat& Tears version of "More and More"]

"More and More", "Smiling Phases", and "You've Made Me So Very Happy" were among the songs that Kooper had arranged before leaving the group.  Other arrangements were contributed by Fred Lipsius and Dick Halligan.  The song selection was more pop oriented than the first album, with more compositions from outside the band.  The album was recorded at Columbia's then state-of-the-art 30th Street Studio in New York City.  The studio had just taken delivery of one of the first Ampex model MM-1000 16-track tape recorders.  The new technology allowed for far more flexibility in overdubbing and mixing than the four- and eight-track studio recorders that were standard in 1968.  This was among the first 16-track recordings released to the public.

[Play intro from Blood, Sweat& Tears version of "God Bless the Child"]

The band's self-titled second album, Blood, Sweat & Tears, was released on December 11th, 1968.  It became one of the defining records of its era, and it was the most commercially successful album for the group.  It spent seven weeks at #1 on the Billboard album chart and yielded three successive Top 5 singles.  In 1970 the Blood, Sweat & Tears LP won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year.  The album has been certified quadruple platinum by the RIAA, with sales of more than four million units in the U.S.  In Canada, the album enjoyed a total of eight weeks at #1 on the RPM national album chart.

Three remarkable hit singles emerged from the album.  "You've Made Me So Very Happy," originally recorded by Brenda Holloway, became one of the band's signature songs.  Clayton-Thomas delivered the lyrics with emotional warmth while the horn arrangements elevated the recording far beyond a conventional soul cover.  Released as a single in March 1969, "You've Made Me So Very Happy" reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and became a Gold record.  In Canada the single climbed to #1 for two weeks.   It also reached #18 on the Billboard Easy Listening chart and #35 in the UK.

Here is Blood, Sweat & Tears version of "You've Made Me So Very Happy":

In 1964 David Clayton-Thomas had lived across the hall from Joni Mitchell in the Yorkville neighborhood in Toronto, Canada.  In his 2010 autobiography he admitted that he was smitten with her, and their common love for jazz had brought them closer together.  Unknown to Mitchell, Clayton-Thomas had borrowed a phrase from Joni's song "The Circle Game".  The line about "painted ponies", became part of his song "Spinning Wheel".  In 1969 that song, "Spinning Wheel", became an international hit and remains one of the defining recordings of the brass-rock era.  Its memorable hook, sophisticated harmony, jazz-influenced arrangement, and philosophical lyrics represented everything that made Blood, Sweat & Tears distinctive.  "Spinning Wheel" was released as a single in May 1969.  It peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in July that year, remaining in the runner-up position for three weeks.  In August that year, the song topped the Billboard Easy Listening chart for two weeks.  It was also a crossover hit, reaching #45 on the US R&B chart.  "Spinning Wheel" was nominated for three Grammy Awards at the 1970 ceremony, winning in the category Best Instrumental Arrangement.  The arranger for the song was the band's saxophonist, Fred Lipsius.  It was also nominated for Record of the Year and Song of the Year.  In 2007 the song "Spinning Wheel", written by David Clayton-Thomas, was enshrined in the Canadian Songwriter's Hall of Fame.

The song "And When I Die," written by Laura Nyro, combined philosophical lyrics about mortality with exuberant brass arrangements.  The song perfectly illustrated the band's ability to balance thoughtful subject matter with infectious energy.  The single was released in September, reaching #2 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and becoming a Gold record.  "And When I Die" was #1 in Canada for 2 weeks in December 1969.

Here is an excerpt from Blood, Sweat & Tears version of "And When I Die":

One reason the band appealed to such a wide audience was its refusal to observe stylistic boundaries.  The band's live performances became legendary.  Reproducing the elaborate studio recordings onstage required exceptional musicianship, and Blood, Sweat & Tears consistently delivered.  

In June 1970 Columbia released BS&T's third album, Blood, Sweat & Tears 3.  That LP successfully demonstrated that the previous record had not been a fluke.  The album reached the #1 position on the Canadian RPM chart, and in August 1970 also climbed to #1 for two weeks on the US Billboard 200 albums chart.  It produced two hit singles.  "Hi-De-Ho," another Laura Nyro composition, reached #5 in Canada and #14 in the US.  "Lucretia Mac Evil," written by Clayton-Thomas, reached #10 in Canada and #29 in the US.  

The album B, S & T; 4 was released in June 1971.  It peaked at #10 on the Billboard Pop albums chart.  The band invited former member Al Kooper to contribute the song "John the Baptist (Holy John)".  Trombonist Dave Bargeron replaced Jerry Hyman.

Here is an excerpt from Blood, Sweat & Tears "Go Down Gamblin'":

The band's lineup changed dramatically after Blood, Sweat & Tears 4.  David Clayton-Thomas left as lead vocalist to pursue a solo career after album's release, as did founding members Dick Halligan and Fred Lipsius.  To capitalize on the band's past popularity, Columbia released their Greatest Hits compilation album in February 1972.  Although Blood, Sweat & Tears continued to record and tour for several more years, this 1972 compilation album includes all of the group's best-known material up to that time and was the group's last album to earn a Gold Record certification.

In the early 1970’s the musical landscape was changing rapidly.  Rock was fragmenting into hard rock, progressive rock, singer-songwriters, heavy metal, and other emerging genres.  Blood, Sweat & Tears occupied a unique position that became increasingly difficult to maintain.  Another factor complicated the band's public image.  In 1970 the U.S. State Department sponsored a tour that sent Blood, Sweat & Tears to several countries in Eastern Europe and elsewhere as part of a cultural diplomacy initiative during the Cold War.  Many younger fans interpreted participation in a government-sponsored tour as evidence that the group had become part of the establishment.  This perception proved damaging during an era when anti-war sentiment and distrust of government were widespread among rock audiences.  Although the controversy gradually faded, it contributed to a cooling of the band's countercultural credibility at precisely the moment when public tastes were shifting.

Personnel changes also became increasingly frequent.  One of the challenges facing any large ensemble is maintaining stability, and Blood, Sweat & Tears experienced continual turnover throughout the 1970's.  Talented musicians joined and departed with regularity.  While the overall level of musicianship remained extraordinarily high, each lineup inevitably possessed a somewhat different personality.  Clayton-Thomas's voice remained so closely identified with the band's classic recordings that many fans viewed him as essential, even though technically Blood, Sweat & Tears had always been conceived as a collaborative ensemble rather than a vehicle for one singer.

Clayton-Thomas would return to the lineup for 1975's New City LP.  However, while albums such as 1972's New Blood, 1973's No Sweat, 1974's Mirror Image, and 1975's New City contained moments of excellence, they failed to match the overwhelming commercial impact of the second and third albums.  Radio formats were evolving, and the sophisticated jazz-rock approach that had seemed revolutionary in 1969 no longer occupied the center of popular music.  Meanwhile, another horn-driven band was rising to prominence:  Chicago Transit Authority, who would ultimately be known simply as Chicago.  Although both groups blended brass and rock, their personalities differed significantly.  Chicago generally emphasized stronger pop songwriting and eventually became one of the most commercially successful American bands of all time.  Blood, Sweat & Tears often leaned more heavily toward jazz improvisation and musical complexity.  Fans frequently compared the two groups, but each occupied its own artistic territory.  The band Chicago will be covered in a future episode on Rock and Roll Flashback.

Throughout the decades, Blood, Sweat & Tears continued performing despite constant personnel changes.  Unlike bands that simply reunited to capitalize on nostalgia, the organization effectively evolved into an ongoing musical institution.  New generations of skilled players joined the ensemble, preserving the repertoire while bringing their own interpretations.  This continuity reflected an important aspect of the band's identity.  Blood, Sweat & Tears was never solely about celebrity personalities.  It was equally about arrangements, ensemble playing, and collective musicianship.  

Individual members of BS&T also made substantial contributions beyond the group itself.  Al Kooper enjoyed a distinguished career as producer, songwriter, and solo artist.  Steve Katz became a respected producer.  Bobby Colomby remained active in music and artist management.  Numerous former members went on to successful careers as session musicians, composers, educators, and performers.  As for David Clayton-Thomas, his importance to the band's legacy is difficult to overstate.  Although he was not the founder, his arrival transformed Blood, Sweat & Tears from an admired experimental group into one of the biggest acts in the world.  His commanding baritone voice, impeccable phrasing, and soulful delivery gave emotional immediacy to complex arrangements that might otherwise have seemed overly cerebral.  David Clayton-Thomas was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 2007.  In 2010, Clayton-Thomas received his star on Canada's Walk of Fame.

Blood, Sweat & Tears occupies a distinctive place in American popular music.  They were neither a conventional rock band nor a jazz orchestra, neither purely commercial nor wholly experimental.  Instead, they successfully inhabited the space between those worlds, creating music that challenged audiences without alienating them.  Their catalog remains a testament to an era when artistic ambition and commercial success briefly intersected on a remarkable scale.  Their greatest recordings are enduring examples of musicians at the height of their creative powers, proving that intelligence, virtuosity, and popular appeal can coexist in unforgettable music.

Thank you for listening to another episode of Rock and Roll Flashback podcasts!  This episode was devoted to discussing the five peak years during which the jazz rock music group, Blood, Sweat & Tears, had their most success.  I will close out this podcast with Blood, Sweat & Tears album version of "Spinning Wheel".  So fellow travelers, may your path be smooth and your music always be rockin'!  And until next time...Rock On!