Blood, Sweat + Tears Biography

The summer of '67 created one of the most influential musical institutions of all time, Blood, Sweat & Tears. Al Kooper, an ex-member of The Blues Project, sought a group that combined jazz with rock, and quickly formed a group for a few club shows in New York that summer. Among the original players were Jim Fielder, Buffalo Springfield, Steve Katz (former Blues Project band mate) and Bobby Colomby. The lineup grew, as Kooper's dream of having a horn section as large as other more prominent instruments was maintained, and they were signed to Columbia.A true hybrid of rock and jazz, the band's members belted out detailed arrangements that made their sound bold and unique. Without radio play, their debut album Child Is Father to the Man, received little acclaim, leading to discontent with Kooper. When three of the core members left, including Kooper, Katz and Colomby kept the group together and auditioned several vocalists before choosing Canadian David Clayton-Thomas. Additional members continued to creep in, releasing the group's second album, Blood, Sweat & Tears, with some tracks Kooper had prepared. Their first single, "You've Made Me So Very Happy," rose to the number two spot on the charts, and gave the group the 1969 Grammy for Album of the Year, selling over three million copies. For the groups third album, they produced the work themselves, Blood, Sweat & Tears 3 the result.Their first tour, composed with the US government, planned to tour Eastern Europe at a time when many BS&T fans were against the war in Vietnam. Upon return, the rock/jazz combo was becoming the most hippie band on the stages, and the third album suffered from it, producing only one hit single and little else. Their fourth album still made the Top Ten, but compared to their previous success hardly made headlines. The early '70s saw little success in some three albums, until Clayton-Thomas's return in 1975 after a failing solo career, making BS&T's comeback album. The groups continues to perform, under Clayton-Thomas' lead, making renditions of their critically acclaimed work.