Blood, Sweat & Tears

The jazz/rock excursions made by Blood, Sweat And Tears offered a refreshing change to late 60s guitar-dominated rock music. The band was conceived by Al Kooper, who, together with Katz, had played with the Blues Project, but Kooper departed soon after the debut Child Is Father To The Man, which contained two of his finest songs, 'I Can't Quit Her' and 'My Days Are Numbered'. The record, although cited as a masterpiece by some critics, was ultimately flawed by erratic vocals. Kooper, Brecker and Weiss were replaced by Winfield, Soloff and Clayton-Thomas. The latter took over as vocalist to record Blood Sweat And Tears, which is now regarded as their finest work, standing up today as a brilliantly scored and fresh-sounding record. Kooper, although working on the arrangements, missed out on the extraordinary success this record achieved. The album topped the US album charts for many weeks during its two-year stay, sold millions of copies, won a Grammy award and spawned three major worldwide hits: 'You've Made Me So Very Happy', 'Spinning Wheel' and 'And When I Die'.