#266 - Blood, Sweat & Tears - Child Is Father to the Man (1968)
MUSIC HISTORY COMPILED BY ADAM BERNARD:
BACKGROUND – BLOOD, SWEAT & TEARS
Blood, Sweat & Tears (also known as "BS&T") is an American jazz rock music group founded in New York City in 1967, noted for their combination of rock music with brass instruments. BS&T has gone through numerous iterations with varying personnel and has encompassed a wide range of musical styles. Their sound has merged rock, pop and R&B/soul music with big band jazz. The group was inspired by the "brass-rock" of the Buckinghams as well as the Maynard Ferguson Orchestra. BS&T's success paralleled that of similarly configured ensembles such as Chicago and the Electric Flag, but by the mid 1970s the group's popularity had declined.
Al Kooper was born in Brooklyn and grew up in Queens. As a teenager Kooper went to a concert for jazz trumpeter Maynard Ferguson and this experience inspired Kooper to start a rock band with a horn section. Originally in a band called The Blues Project, Kooper left after band leader Danny Kalb rejected his idea of bringing in a horn section. He then left for the West Coast and found bassist Jim Fielder who believed in the songs that Kooper wrote. Though Kooper had big ideas for his next project, he didn't have the money to bring his ideas to fruition. He then threw a benefit for himself and invited several musicians he previously worked with, such as Judy Collins, Simon & Garfunkel, and Richie Havens. Although the performances sold out, the owner of the Cafe added such numerous expenses to the gross receipts that the net receipts after the performance were not enough to get a plane ticket or a taxi to the airport. He later called Fielder and convinced him to come to New York. Within a month, the band assembled an eight piece which also contained Randy Brecker, Jerry Weiss and Dick Halligan. Kooper then asked John Simon to produce them, after being fresh off from producing Simon & Garfunkel's album Bookends. Al Kooper (keyboards, vocals), Bobby Colomby (drums), Steve Katz (guitar, vocals), and Jim Fielder (bass) played at the Village Theatre (later renamed Fillmore East) in New York City on September 16, 1967. Kooper was the initial singer and musical director, having insisted on that position based on his work with his previous band. Fred Lipsius (alto sax, piano) joined the others a month later. A few more shows were played before Lipsius recruited 3 horn players. The octet debuted at the Cafe Au Go Go on November 17–19, 1967. Audiences were impressed with the innovative fusion of contemporary styles. After getting signing to Columbia Records, the group released today's album.
After a brief promotional tour, Colomby and Katz ousted Kooper from the band. The band would later have two number one albums and several Grammys, although Kooper felt they were playing music that he didn't agree with. Despite being asked to leave Blood, Sweat & Tears, Kooper felt everything worked out well for him and the band. The next phase of his career throughout much of the 1960s and 1970s, Kooper was a prolific studio musician, playing organ on the Bob Dylan song "Like a Rolling Stone", French horn and piano on the Rolling Stones song "You Can't Always Get What You Want", and lead guitar on Rita Coolidge's "The Lady's Not for Sale", among many other appearances. Kooper also produced a number of one-off collaboration albums, such as the Super Session album that saw him work separately with guitarists Mike Bloomfield and Stephen Stills. In the 1970s Kooper was a successful manager and producer, recording Lynyrd Skynyrd's first three albums (which includes iconic tracks like Freebird, Sweet Home Alabama, Simple Man, Saturday Night Special and more). He has also had a successful solo career, writing music for film soundtracks, and has lectured in musical composition.
Kooper's first professional work was as a 14-year-old guitarist in The Royal Teens, best known for their 1958 ABC Records novelty novelty song "Short Shorts". Other artists he's played with over the years includes The Who, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Alice Cooper & Cream.
Not only did Kooper produce Lynyrd Skynyrd's first 3 albums, he discovered them after moving to Atlanta in 1972 and seeing them perform live. He signed them to his label "Sounds of the South" (which was supported by big label MCA Records). By the time the band got around the recording of their third album "Nuthin' Fancy", Kooper became unhappy with the band's lack of preparation for the sessions. He and the band parted ways by mutual agreement after the tracking was completed, with Kooper mixing the album while the band left for the tour that had precipitated a tight recording schedule.
Prior to leaving, Kooper had already arranged some songs that would be on the second BS&T album. The group's self-titled second album spent seven weeks atop the U.S. charts in 1969 and won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 1970. It contained the hit recordings "And When I Die", "You've Made Me So Very Happy", and "Spinning Wheel". All of these peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100. The group then released Blood, Sweat & Tears 3 in June 1970. The album was another success, spawning hit singles with Carole King's "Hi-De-Ho" and another Clayton-Thomas composition, "Lucretia MacEvil". The group recreated the formula with more arrangements by Lipsius. Reviews sometimes focused solely upon the band's work with the U.S. State Department (see Filler Fact #4 for more on this), without discussing the music, and had a negative impact on the band. Compounding the image problem was a decision to play a lucrative engagement at Caesars Palace on the Las Vegas Strip. This was unpopular with young underground rock fans who identified Las Vegas entertainers with the music of their parents' generation.
The group reconvened in San Francisco in January 1971 with a new producer and minor lineup changes, and recorded their fourth album, BS&T 4, released in June. Notable tracks included David Clayton-Thomas' "Go Down Gamblin'" and Al Kooper's "Holy John (John the Baptist)". BS&T 4 earned the group a gold record, however, none of the singles reached the Top 30. During this period the group's popular and commercial success began to decline. After a final show in Anaheim on New Year's Eve 1971, Clayton-Thomas left to pursue a solo career. Columbia issued a Greatest Hits album in February 1972. This album contained edited single versions of some songs, rather than the full length album versions. It earned a gold record award in the US, the last BS&T album to do so.
BS&T released New Blood in September 1972, which found the group moving into a more overtly jazz-fusion direction. The album reached the top 40 on the Billboard chart and spawned a hit single "So Long Dixie", which peaked at number 44. In January 1973, Katz left to pursue a career as a producer. The band endured more lineup changes, and their next album, No Sweat (June 1973) had more of a focus on the horn work of the group. More band changes happened prior to 1974's "Mirror Image". By the close of 1974 Jerry Fisher was tired of BS&T's heavy touring schedule. Colomby and manager Fred Heller engineered the return of Clayton-Thomas in the hope of restoring the band's former success. Clayton-Thomas met the group in Milwaukee while Jerry Fisher and Luther Kent were still with the band. All three singers appeared on stage before a wildly enthusiastic crowd. The next album, New City (1975) featured Clayton-Thomas, and reached number 47 on the US Billboard album chart. The album has half original material along with songs from Janis Ian, Randy Newman, and Blues Image. The highest charting song was the Beatles’ “Got to Get You into My Life" which peaked at number 62.
After 1976's "More Than Ever" stalled at #165, they were dropped by Columbia Records. In 1977, BS&T signed with ABC Records, but the band went through another bunch of lineup changes and endured a tragedy. In January 1978, the group undertook a European tour that ended abruptly after 31-year-old saxophonist Gregory Herbert died of a drug overdose in. Rocked by the event, the group returned home. In 1979 Clayton-Thomas decided to continue Blood, Sweat & Tears with an entirely new lineup that consisted of himself and other Canadian musicians. In March 1980, the group recorded the album Nuclear Blues. It was another attempt to reinvent the group, showcasing the band in a funk sound environment that was reminiscent of Tower of Power or War. The album was regarded by many Blood, Sweat & Tears fans as uncharacteristic of the group's best work. Following more touring, including Australia, this incarnation of the group disbanded in 1981.
Since he did not own the rights to the Blood Sweat & Tears name, Clayton-Thomas attempted to restart his solo career in 1983 after taking some time off. This caused complications on the road when promoters would book Clayton-Thomas' group and use the Blood, Sweat & Tears name on the marquee. Consequently, his manager Larry Dorr negotiated a licensing deal with Colomby in 1984 for rights to tour with the BS&T name. For 20 years afterwards, Clayton-Thomas toured the concert circuit with a constantly changing roster of players as "Blood, Sweat & Tears" until his final departure in November 2004. Clayton-Thomas, now residing back in Canada, continues his solo career and does occasional shows using only his name.
In total, the band was nominated for 5 Grammy's, and won 2. They won both Album of the Year and Best Contemporary Instrumental Performance for their self-titled release, and were nominated for Record of the Year (Spinning Wheel) and Best Contemporary Vocal Performance By A Group. They have sold over 7 million albums worldwide, although today's album was their 5th best seller.
ALBUM BACKGROUND – CHILD IS FATHER TO THE MAN
The album was recorded in two weeks in December 1967. Most of the material was recorded in one take so the musical arrangements could be studied and placed well. The title is a quotation from a similarly titled poem by Gerard Manley Hopkins
2) In the United States Child Is Father to the Man peaked at #47 on Billboard's Pop Albums chart. It failed to generate any Top 40 singles, although "I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know" and "I Can't Quit Her" found some play on progressive rock radio.
3) This is the one and only time we will be talking about BST on T500. This album did not make the cut on the 2020 rerank.
4) On March 12 and 13, 1993, Al Kooper organized two shows in NYC that were advertised as "A Silver Anniversary Celebration of the Classic Album The Child Is Father to the Man", which featured Kooper, Randy Brecker, Jim Fielder, Steve Katz and Fred Lipsius playing together for the first time in 25 years.