Blood, Sweat & Tears (also known as "BS&T") is an American jazz rock music group founded in New York City in 1967, noted for combining a brass section with rock band instrumentation. 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's second album, Blood, Sweat & Tears, spent seven weeks atop the U.S. charts in 1969, won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 1970, and contained the hit recordings "And When I Die", "You've Made Me So Very Happy", and "Spinning Wheel". BS&T's success paralleled that of similarly configured ensembles such as Chicago (another group produced by Guercio) and the Electric Flag, but by the mid-1970s the group's popularity began a decline.

Al Kooper era

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, with James Cotton Blues Band opening. Kooper was the initial singer and musical director, having insisted on that position based on his work with the Blues Project, his previous band with Katz.

Fred Lipsius (alto sax, piano) joined the others a month later. A few more shows were played before Lipsius recruited horn players Dick Halligan, Randy Brecker, and Jerry Weiss. The octet debuted at the Cafe Au Go Go on November 17–19, 1967, then played The Scene the following week. Audiences were impressed with the innovative fusion of contemporary styles. After signing to Columbia Records, the group released Child Is Father to the Man which reached number 47 on the Billboard Pop Albums chart in the United States.

Artistic differences quickly developed, with Colomby and Katz wanting to hire a stronger lead vocalist, which led to the departure of Kooper in April 1968. He was soon hired as a record producer at Columbia. Trumpeters Randy Brecker and Jerry Weiss also left and were replaced by Lew Soloff and Chuck Winfield. Stephen Stills, and Laura Nyro, before deciding on David Clayton-Thomas, from Toronto, Canada. Trombonist Halligan moved to organ and Jerry Hyman was added on trombone. The new nine-member band debuted at New York's Cafe Au Go Go on June 18, 1968, beginning a two-week residency.

The second album, Blood, Sweat & Tears, was produced by Guercio and much of the album was arranged by Halligan and Lipsius. It featured fewer original songs but greater chart success. It included Nyro's "And When I Die", "You've Made Me So Very Happy" by Berry Gordy and Brenda Holloway, and Clayton-Thomas' "Spinning Wheel". The band enjoyed headliner status at the Woodstock Festival in August 1969. The tour and its aftermath is the focus of a 2023 feature-length documentary titled What the Hell Happened to Blood, Sweat & Tears?

While away on tour, the label released Blood, Sweat & Tears 3 in June 1970, produced by Roy Halee and Colomby. The album was another success,

In July 1976 More Than Ever, produced by Bob James and featuring guest vocals by Patti Austin and appearances by a host of NYC session players, including pianist Richard Tee, guitarists Eric Gale and Hugh McCracken, trumpeter Jon Faddis and Eric Weissberg (banjo, dobro), was released but sold disappointingly. After it stalled at US No. 165, Columbia Records dropped the band. At this time Colomby, BS&T's sole remaining original member, stopped touring with the group and Don Alias assumed sole percussion duties before leaving as well to make way for Roy McCurdy.

In 1977, BS&T signed with ABC Records and began working on Brand New Day (November 1977). The album was co-produced by Colomby, but his direct involvement with the group ceased after this release. Colomby was by this point the sole owner of the BS&T trademark name. Brand New Day garnered positive reviews but slow sales. At this same time BS&T were said to be recording tracks for an instrumental album with a personnel of Tony Klatka, Forrest Buchtel, Dave Bargeron, Bill Tillman, Larry Willis, Danny Trifan, Roy McCurdy and Mike Stern, but the album never appeared.

During 1977 the BS&T lineup was again in flux. Stern, Trifan, McCurdy, Buchtel and Tillman all departed to be succeeded respectively by Randy Bernsen, Neil Stubenhaus, Michael Lawrence and Gregory Herbert. Barry Finnerty then took over guitar and Chris Albert trumpet when Bernsen and Lawrence left at the close of the year.

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 Amsterdam on January 31, 1978. Rocked by the event, the group returned home.

In 1979, with the encouragement of longtime BS&T manager Fred Heller, who had numerous requests for the band to play more shows, Clayton-Thomas decided to continue Blood, Sweat & Tears with an entirely new lineup that consisted of himself and other Canadian musicians (Kenny Marco – guitar, David Piltch – bass, Joe Sealy – keyboards, Bruce Cassidy – trumpet, flugelhorn, Earl Seymour – sax, flute, Steve Kennedy – sax, flute and Sally Chappis – drums, with Harvey Kogan soon replacing Kennedy and Jack Scarangella succeeding Chappis).

The group signed to Avenue Records subsidiary label LAX (MCA Records), with a slightly altered lineup of: David Clayton-Thomas (vocals, guitar), Robert Piltch (guitar), David Piltch (bass), Richard Martinez (keyboards), Bruce Cassidy (trumpet, flugelhorn), Earl Seymour (sax, flute), Vernon Dorge (sax, flute) and a returning Bobby Economou on drums, and with producer and arranger Jerry Goldstein, recorded the album Nuclear Blues (March 1980). The album was yet another attempt to reinvent the group, showcasing the band in a funk sound environment that recalled such acts as Tower of Power and LAX labelmates War (with whom BS&T did several shows in 1980). The album was regarded by many Blood, Sweat & Tears fans as uncharacteristic of the group's best work.

During this period, another live album was recorded at The Street Scene in Los Angeles, California, on October 12, 1980 (this was eventually released as Live in February 1995). Robert and David Piltch left shortly before this concert, as did Richard Martinez. They were replaced by Wayne Pedzwiatr on bass, Peter Harris on guitar and Lou Pomanti on keyboards. And Mic Gillette (from Tower of Power) replaced Cassidy on trumpet at the tail end of 1980. 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 (see roster below) 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 1998, to celebrate thirty years after he first joined the group, David Clayton-Thomas began work on a solo CD titled Bloodlines that featured a dozen former members of Blood, Sweat & Tears, (Tony Klatka, Fred Lipsius, Lew Soloff, Dave Bargeron, Randy Brecker and others) performing on the album and providing arrangements to some of the songs. Released in 1999, it was first only available at Clayton-Thomas' concerts but made more widely available in 2001.

BS&T continued without Clayton-Thomas. Dorr has been manager (and much more) for over 30 years now, and the band is still a popular touring act. At last count, the overall number of BS&T members since the beginning is up around 165 total people (see roster below).

On March 12 and 13, 1993, Al Kooper organized two shows at the Bottom Line 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, accompanied by Anton Fig, Tom Malone, Lew Soloff, John Simon and Jimmy Vivino, as well as a two-woman chorus and string section.

The following year, in early February 1994, Kooper returned to the Bottom Line for his 50th birthday celebration, in which he played with members of his new band plus the Blues Project & BS&T. The BS&T lineup at this show was the same as the 1993 Silver Anniversary show, with the exception of Will Lee sitting in for Fielder and John Sebastian (ex-Loving Spoonful) contributing harmonica. Colomby would not allow Kooper to use the name Blood, Sweat & Tears, so the two reunions were billed as "Child Is Father To The Man". This second show appeared as the CD Soul of a Man in 1995. According to page 20 of the CD's liner notes, Steve Katz elected not to allow his performances onto the CD, which were digitally replaced by Jimmy Vivino. Bassist Jim Fielder is said to have added some parts to the CD as well.

Since late 2005, the band resumed touring with a refreshed line up. The band's first world tour in a decade took place in 2007. From 2008 through 2010, Katz returned to appear at BS&T's shows as a special guest. BS&T and Chicago co-headlined a jazz festival in Stuttgart, Germany, on July 9, 2011, and they also appeared on the same bill together again at Gretna Heritage Festival in Gretna, Louisiana, on October 5, 2013.

From 2013 until 2018, Blood Sweat and Tears was fronted by Bo Bice, who was the runner-up against Carrie Underwood in the fourth season of American Idol.

In 2018 the group decided to replace Bice with former Tower of Power singer Tom Bowes, who had previously done a brief stint with BS&T back in July through November 2012. In 2019 Keith Paluso, from the reality TV show The Voice, was chosen as BS&T's new singer

In March 2022 original bassist Jim Fielder guested with the group at a series of shows in Florida.

Under the direction of Dorr and Colomby, the band has enjoyed something of a resurgence. Blood, Sweat & Tears donated money through its "Elsie Monica Colomby" music scholarship fund to deserving schools and students who need help in prolonging their musical education, such as the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Similar to their 2006-2007 appearances with Three Dog Night's Chuck Negron, the band started off 2025 touring with former Chicago singer Jason Scheff as a special guest.

Members

  • Glenn McClelland: keyboards (1987–1993, 1998, 2005–present)
  • Dylan Elise: drums (2015–present)
  • Ric Fierabracci: bass, vocals (2016–present)
  • Ozzie Melendez: trombone (2018 - fill in, 2022–present)
  • Keith Paluso: vocals (2019–present)
  • Brad Mason: trumpet- MD (2015, 2016–present)
  • Adam Klipple: keyboards (2017 - fill in, 2019–present)
  • Anibal Rojas: sax (2017, 2019, 2021 - fill in, 2024-present)
  • Sam Ryan: vocals (2019 - fill in, 2023, 2024-present)
  • Ravi Best: trumpet (2021–present)
  • Nir Felder: guitar (2022–present)
  • Gabe Cummins: guitar, backing vocals (2024–present)

Past members

Original eight

  • Al Kooper: keyboards, vocals (1967–1968)
  • Randy Brecker: trumpet, flugelhorn (1967–1968)
  • Jerry Weiss: trumpet, flugelhorn, backing vocals (1967–1968)
  • Fred Lipsius: alto sax, keyboards (1967–1972)
  • Dick Halligan: keyboards, trombone, horns, flute, backing vocals (1967–1972) †
  • Steve Katz: guitar, harmonica, flute, mandolin, vocals (1967–73, and as a special guest at some shows 2008–10)
  • Jim Fielder: bass, guitar, backing vocals (1967–1974, special guest March 2022)
  • Bobby Colomby: drums, percussion, backing vocals (1967–1977)

Other members

Discography

  • Child Is Father to the Man (1968)
  • Blood, Sweat & Tears (1968)
  • Blood, Sweat & Tears 3 (1970)
  • B, S & T; 4 (1971)
  • New Blood (1972)
  • No Sweat (1973)
  • Mirror Image (1974)
  • New City (1975)
  • More Than Ever (1976)
  • Brand New Day (1977)
  • Nuclear Blues (1980)

References

  • VH1 band history
  • BS&T tribute website
  • BS&T tribute website
  • 1967–2000
  • Horn Rock Heaven MySpace site
  • What the Hell Happened to Blood, Sweat & Tears?' Music Doc Trailer