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WHAT THEY ARE SAYING ABOUT...




  • Love this web site! B. Free turned me on to it and now I can't wait to log in on Friday morning!
M. Small  11/06/09

  • Congratulations for all for work! I love the music of Dione Warwick ... A hug. Later.  Felipe C.  10/21/09

  • Just found out about your web-site, it's wonderful! I'll be watching for my friday e-mails, thanks Freddy Seagraves (The Jesters Band) 9/22/09

  • Just found this website - WOW!!  AJ 8/08/09

  • Great song! "Wildflower" Brings back a flood of memories!!  Thanks for all the time you put into this fun site!
  7/23/09

  • I remember listening to Skylark on a Mini Radio walking to Burney Harris Middle School from Normal Town
  8th grade !!! R.Free  7/17/09

  • "Three Dog Night was my first "rock" concert at the Coliseum at UGA when I was in 7th grade! I wonder if the lead singer can still fit into that tight white fringed jacket?"  L.N. 7/3/09

  • First date with my wife, Three Dog Night, Omni in Atlanta, July 29, 1973....seems like yesterday.
Thanks Larry!    C.A. 7/3/09

  • Hey Larry. Love Robert Palmer and I Loooove that smooth sound. How about some Lionel Richie.
Thanks. Mom.  6/26/09

  • Randy and Tina Raburn turned me
on to this (Robert Palmer) and I
love it.  Out in Oregon.
Thanks. V.T. 6/26/09

  • LOVE the stories behind the performers and their  songs.
Robbie   5/24/09

  • Ain"t heard that one "Brother Louie" in a while.  hoss858  5/24/09

  • You (Dirk and Tony) are one of my fondest memories of UGA!!!!!  My best friend and I STILL sing, "Silly Little Girl" when we are on road trips together!  Deb Mc.  6/23/09

  • Larry, thanks for turning me on to this album (Yesterday & Today - The Beatles) way back in 19XX! It's remained one of my favorite Beatles albums of all time.
Dennis M.  6/19/09

  • Thanks for the lyrics to Louie Louie. I've always thought that they were the Kingsmen's lyrics recorded under the influence of Jack Daniel. Now we know it was rum. A great tune. I've never heard anybody say that they didn't like it.  rjenkins  5/29/09

  • Love the site!  Sheree  5/8/09

  • Have never seen a female lead singer play the guitar like that--Go Larry,thanks for your efforts to entertain your classmates!  tbirdamf  5/8/09

  • OMG, I didn't recognize this one (39-21-40 Shape) till it started playing!  Love it.
Dale 4/19/09

  • Larry, I just had to get up and move with (Shake A Tail Feather) that one! Keep it up!
Jeff  4/3/09

  • That really was a blast from the past!  The last time I saw Dirk and Tony perform was at Jon Tuck’s graduation party in the mid seventies.  What a party!  Love the photo.  And we all thought we looked so cute back then – foolish folks!  Thanks for the memory.  Leslie  P. 3/20/09

  • I have the songs on my Ipod now in the car...............cruisin' in the afternoon just got better!
L.D.  3/20/09

  • Great site!! I really appreciate Dirk and Tony spotlight.They've entertained multitudes when they worked together and still are today on their own.
R. Jenkins  3/20/09

  • Thank you, thank you, Larry!  I always enjoy the music you select but this (Dirk and Tony) is the best yet!!  Talk about memories!
  Melody P.  3/20/09

  • "Oh yeah - played this many times today.  I sent it on to a few folks who are not on the list.  The pictures almost made me sad - too much time has flown by.  Loved hearing the song again.  So glad you were able to get it on there.   I think I played it 3 times at least."  Betsy K.  3/20/09

  • Dirk, Looking GOOD my brutha!! I love the earlier pics of you and Tony.  I hope to get to Athens again one of these days, soon, and hear you sing. You are a treasure! Bobby D.
3/20/09

  • Awesome!!  Debbie G.  3/20/09

  • Loved hearing this song again!!!  When will y'all be playing together again?   Gilbert M.  3/20/09

  • Good morning & Happy first day of Spring!!!! What a great way to start my morning, Dirk and Tony!
Patti  W. 3/20/09

  • You did a wonderful job on this week!!!!  Dirk and Tony takes ya back a long way to some good times!!!
Thanks, Rhonda  T. 3/20/09

  • Tina R. shared this and it was great fun.  Thanks from Oregon. 03/13/09

  • Great to see you bashing the drums in the group video that your mum sent, we spotted her dancing. Also enjoyed the music played by the group. Uncle Jack & Aunt Carole in the U.K. 02/19/09

  • Thanks bsh69r, I missed that.  Two heads or more are better than one.
  02/17/09   friday@fridayinathens.com

  • Correction: The song that's played here was done by Scott McKenzie and is called "San Francisco".  The MP3 is mistitled. Aside from that, I love your site...absolutely a great site and will keep revisiting it.  :-)                 bsh69r         02/16/09

  • Really enjoying the site.  Love the featured act (The Zombies) and their music.  Great work you do.
     A service.  Barry H.  02/06/09

  • This ("Ain't That Peculiar") used to be the song back then!  Heidi R. 01/29/09

  • One of my all time favorite groups "The Intruders", doing one of their best!  I play this one on my home system at least once a week.  Your buddy, Dirk H.         12/05/08

  • You’ve created something wonderful with your Friday website.  Something positive to look forward to each week. Can’t wait to see what’s on the plate for this week.  Leslie P. 11/17/08

  • Thanks for the wonderful music I enjoy it... Great site   Connie  9/11/08

  • Larry,  Live for "Fridays"....I even get up and put on my tornado red shoes and tap along to the songs!!!
A.P.    7/11/2008

  • Growing up as an "old school" listener, I love this kind of music. Thanks so much for putting real music on so we all can hear what it was like back then. This music is NOT DEAD, it's still alive; and people like "us", the listeners keep it alive!
Babedoll  7/9/2008

  • This "Private Number" was always a great song.  Too bad they did not have more hits.  I loved this song.  Harper  7/9/2008

  • Don and Juan were one of the great Doo-Wop singing Duo's out there.  Love 'em!  "All That's Missing Is You" is one of their rarest records!  Northern Soul! Brian Y.  7/2/2008

  • Larry; What would Friday's be without you and Friday is Always coming in Athens? Jimmy J      6/30/2008

  • Thank you for this site, I'm french and
  I have 40 years. I am a collector of
  vinyl and American music oldies, soul,
  funk.  Il are very few in my french
  cas.Je this site is fantastic because I
  found some artist American and that
  I discovered the other, bravo and
  keep this site.      5/20/2008

  • Hey! I haven't heard this song since I was visiting LLC in the summer of 1972. I was crazy about her... wow! Thanks for sharing this song with the public! MSH    5/19/2008

  • The words to this song (Expressway to Your Heart) are quite interesting. Larry keep the tunes coming.  
  TC jJ     5/19/2008

  • First timer for me.  I love your terrific format and exciting info.  I feel like I'm back in Athens.  ES   5/14/2008

  • IT DOESN'T GET ANY BETTER THAN THIS----THIS IS THE BEST!!!!    Unknown    5/9/2008

  • I love it. I am learning about all of these singers and I'm only
  16 years old.    Unknown     5/8/2008

  • Hey you,
  I LOVE that song by the Casinos
  this week.  I think it's
  one of the prettiest "pop" songs ever
  written and a great slow dance song.
  :) I keep getting a flash back of a
  girl/boy party in 6th or 7th grade.
  I remember slow dancing with
  someone - maybe Kevin.  I can
  almost see the room (someone's
  basement/ rumpus room) and I
  know the guy had on a sweater but I
  can't quite see the
  face.  I'll keep you posted.  Anyway -
  thanks for playing it for me.  
  Take care.    B.  -  4/25/2008

  • Larry - Thanks so much for Otis!
  Can you find "Then You Can Say
  Goodbye" by The Casino's?   Thanks!
  Betsy     4/18/2008

  • Thanks for sharing the one hit wonder.
  I'm surprised this only made it to #7
  as its played quite often as an oldie.
  Keep the sounds coming.
  JJ    4/13/2008

  • Lovin the tunes, Larry.See ya in June. Randy R.  3/21/2008

  • Mr. Larry; Thanks for all you do for us little people.
Sincerely JJ    3/7/2008

  • Thanks Larry!  Nothing like a Dirty Old Woman!  Betsy
3/3/2008

  • This is very cool.My kind of music. Thanks.  George S.
   2/29/2008

  • Larry,  Does anyone remember the days at Legion Field with POCO & Pure Prairie League and the music park behind the pool and all the good times concerts concerts?
Bill M.    2/29/2008

  • Mr. Green sure does have a smooth voice. I'm surprised he didn't do even better.  JJ     2/18/2008

  • Hey Larry - Ever heard of "Dirty Old Woman" by Denise La Salle?   You make my Fridays.  Betsy
2/15/2008

  • Enjoyed Joe Cocker. Thanks folks. - Jim  2/8/2008

  • This is a great song. Larry keep the tunes coming.
TC YF JJ  2/8/2008

  • A WONDERFUL site-  Thanks for keeping GOOD MUSIC- Alive. - Big Doc-Bdge, GA  2/8/2008

  • Greetings to all at FIA!
  I've been longing to hear "The Bus' by
  the late, great Billy Preston. Any
  chance you got that in your vaults?
  Here's to a soulful 2008!
  Carlos - Cleveland, OH  1/29/2008

  • Hey Larry, I just read about Miles and Jimi being friends. How about some Hendrix soon.
Love the website, Joy  1/18/2008

  • Great to get the Twelve Days of Christmas.
  Thanks, Pat M. 12/28/07

  • A great way to enjoy the history of music and the  beautiful sounds of the blues.  Robert B.  12/7/2007

  • Enjoyed your special on the Rolling Stones. I would like to see more on Blues Artist old and young. Keep it Groovin.  Robert B.  11/28/2007

  • Larry, Johnny Guitar Watson really brings back some wasted brain cells!  Wore out the grooves in that album the year it came out.  Thanks David L.  11/9/07

  • Watson is the man!!!   Your Bro. Young Robert!  11/9/07

  • OMG, This song (Humble Pie - Thirty Days In The Hole) so reminds me of you Larry and 1972! LOL  Andrie - 10/5/07

  • I love this website, I have to listen to this each and every day.  Thank you very much.  I will share this with all my
  co-workers and friends. Nate  9/30/07

  • Love this site! I call it "Continuing Music Education"! I know the songs, but I didn't know all the stories behind the people who performed them.   Andrie - 9/23/07

  • Can you dig up Heaven Must Be Missing An Angel by Tavares?  Thanks! D. - Cleveland OH   8/17/07

  • The site is wonderful Larry and the music is just awesome!!!  I love visiting It's Friday In Athens!!!!  Please keep this going forever!!!! - Dierdra L. - President/CEO, Getan Records, THE LIGHTHOUSE GOSPELETTES!!! Athens, GA  7/29/07

  • It's Friday? How about "Don't Roll Your Bloodshot Eyes at Me" for a little local flavor?  Mark B. 7/27/07

  • Consider the Manhattans on Friday’s!  Frank P.  7/27/07

  • Larry!!!! You MADE my day with "Build Me Up"! I'm on vacation in Santa Barbara and sent it to my co-workers with the threat that I can now play it anytime I want! Psych! Hello Don M in the bay area and to Betsy! Everyone raves about your site, Larry! It's awesome! Gratefully yours, Scotty  7/20/07

  • Hey Larry,  Before the summer's over we need something from the summer of love for its 40th anniversary. It's for us in the bay area.  Don M.  7/13/07

  • Hey Larry The music is just great.Would also like to hear'The Horse' by Cliff Nobles. Thanks.  Double Divine 7/6/07

  • Hey Larry,  Remember those instrumentals that played before the top of the hour on AM Radio?  How about "The Horse" by Cliff Nobles or "Soul Finger".
Thanks!  Betsy K.  6/30/07

  • Larry, If I ever need a D.J. Guess what,You The Man!!! Thanx: Corndog  6/22/07

  • Yes! it's Friday and I'm up here jammin' in Cleveland, OH. How about some Soul Generation - Body & Soul (That's the Way It's Got to Be) Ya'll remember that one?  Have a great weekend!  losplus 6/22/07

  • How about Earth, Wind and Fire?  Angie G.  6/6/07

  • Hooray for Friday!!   Mary A. 6/1/07

  • This group (The Four Tops) is great. Thanks VM Jimmy J. - 5/25/07

  • Thanks for a Friday of Dusty Springfield, The Look of Love. Erica from Red Lobster, thanks for the look. - F.L. 4/5/07

  • I love this site! Any chance I could hear "Coldest Days Of My Life" by the Chi-Lites?  -  4/4/07

  • I would love to hear "Unchained Melody" by the Righteous
Brothers or "Fats" Domino's
"Ain't That a Shame" or
"Blueberry Hill."  Thanks,
Patrick - 3/30/07

  • Hey Larry! You are amazing! I have my whole office dancing to these! Just great! Can you do a BeeGees for my boss and slip in Build Me Up Buttercup? I sing it anyway at work, may as well have the music to go along with it (the more to torture my co-workers with! Looking forward to all the Fridays-with-Larry! :) Scotty - 3/30/07

  • Oh, my goodness, you found "Black Pearl."  I nearly fainted this am, when I opened the site.  Thank you sooooo much.  Blessings  P.W. Smith - 3/30/07

  • Please add "Black Pearl" by The Checkmates...not sure what year, but thinking mid 60's.  Thanks sooooooo much.
P. Smith - 3/23/07

  • This is a great website.  My mom always listened to the "Oldies" station here, and I wanted to be just like my Mom, so I started listening to it and I loved it, and this website has some of my favorites.   M. Pierce - 3/22/07

  • Hey, I love the t-shirt.  I have had it on
  since I got home from Arizona.  You
  did a good job. That was a great
  song last Friday (Wang Dang Doodle)
  - didn't know it but who ever
  requested it is someone I
      would like to hang with. And then
  today we had
  The Zombies....that took me back to
  8th grade and one of my first boy/girl
  parties. They were always held in
  someone's basement and the lights
  would go off by 9:00.
  That song always seem to bring on
  lots of smooching.  I will
  not be naming names....  ;)
  Thanks again,
  Betsy

  • This is awesome!!! Thanks for the great site and fabulous music!! WooHoo!! Jen B. - 2/18/07

  • I could not have picked a better artist. Thanks, Pat M.

  • Thank you Larry - You have made my day! Betsy K.

  • Mr. Larry, I really enjoyed Roy Head-Hey Hey. YF
Jim J. - 2/5/07

  • This always gets my Friday off to a great start!  Love it!
  Debbie - 1/26/07

  • Every once in a while my mornings are worth rising for, this has been one of them with Tina Turner.
  Thanks Bill S. - 1/19/07

  • Keep up the good work. JJ - 1/19/07

  • Wishing you and yours a Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year 2007!  I remember at this time in 1969 we were really gettng into Abbey Road!  But oh, how I love the sweet soul music of the 60's and 70's as well.  Thanks for your work in keeping this music alive.  And keep on sending it, Brother!    Dennis M. - 12/29/06

  • Moonchild Diva in Motown - found the site by looking for Billy Stewart!  I think you answered my question...who played bass on Billy's recordings?  SO THANK YOU for clearing up the mystery! - 12/11/06

  • Billy Stewart , alright, one of my favorites.   Also, Jerry Butler, Major Lance, Willy Tee....
Your friend, Dirk H.

  • Thanks for Billy Stewart Larry - You have made
my day!  Betsy K. - 12/8/07

  • I look forward to Friday's email.  This is great.
Linda L. - 12/8/07

  • Wow! From your personal E-Mail account. I forward "Its Friday in Athens!!!" on to my friends often. The folks here at work are trying to figure me out. Their 56 year old C.E.O. sits in his office every Friday morning booming out R&B. Though it works for me, its not the type of behavior they  expect from someone in my position. BLUES BANKER!
  T. Turgeon -

  • Thanks for Joe T. Luv'd it! Roy Head and the Traits?
Hope you had a good Turkey Day.
  T. Turgeon - 11/27/07

  • I keep waiting for Jackie Wilson and Billy Stewart....I have
  decided that like me, you have an
  older brother or sister who had you
  listening to this music as a kid.
    Hope all is well your way.
    Betsy K. - 11/25/06

  • How about a little Joe Tex?  T. Turgeon

  • Thanks, "I LOVE IT! Makes my day! M.N. - 9/29/06

  • WOW WOW WOW AN OUTSTANDING REVIEW OF THE real STYLE OF MUSIC - Atlanta Cooking - 9/23/06

  • In my time, this is the most fascinating music I have ever heard.  **86 - 8/17/06

  • Keep up the great and extremely important work. We met I believe at Michael Guthrie's house a few weeks ago at the HVARII Reunion. I am a great lover of our R&B and it's great to see someone who truly cares about it. Ole!
T. Turgeon - 8/2/06

  • Again, the "It's Friday" series is great - I love it every week and have sent it on to so many folks -
      thanks again.  Betsy K.

  • Aretha is my personal favorite so far!  Peggy M.

  • LOVE THIS...I NEED SOMETHNG TO GET ME THROUGH THE DAY !!!!  C. Lady - 6/3/07

  • Great! Perfect! Dance Music I Love It!!!  Laine L.

  • I think you missed your calling as a DJ!   Nicki S.

  • Keep 'em coming!!   I really enjoy listening to "my kind of music". Thank you.  Mary M.

  • I like getting your email every Friday, keep it coming!
       Carlas A.

  • DON'T FORGET THE 'QUEEN OF SOUL'........ ARETHA!!!!! YOUR MAKING MY FRIDAYS.    RONK

  • MY FRIENDS REALLY LIKE FRIDAY IN ATHENS! ONE IS SENDING EVERYONE AT THE COURTHOUSE AN  EMAIL.   Ron H.

  • THANKS SO MUCH EACH WEEK!  Nancy W.

  • This makes me smile!  Ray C.

  • Great job, keep up the good work.  Terry T.

  • I SAVE UNTIL FRI AFTERNOON, BY 5:00 P.M. I'M REVVVVED!!!   RONK - 5/19/06

  • Thanks for this humanitarian service to get us crunk for district wide planning.  Wilson Pickett reminds us to put a “spotlight on Otis Redding y’all”.  Yeah,yeah, oh yeah. Fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-Faaa!  Karl S.

  • Thanks. What a pleasant surprise to get to work and open this e-mail- glad I started with yours first.  Melanie B.

  • Thanks for the Friday emails Larry!!  I really enjoy them.
Kim S.

  • Thanks for the sound of good music. I really do love my oldies but goodies. E. Luke - 5/19/06

  • Thanks!!!  This is great! Jane B.

  • Great site!  How about some Sam Cooke??? - 5/19/06

  • Thanks for the music!  Steve P.

  • I love this! Thanks.   Dianne M.

  • I just wanted to let you know how much I enjoy your Friday emails.  Thanks for including me!  Betsy K.

  • I appreciate the link – good stuff!
Jon W.

  • I LIKE IT!!!!!!  Thanks and HAPPY FRIDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!  Barbara S.

  • THIS IS GREAT!!!!!!  Susan R.

  • So in your spare time you try to cheer up everyone?   Thanks, Lori R.

  • I love these songs. Thanks. Terri S.

  • Awesome……Thanks for doing this, we all look forward to it every week.  I’ve sent it to everyone I know!
Debi D.

  • I needed this today! Thanks. Susan S.
Good selection for this fabulous
Friday!!!!!

  • Thanks for the Music this morning. I think I could listen to this all day, if people didn't think I was crazy for MOVING in my chair. Have a great weekend.  Joyce G.

  • This is awesome!   Thanks,  Debi D.
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About The Artist
      

Blood, Sweat & Tears (also known as "BS&T") is an American music group, originally formed in 1967 in New York City. Since its beginnings in 1967, the band has gone through numerous iterations with varying personnel and has passed a multitude of musical styles. What the band is most known for, from its start, is the fusing of rock, blues, pop music, horn arrangements and jazz improvisation into a hybrid that came to be known as "jazz-rock". Unlike "jazz fusion" bands, which tend toward virtuostic displays of instrumental facility and some
experimentation with electric instruments, the songs of Blood, Sweat & Tears merged the stylings of rock, pop and R&B/soul music with big band, while also adding elements of 20th Century Classical and small combo jazz traditions.

The Al Kooper era
Al Kooper, Jim Fielder, Fred Lipsius, Randy Brecker, Jerry
Weiss, Dick
Halligan, Steve
Katz, and Bobby Colomby formed the original band. The creation of the group was fueled by the "brass-rock" ideas of The Buckinghams and its producer, James William Guercio, as well as the early 1960s Roulette-era Maynard Ferguson Orchestra (according to Kooper's autobiography).

"Blood, Sweat & Tears" was the name chosen by Al Kooper, inspired by both the 1963 album with this title by Johnny Cash and after a late-night gig in which Kooper played with a bloody hand. Kooper was the group's initial bandleader, having insisted on that position based on his experiences with The Blues Project, his previous band with Steve Katz, which had been organized as an egalitarian collective. Jim Fielder was from Frank Zappa's Mothers Of Invention and had played briefly with Buffalo Springfield. But undoubtedly, Kooper's fame as a high-profile contributor to various historic sessions of Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, the Rolling Stones, and others was the catalyst for the prominent debut of Blood, Sweat & Tears in the musical counterculture of the mid-sixties .

Al, Bobby, Steve & Jim did a few shows as a quartet at the Cafe Au Go Go in New York City in September 1967 opening for Moby Grape . Fred Lipsius then joined the others two months later. A few more shows were played as a quintet, including one at the Fillmore East in New York. Lipsius then recruited the other three, who were New York jazz horn players he knew. The final lineup debuted late November ’67 at The Scene in NYC. The band was a hit with the audience, who liked the innovative fusion of jazz with acid rock and psychedelia. After signing to Columbia Records, the group released perhaps one of the most critically acclaimed albums of the late 1960s, Child Is Father to the Man, featuring the Harry Nilsson song, "Without Her", and perhaps Kooper's most memorable blues number, "I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know". The album cover was considered quite innovative showing the band members sitting and standing with child-sized versions of themselves. Characterized by Kooper's penchant for studio gimmickry, the album slowly picked up in sales amidst growing artistic differences between the founding members. Colomby and Katz wanted to move Kooper exclusively to keyboard and composing duties, while hiring a stronger vocalist for the group.

The music of Blood, Sweat & Tears slowly achieved commercial success alongside similarly configured ensembles such as Chicago and the Electric Flag. Kooper was forced out of the group and became a record producer for the Columbia label, but not before arranging some songs that would be on the next BS&T album. The group's trumpeters, Randy Brecker and Jerry Weiss, also left after the album was released, and were replaced by Lew Soloff and Chuck Winfield. Brecker joined Horace Silver's band with his brother Michael, and together they eventually formed their own horn-dominated musical outfits, Dreams and The Brecker Brothers. Jerry Weiss went on to start the similarly-styled group Ambergris.

The David Clayton-Thomas era
Colomby and Katz then started looking for singers, considering Stephen Stills and Laura Nyro before deciding upon David Clayton-Thomas, a Canadian singer, born in Surrey, England. Reportedly, folk singer Judy Collins had seen him perform at a New York City club and was so taken and moved by his performance that she told her friends Bobby Colomby and Steve Katz about him (knowing that they were looking for a new lead singer to front the band).[3] With her prodding, they came to see him perform and were so impressed with him that Clayton-Thomas was offered to become the lead singer of a re-constituted Blood Sweat & Tears. Halligan took up the organ chores and Jerry Hyman joined on trombone. New trumpeters Lew Soloff and Chuck Winfield brought the band up to nine total members.

Eponymous 1969 album Blood, Sweat & TearsBlood, Sweat & Tears, the group's self-titled second album, was produced by James William Guercio and released in 1969. The album was much more pop-oriented, featuring decidedly fewer compositions from within the band. The record quickly hit the top of the charts, winning Album of the Year at the Grammy Awards over The Beatles' Abbey Road, among other nominees. Blood, Sweat & Tears spawned three major hit singles: a cover of Berry Gordy and Brenda Holloway's "You've Made Me So Very Happy" (US #2), Clayton-Thomas' "Spinning Wheel" (US #2), and a version of Laura Nyro's "And When I Die" (US #2). The commercial and critical acclaim enjoyed by the band in 1969 culminated in an appearance at the Woodstock Festival, in which the band enjoyed headliner status.

Arguably, as a result of Al Kooper's departure, Blood, Sweat & Tears had difficulty maintaining its status as a counterculture icon at a time when record company executives deemed this characteristic important as a tool to lure young consumers. This was compounded by a United States Department of State-sponsored tour of Eastern Europe in 1970. Any voluntary association with the government was highly unpopular at the time and the band was ridiculed for it. In retrospect, it is now known that the State Department subtly requested the tour in exchange for more amicability on the issuance of a visa to Clayton-Thomas.

After returning to the U.S., the group released Blood, Sweat & Tears 3; which was another popular success, spawning hit singles with a cover of Carole King's "Hi-De-Ho" and another Clayton-Thomas composition, "Lucretia MacEvil". While this was a successful attempt to re-create the amalgam of styles found on the previous album, the band once again depended almost exclusively on cover material. Album reviews sometimes focused solely upon the band's willingness to work with the U.S. State Department, without bothering to discuss the actual music. Compounding the image problems of the band was a decision to play at Caesars Palace on the Las Vegas Strip, widely seen at the time as a mainstream venue for acts that did not engage in radical politics. In 1970, the band provided music for the soundtrack of the film comedy The Owl and the Pussycat , further damaging the group's underground reputation.

Following this period of controversy, the group reconvened with jazz writer Don Heckman serving as their producer and, with Dave Bargeron replacing Jerry Hyman, recorded material that would comprise their fourth album, BS&T 4. For the first time since the first album, Blood, Sweat & Tears presented a repertoire of songs composed almost entirely from within the group. Included on the album is a cover of former member Al Kooper's "Holy John (John The Baptist)". Loaded with hooks and a wide variety of moods (featuring such songs as "Go Down Gamblin'", "Lisa Listen To Me", "High on a Mountain", "Redemption"), Blood, Sweat & Tears 4 broke into the album charts, resulting in a gold record for the group. Unfortunately, none of the singles from the album managed to land in the Top 30 on any of the singles charts, and the period after the release of the fourth album began the group's commercial decline.

The Jerry Fisher era
Difficulties arose inside the group between its pop-rock and jazz factions, with Clayton-Thomas refusing to pick sides and eventually choosing to leave to pursue a solo career in early January 1972. He was briefly replaced by Bobby Doyle, and then Jerry Fisher who went on to front the next generation of Blood, Sweat & Tears. Fred Lipsius left and was replaced by jazz legend Joe Henderson (who did not stay long enough to record), before Lou Marini settled into the new lineup. Another founding member, Dick Halligan, also departed, replaced by jazz pianist Larry Willis, and Swedish guitarist Georg Wadenius joined as lead guitarist around the same time. Amidst the personnel changes, a Greatest Hits album was released, which hit the top 20 and eventually went gold. This record would be the band's final gold album.

Cover of 1972 album Greatest HitsDuring this period of time, a proliferation of bands employing the jazz-rock stylings of the group began to compete in the popular music marketplace. Among these groups were Chase, Ides of March and Lighthouse, offering testimony to the legacy of Blood, Sweat & Tears.

The new edition of Blood, Sweat & Tears released New Blood, which found the group moving into a more overtly jazz-fusion repertoire. The album broke through the top-40 charts (the last BS&T LP to do so) and spawned a single ("So Long Dixie", chart peak: 44) that received some airplay. Also included on the record was a cover version of Herbie Hancock's "Maiden Voyage," featuring the voice/guitar soloing of Georg Wadenius.

In mid-1973, Katz, who was growing increasingly uncomfortable with the group's leaning towards jazz fusion, decided to leave. Winfield departed as well and was replaced by Tom Malone. Blood, Sweat & Tears' next album, No Sweat (1973), continued in a jazz-fusion vein and featured intricate horn work. The 1974 release Mirror Image saw the addition of vocalist/saxophonist Jerry LaCroix (formerly of Edgar Winter's White Trash), sax player Bill Tillman, bassist Ron McClure and the exodus of Tom Malone and longtime members Lew Soloff and Jim Fielder. This recording features the adoption of a sound pitched between Philly Soul and the mid-1970s albums by Herbie Hancock's Headhunters, along with aspirations to Chick Corea's jazz-fusion group Return to Forever.

Information origin www.wikipedia.com



  You Made Me So Very Happy

I lost at love before
Got mad and closed the door
But you said try just once more

I chose you for the one
Now we're having so much fun
You treated me so kind
I'm about to lose my mind

You made me so very happy
I'm so glad you came into my life

The others were untrue
But when it came to loving you
I'd spend my whole life with you

Cause you came and you took control
You touched my very soul
You always showed me that
Loving you is where it's at

You made me so very happy
I'm so glad you came into my life

Thank you baby, yeah, yeah

I love you so much it seems
You're even in my dreams
I can hear, baby
I can hear you calling
I'm so in love with you
All I ever want to do is
Thank you, baby, thank you, baby

You made me so very happy
I'm so glad you came into my life
You made me so very happy
You made me so, so very happy, baby
I'm so glad you came into my life

I wanna thank you, girl
Every day of my life
I wanna thank you
You made me so very happy
Oh, I wanna spend my life with you
Thank you, baby, thank you, baby
Thank you, baby, thank you, baby



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