I’m thrilled that our film captured your interest and compelled you to take two hours out of your busy day to watch.

My phone and inbox have been blowing up in the past few hours from readers of “The Lefsetz Letter,” some of whom knew I was the filmmaker behind “What The Hell Happened To Blood, Sweat & Tears?,” some of whom did not…thinking I should be aware of the film about which you wrote so eloquently and passionately.

I very much appreciate your thoughtful perspective about BS&T, the political parallels and, as you say, “counterpoints” to today.

Thanks, too, for your kind words about the documentary. It was a real passion project from start to finish and I’ve got so many cool behind-the-scenes production stories on which I’m sure I’ll be dining for some time to come.

I’m very proud of this film and very much hope others will be equally affected by it.

All the best –

John Scheinfeld

Director/Writer/Producer

WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO BLOOD, SWEAT & TEARS?

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Hello: I’m really looking forward to this..AL KOOPERS’ input  and influence extended past the first album..The original group with Al Singing was performing You Made Me So Very Happy, Smiling Phases,and More and More in their Live Show..All made it to the Second album with DCT singing Lead.

Louis Levin

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Something/someone important left out of the BS&T story – James William Guercio.   He brought Chicago Transit Authority to Clive Davis at Columbia in ‘68. Clive agreed to sign them, IF, Guercio agreed to produce the second Blood, Sweat & Tears album, which was to be released first. He did it, won the Grammy for album of the year (back when that still mattered), and then went on to produce 11 albums for Chicago, including 5 in a row that went Billboard number 1, (back when THAT still mattered.

Got this story from Jim Foglesong, back when he briefly headed Columbia.

Cheers.

Michael Canfield

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Bob.  BST put out two great, but very different, albums:  Child is the father to man and the first one with DCT. I would play both on the console stereo (before component took over) at home and mom and dad ignored the first but loved the DCT outing.  Dad was a child of the Big Band era and the influences of the second album rung clear to him.  You talk of the counterculture in the 60s and how our music connected a generation, and our battle with the over 30 crowd and the Vietnam war and how we were going to change the world. Yup, that was an amazing time and we talked about the unjust war and Mayor Daly and Kent and we wrote songs of protest – and they were everywhere.  Street corner buskers yelling down the war.  It was, truly, visceral. And, yes, we took off our bell bottoms and beads and went to work for the man and still smoked – at home.  But it never leaves you.  Not even today.  It (indeed) was the best of times and the worst of times.  And my vinyl still rolls.

Robert Tussey

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Thanks for the reminders…

I was in NYC in 68 and 69 and B,S & T’s owned it. America had changed the game once again.and i too am happy to have have had the Al Kooper experience in my live…

Best , o

Andrew Loog Oldham

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Wow!! Thanks for the heads up, Bob.

My first concert was The Chambers Brothers and Blood, Sweat & Tears at Fordham University. I was 13. It was fantastic! After the show, we went to a White Castle on Fordham Road and had a few 20-cent burgers.

I’ll never forget that night.

Vicky Germaise

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Child Is Father to the Man is one of my top five records ever.

My kids are in their mid 30’s. Their father was in Vietnam Veterans Against the War, I made them listen to my music all the time growing up, and I’ve made them watch 60’s-70’s documentaries. But I just can’t get them to feel it. How sure we were that we were changing the world. And how our music was everything

Kids…..

Amy Polan Clarke

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Thanks for writing about this. BS&T is an important band for many reasons; several of which you talked about. They were arguably the first jazz-rock band (Chicago took a little longer to gain traction).

And —-yes, as usual I’m talking about drummers—there is Bobby Colomby.

His clearly jazz inspired playing was really the first time you heard Philly Joe Jones’ influence in a rock band.

Bobby is a brilliant drummer… highly influential on many…. Of course he’s happily still with us; I just wish I could hear more of his playing on more records.

Regards,
Mark Feldman

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I’m an old Al Kooper fan and remember him from The Blues Project and earlier coming from Queens, NY and his first wife was my best friend.  He used to hang around my house and play our baby grand piano.

Loved their first album… It’s the best thing BS&T ever did, I agree.  Kooper’s “I Love You More Than You’ll Ever Know”  Is one of the best songs ever written period.

Al’s a musical genius!

Iona S. Elliott

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I Can’t Quit Her is my favorite on BS&T, so many times Bob you send me back into my vinyl collection; I have 4 Al Kooper albums, but Child Is Father To The Man must have been lent out and not returned (understandably) and I only have the CD. Those 5 albums influenced my writing More Than You’ll Ever Know. I can’t wait to see this movie, please give us a ‘heads up’ when it’s available.

Jeff Watz

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I’ve been listening to Al Kooper solo records on repeat (I Stand Alone, You Never Really Know Who Your Friends Are, Act Like Nothing’s Wrong) for the past 3 days and then you sent me thismissive! Serendipity.

As a former high school band geek, BS&T were worshipped! I love all the LPs, even Nuclear Blues! 😨

I certainly appreciate that David Clayton-Thomas is never afraid to “Say Somethin'”

Cheers,

EveAnna Dauray Manley

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I love Al Kooper. Have all of his solo LP’s, all the Blues Project albums, and all of the BS&T albums. The first BS&T album is amazing and the second album is a classic. I cannot wait to see this movie.

Count me in the crowd.

Dennis Paulik

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Now I’m excited!   Thanks for the info.  This is one that I will find.  One of my all time favorite autobiographies is Al Kooper’s.  He was the Forrest Gump of the music scene.  From growing up with Paul Simon to Dylan, to BS&T, to Skynyrd and so much in between.  Will be on the lookout for this film.

Patti Martin

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I was a big fan of the Blues Project…attended their “final” concert at Town Hall and their reunion show years later at the Bond? Not sure of the venue name…1981?
I filled in the Blues Project’s songs I didn’t own on Napster.
The first CD I bought was a gold edition of BS&T’s, Father Is Child To The Man.
The great songs and performances of both bands still hold up.
Over the years I also wondered what the hell happened to them.
If you get wind of where and when this documentary will be available please let us know.
Thanks Bob.
Alan Crane

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Hi Bob — the first single off of BS&T3, was Hi-De-Ho.  That album followed up the DCT first post-Al Kooper album, the album with, what, three enormous hit singles; the album that won Album of the Year, beating out Abbey Road (imagine that!).  So .. no pressure when the band went in to record the follow-up!

JIm Charne

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The godfathers of smooth jazz? “You’ve Made Me So Very Happy” is to Spyro Gyra what  “All Day And All Of The Night” is to The Ramones.

Also responsible for launching the careers of Al Kooper and Bobby Colomby, without whom we wouldn’t have Lynyrd Skynyrd or Jaco Pastorius.

Vince Welsh

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What goes up, must come down….I played alto saxophone (not very well!) in the jazz band in middle school when Spinning Wheel was on WABC in NYC multiple times per day.
Thanks for the memories and pointing me to this documentary- very much looking forward !

David Levin

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Very few records from this era still sound good 50+ years later.   I equate BS&Tears( Lou’s trumpet solo is still a master class) Katz Kooper and DC were beyond years.    Of course the drama with DCT comes up into play

But Spinning Wheel and Zep and Doors records still sound good.    Rest of the crap sounds like poorly recorded records that sonically still sound like crap .   BS@T s first record from the horn intros is still a piece of art.   I still have it on vinyl.    Don’t need a movie that I will never watch change that.   You fail to mention the additional MOFOs that played on this record

Chris Apostle

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Thank you, Bob Lefsetz.  I read you religiously and agree less than 1/2 the time.  I am 76 years old, an early “Boomer” and love our music. Can’t wait to see this movie. Keep us posted.

Jeff Douglas

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Did they get into when the great Jerry LaCroix was in the band?

Ex Boogie Kings, White Trash, then later joined Rare Earth for a while.

And 2 VERY GOOD solo albums.

Check out him singing I’ll Love You More Than You’ll Ever Know from 1974 and giving Kooper props.

Fun fact: It’s pronounced LaCraw. There’s an interview where I heard him say it.

Kevin Kiley

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Thanks for your review of the up of BS&T doc, Bob.  Looking forward to it.

I saw BS&T at Topanga Days a few years back… needless to say I was a bit worried about how they sounded after all these years… to my surprise the were excellent!  I went back in time when I listened to them via my older brother and sister, who had the their album in 1968.  When I Die was very profound for this young girl.

I’m now liking their songs on Spotify to listen to on my way to work tomorrow.

Thanks for the reminder.

Best,

Darlene Gorzela

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Worst band ever. Double bubblegum nonsense that led to the second worst popular band …ewww the RAMONES. One chord kindergarten stupidity that the world had to swallow because of numb ass critical reviews!
It’s all the fault of clown Andy Warhol!
Lol

Kenn Kweder

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Loved your comment on the Ramones, for me they are the most underrated band in music. They were great songwriters who’s sound blazed a trail for hundreds of artists to follow. As you mentioned their sound was was so different it took years for people to get it.

“Chewin’ out a rhythm on my bubble gum
The sun is out and I want some
It’s not hard, not far to reach
We can hitch a ride to Rockaway Beach”

Michael Rosenblatt

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There is no other BS&T album! Just the first one! The Al Kooper one.

I don’t care if the second one had hits, and Lara Nyro songs.  It wasn’t BS&T.  And it certainly had no trace of the Blues Project.

“Child is Father to the Man” is still my hub (that’s husband) and my go-to album.

It holds up.  Really, really well.  (And so does Super Session, just as an aside).

I didnt even know about the political problems of BS&T or the green card thing.  The second album was painful for those of us who loved the “only” BS&T album and we moved on.  We stayed with Al and wherever he went, we went.  Al Kooper has always had his pulse on what should come next, before anyone else figured it out… and he did with BobDylan, the Blues Project, Shugie Otis, Lynyrd Skynyrd, with The Tubes and Standing Alone!

So, in memory of Danny Kalb… Thank you Bob for recognizing and celebrating Al Kooper. As an FYI, there is a crew of Erasmus Hall High School ( Brooklyn, NY) graduates, classes  of 1966 and 1967, who feel as you do.  As Al Kooper super fans, we attended all  or most of his annual birthday shows in NYC at the Bottom Line, and at BB Kings, and I think there might have been one or two at other clubs.

AL KOOPER IS NYC ROCK AND ROLL!!

Amy Krakow

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That first BS&T album is a classic, a fabulous album.  I had both that and the second album and at one point back in the day, I knew the later one as well as the first.  But I never listed to the second album and I come back to Child is Father to the Man frequently.

 

I recently went back and listed to Kooper’s early solo albums after he left BS&T.  Those albums are a bit uneven, but there’s some terrific music on them.

 

Finally, as well known as Super Session is, Kooper’s follow-up, Kooper Session with the young guitar phenom Shuggie Otis, is an even better album.

 

Don Friedman

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The film sounds great. Al Kooper is a genius and the first BS&T album has been on my top-10 list ever since it came out and someone turned me on to it at summer camp. .

– Greg Dennis

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I wore out three copies of ‘Child Is The Father To The Man’. One of my all time favorite albums… the band had soul (thank you Al Kooper).

Couldn’t get behind the David Clayton Thomas albums at all.  Deep as a glass of water.

Bruce Garfield

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I loved B,S &T.  Respected David Clayton-Thomas’s voice, but I couldn’t stand hearing “Spinning Wheel” or “You’ve Made Me So Very Happy” at every bar mitzvah or wedding respectively that I went to as a kid in the early 70’s.  Right up there with “Joy to the World”.

That first album “Child is Father to The Man”… before you even opened it, the cover alone said this is gonna be f@ckin’ great. And it delivered. Kudos to the musicianship on the debut (Randy Brecker, Steve Katz, Bobby Colomby to name but a few), but Al Kooper was, and is still the man.  Amongst his production credits, The Tubes debut was a fave. It wasn’t mastered as well as it could’ve been in my opinion, like a lion without teeth, all roar, no bite…but the arrangements, holy sh*t!

Brian Diamond

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Re: Brian Diamond e-mail

Sad, but true.

Al Kooper

Tune in tomorrow, Saturday February 25th, to Faction Talk, channel 103, at 4 PM East, 1 PM West.

If you miss the episode, you can hear it on demand on the SiriusXM app. Search: Lefsetz

This is one of the best rock documentaries ever made.

Today, with everybody having a 4k video camera in their pocket, there’s a plethora of rock docs, done on the cheap, basically hagiography. You may start ’em, but it’s hard to finish them, your mind wanders, you shut it off… In today’s time-challenged on demand I only do what I want culture I’m stunned that I took two hours out of my day to watch this film, but I was just that interested. Furthermore, even if you’ve never even heard of Blood, Sweat & Tears you will dig this movie. You should see this movie!

So it was pitched to me as a documentary based on footage shot during BS&T’s Eastern European, i.e. Communist, tour back in 1970. You know, found footage resurfacing to make a buck.

But that’s not what this is.

You have no idea how big Blood, Sweat & Tears was back in ’68 and ’69, even into the spring of 1970. They were everywhere.

Also, if you were not alive in the era, you have no idea of the sixties counterculture, the protests against Vietnam…you’ve read about it, but you’ve never felt it.

You feel it in this movie.

It’s also hard to explain what music was in the late sixties, really starting in January of ’64, when the Beatles broke in the U.S. Music was EVERYTHING! It was Instagram, Netflix, TikTok, YouTube and Snapchat all rolled into one. Everybody was paying attention and you tuned in not only to be satiated, but surprised. And no innovation was off the table. Pushing the envelope was de rigueur. It wasn’t until the middle seventies, with the emergence of the Ramones, that there was a reaction, a return to simplicity, and in retrospect everybody can see that the Ramones’ image might have been punk, but they could write and play, they were just using a different construct, and it was so far ahead of the audience that it took decades to be embraced.

So we’re following the players. And the acts. And there’s this one called the Blues Project, which morphs into Blood, Sweat & Tears. The link? Steve Katz and Al Kooper, who quickly stopped getting along.

You see it was Al’s band. And I’m watching this documentary and I’m self-satisfyingly wincing how they’ve written Al out of history, and no one will ever know, but then they tell the story of the advent of the band, how it was really Al’s idea and construction.

And that first album… It’s the best thing BS&T ever did. As a matter of fact, Kooper’s “I Love You More Than You’ll Ever Know” has longer legs than anything from the David Clayton-Thomas era. Sure, Thomas may have sung the hits, but Al wrote that song, Donny Hathaway covered it, and people are still singing it today, it’s part of the ongoing culture, that’s the power of a great song.

Now Al says he got kicked out of his own band.

In this film they say they asked him to remain, as bandleader, but not as the singer.

Al is extremely creative, but he does have edges, and he doesn’t back down if he believes in his viewpoint/opinion. So, knowing Al, I can understand the others’ frustration, after all Al wrote a song about visits to his psychiatrist’s office and insisted it be on the LP.

However, nobody in BS&T proceeded to set the world on fire after that second album, the first with David Clayton-Thomas, and Kooper was involved in the Monterey Pop Festival, cut “Super Session” and found and recorded Lynyrd Skynyrd, never mind continuing with his own solo career and writing for TV.

But that’s not what this film is about.

So Al’s out of the band and although the hoi polloi embrace Clayton-Thomas, the cognoscenti never do. But this film goes a long way to rehabilitating his image. HE WAS A JUVENILE DELINQUENT!

And as a result, the U.S. government wanted to deport him. So the band agreed to do this Eastern European tour in exchange for David’s green card. That’s how the world works, horse-trading.

And according to this film, when the band came back and said how bad it was over there they were labeled tools of the administration, the hated Nixon administration, and were banned from the counterculture and the bad press ultimately led to the demise of the band.

Just one thing is left out. “Blood, Sweat & Tears 3” was a stiff. It was highly anticipated, and the band did not deliver. “Lucretia MacEvil”? What was that about? Made for AM play, which it hardly got, not for the core audience that supported, that built this band. And sure, there’s the Traffic song and another Laura Nyro song… But it’s not the same.

Al says he established the blueprint for the second, hit album.

Whether true or not, the guidance was now gone. The third album was paint-by-numbers, more of what the audience wanted.

Only the audience didn’t want it anymore.

In the fall of ’69 “Led Zeppelin II” expanded the boundaries of what was considered hit music. “Whole Lotta Love” was EVERYWHERE!

And at the same time “Blood, Sweat & Tears 3” was released, so was Traffic’s reunion album, “John Barleycorn Must Die,” Dave Mason’s “Alone Together” and Eric Clapton’s very first solo LP. Others were pushing the limits. BS&T were not.

And then there was the political thing.

BS&T were not cool. After all, their big hit album had come out over eighteen months before. In a fast-moving marketplace they shouldn’t have waited that long. You don’t milk every last dime out of the last album, you cut a new one. This was the difference between CBS and Warner Brothers. WB would leave money on the table, for the good of the act, CBS would sell until there was no one left to buy.

And having read “Rolling Stone” cover to cover, I remember the bad press. And this film amplifies it. And to be on the receiving end of that must have been very hard.

But one thing was for sure, like I said above, Blood, Sweat & Tears were no longer cool, their moment had passed. Keep innovating or die. The public says it wants something new just like the old, but this is ultimately untrue.

Woven into the story of the band is the story of the Eastern European tour. And it is eye-opening. They’re in Romania and the government throws a sh*t fit when the audience for the first night’s show won’t stop clapping, won’t stop cheering for the U.S.A., they’ve gotten a taste of freedom and they LIKE IT!

Good for the U.S. Bad for U.S./Romanian relations.

And this is one place where a picture tells a thousand words.

Then again, this whole movie sits in counterpoint to today.

Back then all the young were anti-Vietnam, the youth were aligned. That is no longer true, the red and blue divide applies to all ages. Also, the thought of a dictator ruling by fiat was anathema, unheard of. Meanwhile, on 1/6/21, they invaded the Capitol in support of that.

Oh my, have times changed.

And most people look their age in this film. But that is reassuring. It demonstrates that not only is survival key, better than to O.D., but the power of youth. Back then NO ONE wanted to work for the bank. And there was no tech industry. Being in a rock and roll band was the height of status, and cash. Then again, with nine members in the band, not everybody could get rich, but the music came first, right?

Well, it did back then, not today. Where the goal is to create a brand and Rihanna plays the Super Bowl half a decade after releasing new music. There’s just not enough money in music, it’s a bad use of her time.

So you’ve got the story of politics, both in the U.S. and the Cold War, the story of Blood, Sweat & Tears, and a visual representation of the temperature back then, what it was really like during the sixties and ultimately the dawn of the seventies.

And the seventies were different. After Kent State… People went back to the land. And ultimately focused on their careers. They became money-hungry.

But before that…

P.S. The film is supposed to open in March. Meanwhile, the target audience doesn’t even go to the theatre anymore. And documentaries can get lost on streaming television. But I think this one will have word of mouth, because it’s visceral and real. And I know you can’t see it now, but it affected me so much I wanted to write about it.

https://bit.ly/3Ir1yyj

Yesterday at the Pollstar conference, Irving Azoff hosted a panel with Garth Brooks, Jim Dolan and Makan Delrahim about ticketing.

It is not about Ticketmaster.

Irving started off by reading a multi-page explanation of the situation from the one true perspective. THE ARTIST’S PERSPECTIVE!

There is no show without the artist. To point the finger at Ticketmaster is to miss the point. Today, Live Nation finally fought back, and announced the desire for a Fair Ticketing Act. You can read the announcement at the above link.

Turns out Garth Brooks is hands-on, a student of the game. He participates in on-sales. Yes, you can adjust prices and inventory, even add shows during the on-sale. You can limit how high ticket prices flex. This is built into the system, most managers are hands-on, not all, but to have an act this involved is rare.

And another thing about Garth, he knows the fans, because he started out as a fan. Someone asked a question about underplays. Garth responded that too many people are left out, unhappy, that as much as we like an intimate show, for superstars it is impractical, other than a special occasion. The key is to make the most fans happy. You can play bigger buildings, add more shows, but the fans are primary.

As for attorney Makan Delrahim… He is very sharp, he used to work for the government. He cast the problem in legal terms, which it ultimately comes down to. Tickets as property, and who owns the property.

Dolan said we need press.

Now, finally, with Live Nation’s announcement, we’ll get some, and we need more, to shed light on what is really going on in touring.

Dolan talked about all the people who show up at the venue with bogus tickets. What does the building do? No, they don’t instantly turn them away, they try to accommodate them, because you don’t want to piss off fans. Should fans be more educated, be aware of bogus offerings? Sure. But the problem is not Ticketmaster. It was mentioned that every resale ticket posted on Ticketmaster is guaranteed to be valid.

Irving talked about U2 performing at Dolan’s Sphere in Las Vegas.

THERE ARE ALREADY TICKETS ADVERTISED! Even though there are no dates set and Irving hasn’t seen a manifest of the building.

And it was revealed by Delrahim and others that there are already laws against scalping on the books, but they’re not enforced.

There’s so much about the law people don’t understand.

Let’s start with the primary one… Just because you win in court that does not mean you’ll get paid. The defendant might not have any money! You can win, but it’s a pyrrhic victory. Which is why so many wrongdoers are never brought to trial.

But also, there is only so much money for law enforcement. And there are priorities. Where is ticketing on the priority list? Very far down. Do you want to risk getting shot or be protected from paying a lot for a ticket? Furthermore, the concert industry is just a blip on the radar screen when it comes to monies spent in America. Congress could focus on enforcement, state governments could focus on enforcement, but they’d rather grandstand and blame it all on Ticketmaster.

And the dirty little secret is much of the anti-Ticketmaster legislation and hoopla is generated by the scalpers themselves! Under the moniker of “Fan Freedom.” Yeah, right. And, if ticketing is going to be cleaned up, that might mean you can’t scalp your own tickets. Which there will be a little blowback about, but this is not a practice most people engage in.

So the artist sets the price. Sometimes it’s too low, sometimes even too high. Sometimes it’s adjusted on the fly. But one thing you’ve got to know is THE ARTIST SETS THE PRICE!

Some artists want a low price. But that bumps up against the immutable law of supply and demand. You might want to sell at a low price, but there are people like scalpers who are in the business of arbitrage, they want to get that lift. Even on a paperless show they can buy four tickets, walk three people in and still make a handsome profit. Which is why more and more artists are charging what the tickets are really worth. Aged acts have little problem with this. Youngsters… But maybe this is the way it should be, so the acts get the revenue, not the scalpers. Cars are not discounted below value, almost no physical goods are. Why should concert tickets be an exception? Oh, one caveat, no matter what is done you still might not get a ticket, but it’s not because of Ticketmaster, but because DEMAND IS TOO HIGH!

As for separate fees… Ticketmaster has gone on record again and again that they’re willing to bake all the fees in, it’s the acts that don’t want this. The acts want to appear that they’re on the side of the fans, with a low face value, and it’s predators gouging you on the fees. When the truth is the fees are part of the actual ticket price, they are not extras, take away the fees and there is no concert. The fees pay the promoter, pay the building, and yes, a chunk goes to Ticketmaster, which does provide a service. It’d be like bringing your car in for service and only be willing to pay for parts, refusing to pay for labor. Without the labor, the parts are not installed, the problem is not fixed!

I’m not gonna sit here and say there is no bad behavior in the concert business. But the problem is not Ticketmaster. Talk to anybody who actually sells through Ticketmaster and they’ll say the service is the best, and also that Ticketmaster acts as a marketing platform that far exceeds that of any other ticketing company. As for the quality…did you see that Barclays dropped SeatGeek and returned to Ticketmaster? Because SeatGeek wasn’t up to the job!

So the artist is in charge of ticketing, but the artist should not be hampered by bad actors, selling tickets that don’t exist or scooping up inventory via bots.

This is a perspective change. Rather than starting with Ticketmaster, the end of the food chain, start at the beginning. We’ve got the act, it does or does not decide to go on tour. If it does decide, it needs a promoter. Could be Live Nation, could be AEG, could be an independent. And the dirty little secret is casinos pay the most! Generally speaking whoever pays the most gets the act. There’s no inherent monopoly in concerts. Then again, few want to get in, because margins are so low. And promoters construct buildings to increase their margins.

As for the price… The acts decide. The Fair Ticketing Act is about letting the artists’ decisions stand, eliminating the impediments.

Who knows if anything will happen.

But at least let’s focus on the real issues.

As for me, looking like I’m on the side of the man…

I’m on the side of the artist, and everybody in the food chain works for the artist, REMEMBER THAT!