Founder Al Kooper conceived Blood, Sweat and Tears as an experiment in expanding the size and scope of the rock band with touches of jazz , blues , classical , and folk music. When Kooper was forced out of the band soon after its eclectic debut, Child Is Father to the Man, BS&T became increasingly identified as a "jazz-rock" group, although its music was essentially easy-listening rhythm and blues or rock with the addition of brass.
Kooper formed BS&T after leaving the Blues Project in 1967. The nucleus of the original band was Steve Katz, also of the Blues Project; Jim Fielder, who had played with the Mothers of Invention and Buffalo Springfield; and Bobby Colomby, who had drummed behind folksingers Odetta and Eric Andersen. The horn players were recruited from New York jazz and studio bands. Child Is Father featured songs by Harry Nilsson, Tim Buckley, Randy Newman, Gerry Goffin, and Carole King, along with Kooper originals and arrangements by Fred Lipsius for brass, strings, and studio effects. The band nearly broke up when Kooper, Randy Brecker, and Jerry Weiss left (Brecker to join The Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra). Regrouping under Katz and Colomby, and fronted by David Clayton-Thomas (who had sung with a Canadian blues band, The Bossmen), BS&T entered a period of immense popularity. Blood, Sweat & Tears featured arrangements of music by French composer Erik Satie and jazz singer Billie Holiday, as well as by Laura Nyro, Steve Winwood, and others. It was the #1 album for seven weeks in 1969, sold over 3 million copies, and spawned three gold singles: “You’ve Made Me So Very Happy,” “Spinning Wheel,” and “And When I Die,” each of which hit #2.
In 1970 the U.S. State Department sent the band on a goodwill tour of Yugoslavia, Romania, and Poland. Blood, Sweat & Tears 3 duplicated the Blood, Sweat & Tears mix of styles and was almost as popular. The album went to #1, and two singles, “Hi-De-Ho” and “Lucretia MacEvil,” hit the Top 30. But interest in the group began to wane, and 4, which contained almost all original material, barely made the Top 10. In 1971 “Go Down Gamblin’” was its last hit. By the time Clayton-Thomas left for a solo career in 1972, BS&T’s place on the charts had been filled by similarly styled bands such as Chicago, Chase, and Ides of March. Katz left the next year, first to join the short-lived American Flyer and then to an A&R position at Mercury Records.
BS&T became regulars in Las Vegas, with ever-changing personnel recruited largely from big bands like Maynard Ferguson’s, Woody Herman’s, and Doc Severinsen’s. Vocalist Jerry LaCroix appeared between his tenures with Edgar Winter’s White Trash and Rare Earth, while guitarist Mike Stern later played with Miles Davis’ early-’80s band. Clayton-Thomas’ return in 1974 briefly boosted BS&T’s popularity, but Columbia dropped the group, and Colomby, the last original member, left in 1976. He continued to influence BS&T as producer of Brand New Day and, with Clayton-Thomas, as co-owner of the band’s name and catalogue. He then moved on to a career in A&R for several labels, as well as TV reporting. Since 1975 the live act has been billed as Blood, Sweat and Tears Featuring David Clayton-Thomas. [from The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll (Simon & Schuster, 2001)
http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/bloodsweatandtears/biography
In late 2005, the band returned to touring. The year 2007 witnessed the band's first world tour in a decade. From 2008 through 2010, Steve Katz returned to appear at BS&T's shows as a special guest.
From 2013 till 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.
Just One Smile
Blood Sweat & Tears Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
There's nobody to notice it
Can I cry if I want to
No one cares
Why can't I pretend
That you love me again?
All I had has been taken from me
Now I'm cryin'
Chorus: Just one smile,
Pain's forgiven
Just one kiss, girl
Now the hurt's all gone
Just one smile to my
Make my little life worth livin'
A little dream to build my world upon
How I wish
I could say
All the things that I got to say
How I wish you
Could see what's here
In My heart
I don't ask for much
A look, a smile, a touch
Try to forget
Well, the Lord knows I'm tryin'
But it's so hard to forget girl,
When your whole world is dyin'
(Chorus)
(Solos)
Try to forget
Well, the Lord knows I'm tryin'
But it's so hard to forget girl,
When your whole world is dyin'
(Chorus)
The lyrics of Blood Sweat & Tears's song "Just One Smile" express the heartache of a person who has lost love and how they wish to have that love back. The singer longs for they had before, but it's now gone, and they're left with nothing but tears. They question why they can't pretend that their lover still loves them and why they can't cry if they want to without anyone caring. The singer desires that their lover would return even as they acknowledge that they don't ask for much, just a look, a smile, or a touch. They go on to express how hard it is to move on when your whole world feels like it's dying.
Overall, the song is an emotional portrayal of the void that comes with a lost love. Despite how things have turned out, they hope that just one smile or one kiss can take away their pain and make their little dream of regaining their lover a reality. The singer longs to express all that they're feeling but struggles to find the right words. The song highlights that heartbreak can be intense and devastating, making it challenging to forget the one that got away.
Line by Line Meaning
Can I cry a little bit
May I shed a few tears
There's nobody to notice it
No one is around to witness my sadness
Can I cry if I want to
Do I have the freedom to express my emotions through tears
No one cares
It seems like nobody is concerned about my state of mind
Why can't I pretend
What's stopping me from imagining a world where you love me again
That you love me again?
Can I envision a time when you still have affection for me
All I had has been taken from me
Everything that was once mine has been stripped away
Now I'm cryin'
Presently, tears flow
And tears don't become me
Crying isn't suitable for me
Just one smile, Pain's forgiven
Seeing your smile is all it takes to ease my suffering
Just one kiss, girl, Now the hurt's all gone
If you give me a single kiss, I'll feel like nothing is wrong anymore
Just one smile to my Make my little life worth livin'
A smile from you would make my existence more bearable
A little dream to build my world upon
I have a small aspiration around which I've constructed my reality
How I wish I could say, All the things that I got to say
I have a lot of things to tell you, but I don't know how
How I wish you Could see what's here, In My heart
I desire for you to know what I feel inside
I don't ask for much, A look, a smile, a touch
I'm not asking for grand gestures, just small acts of kindness
Try to forget, Well, the Lord knows I'm tryin'
I attempt to erase memories of us, but it's difficult
But it's so hard to forget girl, When your whole world is dyin'
It's arduous to forget you, especially since my life feels like it's in shambles
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Randy Newman
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind