Blood, Sweat & Tears

Blood, Sweat & Tears Pure Pleasure edition

This album is a classic and was awarded three Grammys in 1970, reached No. 1 on the U.S. charts, stayed there for seven weeks, went double platinum at the end of 1969 and stayed in the Top 40 for 66 weeks. With about 3 million copies sold, it is the 13th best-selling album of all time in the United States.

The band Blood, Sweat & Tears that recorded this self-titled second album consisted of five of the eight original members and four new additions, including vocalist David Clayton-Thomas, and thus differed significantly from the band composition for "Child Is Father to the Man," which was largely led by singer/songwriter/keyboardist/arranger Al Kooper.

Musically, the mix of classical, jazz and rock elements is similar to the debut, and the interplay between the horns and keyboards was still present. "Blood, Sweat & Tears" under producer James William Guercio, however, was less adventurous and, with Clayton-Thomas at the helm, also far more commercially oriented. And with success!