ROCKY’S PANDEMIC PLAYLIST, PART 8

I LOVE YOU MORE THAN YOU’LL EVER KNOW

Blood, Sweat and Tears, 1968: Out of the ashes of New York’s Blues Project, Al Kooper formed an eight-piece horn band called Blood, Sweat and Tears. Despite slow sales, the debut album “Child is Father to the Man” remains a classic. The band went on to score several hits after Kooper was replaced by Canadian singer David Clayton-Thomas. Kooper went on to record two landmark “Super Session” albums with Mike Bloomfield before discovering and producing Lynyrd Skynyrd.

GROOVIN’ IS EASY

The Electric Flag, 1967: Like Kooper, Michael Bloomfield was also looking for a bigger sound that the blues he had become known for with the Butterfield Blues Band. The guitarist, along with old Chicago friends Nick Gravenites and Barry Goldberg pulled together a horn section to form The Electric Flag with upand-coming singer/drummer Buddy Miles. The band had a minor hit with “Groovin’ Is Easy,” but drug abuse and dissension soon destroyed the Flag. Pity.

1849

Lighthouse, 1971: Hamilton native Skip Prokop played drums for Bloomfield and Kooper on the “Live Adventures” album in 1968 (see Playlist 1) following the breakup of his band The Paupers. Prokop had even bigger ambitions — to build a rock orchestra, not with just horns, but strings as well. He returned to Canada and formed Lighthouse with Paul Hoffert. They broke onto the charts with their fourth LP “One Fine Morning” which featured the cinematic western epic “1849.”

SOUTH CALIFORNIA PURPLES

Chicago Transit Authority, 1969: By the late ’60s big-band rock had crossed into the mainstream of American pop music. Chicago Transit Authority started out as a nine-piece collective, featuring three lead singers and a full horn section. The band’s self-titled debut LP featured several hits, including “25 or 6 to 4.” “South California Purples” is a blues-rock jam with some superb guitar work. Following a legal threat from the real CTA, the band changed its name simply to Chicago.

CLOWN

The Flock, 1970: The Flock was a lesser known Chicago band that pushed the envelope on jazz-fusion far more than CTA or Blood, Sweat and Tears. Fronted by guitarist/singer Fred Glickstein, the group also featured a brassy horn section. What made them stand out, however, was the violin virtuosity of classically trained Jerry Goodman. “Clown” appeared on the first of two albums. The Flock recorded before Goodman left to join John McLaughlin’s Mahavishnu Orchestra.