Jazz Fusion
The song “Spinning Wheel” was written by group member David Clayton-Thomas. He is a Canadian singer, who was born in Surrey, England. The song was on their 1968 album Blood, Sweat & Tears and was also released as a single in 1969, with “More and More” on the B-Side. In 1969, the “Spinning Wheel” went to #2 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, #1 on the Adult Contemporary Chart, and #45 on the U.S. R&B Chart. Clayton-Thomas evoked the metaphor of the wheel of fortune, because the song was “written in an age when psychedelic imagery was all over lyrics…it was my way of saying, ‘Don’t get too caught up, because everything comes full circle.'”
Blood, Sweat & Tears combines a number of genres, including pop rock, jazz rock, R&B/soul, psychedelic rock, as well as some big band stylings. They combine rock band and brass instrumentation. The story of the ever-changing personnel gets very complicated. However, they were started by Al Kooper, who gave them their name after Johnny Cash’s 1963 album Blood, Sweat and Tears. Group members for “Spinning Wheel” were David Clayton-Thomas, Bobby Columby, Steve Katz, Lew Soloff , Chuck Winfield, Fred Lipsius, Dick Halligan, Jim Fiedler , and Jerry Hyman. The group continues to tour and perform.