Blood, Sweat & Tears singer grateful for fan following

Blood Sweat & Tears singer/guitarist Steve Katz rejoined the band back in 2008 to celebrate the band's 40th anniversary.

To this day, he is still amazed at how much the band means to a lot of people.

"To think that people still like to hear the songs we did almost 42 years ago," said Katz during a telephone interview from his home in Kent, Connecticut. "I remember the first show I did when I came back. I walked on stage and people started to applaud. I looked behind me because I didn't know who they were applauding for."

Katz was one of the original members of BS&T, which included keyboardist/vocalist Al Kooper, trumpeters Randy Brecker and Jerry Weiss, saxophonist Fred Lipsius, keyboardist Dick Halligan, bassist Jim Fielder and drummer Bobby Colomby.

Throughout the years, the band lineup has gone through a bucketful of changes.

These days, the lineup features Katz, vocalist Rob Paparozzi, guitarist Dave Gellis, keyboardist Glenn McClelland, bassist Gary Foote, drummer Andrea Valentini, trumpeters Teddy Mulet and Steve Jankowski, trombonist Jens Wendelboe and saxophonist Tom Timko.

Katz said he lived "in a bubble for 35 years," before rejoining BS&T.

In actuality, he was the vice president of Mercury Records, a producer who worked with Lou Reed and was the director of Irish-music label Green Linnet Records.

Not bad for a blues-loving folkie who cut his teeth in Greenwich Village.

"We made a conscious decision deciding what we wanted as a band," Katz said. "We were heavily influenced by the Buckihgham's album 'Time and Charges.' They used horns and that's where we got the idea."

Blood Sweat & Tears' contemporaries included Tower of Power, early Chicago and the Average White Band, to name a few.

With the hits "You've Made Me So Very Happy," "Spinning Wheel" and "And When I Die," all of which peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, BS&T hit the big time.

"We still play the hits," said Katz. "People want to hear them. But we also play new stuff and some jazzy stuff.

"We have always had the tradition of stretching out," he said. "And it's good to be able to do different things, and to have fans that will allow us to that."

Sifting through the past for Katz is like unearthing a goldmine of memories.

"We were awarded Best Album by the Grammys in 1970 for our 1969 (self-titled) album," said Katz. "And the guy who gave us the Grammy was Louis Armstrong. We also played the Monterey Pop Festival. And we played the original Woodstock.

"But don't ask me about that because I can't remember," he said with a laugh. "We played at something like 3 a.m."