Media Path Podcast Jazz Rock Fusion & The American Band That Toured The Soviet Bloc
Jazz/Rock Fusion greats Blood, Sweat & Tears were on top of their game in 1970, winning grammies, headlining Woodstock and racking up hit after hit with Spinning Wheel, And When I Die, and You’ve Made Me So Very Happy. And then they ventured behind the Iron Curtain.
It was not their idea. Nixon was President. The Viet Nam War raged on and BS & T were blackmailed into acting as emissaries on behalf of the U.S. State Department, touring the Soviet Bloc countries of Yugoslavia, Romania and Poland.
This precarious adventure and the ensuing stateside fallout are chronicled in the new doc, What The Hell Happened To Blood, Sweat and Tears?
Director John Scheinfeld and BS&T Drummer Bobby Colomby join us to discuss this remarkable film, the newly unearthed tour footage, The State Departments’ and the Soviet Bloc countries’ respective agendas, and how America’s response in 1970 reflects a nation as fractured and polarized as the one we see today.
Plus, we learn about the jazz and soul origins of BS&T, Bobby’s foggy Woodstock memories, John’s story-telling principles and how the making of this documentary allowed Bobby, at long last, to recognize his own skill as a drummer!
All that and Fritz and Weezy are recommending Sin Eater: The Crimes of Anthony Pellicano on Hulu & HBO’s doc series, The Anarchists.
Path Points of Interest:
What The Hell Happened To Blood Sweat and Tears
L.A. Times Article on the Film
Rolling Stone Article on the Film
New York Times Article on the Film