American Top 40 PastBlast, 9/12/70: Blood, Sweat and Tears, “Hi-De-Ho”

My perfect 70s radio station would include a LOT of pop music from the second half of the 60s, just like the stations I heard when I was growing up. There’d be plenty of contributions from folks who hit only in the 60s, among them the Association, Mamas and the Papas, Small Faces, Left Banke, Zombies, Lovin’ Spoonful, Tommy James and the Shondells, and psychedelic-era Beatles. Of course, music from the first act of artists whose careers bled into the 70s would also be represented, too: the Fifth Dimenson, Guess Who, Four Tops, Temptations, Doors, CCR.

And you can be sure that Blood, Sweat and Tears would be featured prominently. “Spinning Wheel” and “And When I Die” take me back to the period where I’m first really able to piece together memories with songs on the radio. (I think I come closer to understanding what Laura Nyro was getting at in the latter song as each year passes.) While I don’t remember “Hi-De-Ho” (#19, down from its peak of #14) quite as well, it’s definitely tucked back in there somewhere (and what an opening!).  The magic that David Clayton Thomas’s vocals brought to BS&T burned away much too quickly, but I sure celebrate their best pieces.