Blood, Sweat & Tears began as the vision of former Blues Project keyboardist Al Kooper, fulfilling his vision of a brass-heavy jazz-rock band. In 1968, the New York group released their underground debut album, but Kooper left soon after, leaving BS&T to pursue a more commercial direction with new lead singer David Clayton-Thomas. Blending jazz and rock with folk, pop and R&B, Blood, Sweat & Tears radically reinvented tunes by the likes of Laura Nyro and Carole King alongside their own original material, becoming one of the biggest acts of the late-'60s and early-'70s.