Steven Katz (born May 9, 1945) is a guitarist, singer, and record producer who is best known as a member of the rock-pop-jazz group

Blood, Sweat & Tears Blood, Sweat & Tears (also known as "BS&T") is a jazz rock music group founded in New York City in 1967, noted for a combination of brass with rock instrumentation. In addition to original music, the group has performed popular songs by Laura Ny ...

. Katz was an original member of the rock bands

The Blues Project The Blues Project is a band from the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City that was formed in 1965 and originally split up in 1967. Their songs drew from a wide array of musical styles. They are most remembered as one of the most artfu ...

and

American Flyer American Flyer is a brand of toy train and model railroad manufactured in the United States. The Chicago era, 1907–1938 Although best remembered for the S gauge trains of the 1950s that it made as a division of the A. C. Gilbert Compan ...

. As a producer, his credits include the 1979 album ''Short Stories Tall Tales'' for the Irish band

Horslips Horslips are an Irish Celtic rock band that compose, arrange and perform songs frequently inspired by traditional Irish airs, jigs and Reel (dance), reels. The group are regarded as 'founding fathers of Celtic rock' for their fusion of tradit ...

, and the

Lou Reed Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician, songwriter, and poet. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. ...

albums ''

Rock 'n' Roll Animal ''Rock 'n' Roll Animal'' is a live album by American musician Lou Reed, released in February 1974 by RCA Records. In its original form, it features five songs, four of which were initially recorded by The Velvet Underground. Reed's band included ...

'' and ''

Sally Can't Dance ''Sally Can't Dance'' is the fourth solo studio album by American musician Lou Reed, released in August 1974 by RCA Records. Steve Katz and Reed produced the album. It remains Reed's highest-charting album in the United States, having peaked at ...

'' and the

Elliott Murphy Elliott James Murphy (born March 16, 1949) is an American rock singer-songwriter, novelist, record producer and journalist living in Paris. Biography Elliott Murphy was born in Rockville Centre, New York, grew up in Garden City, Long Island a ...

album '' Night Lights''.

Biography

Katz was born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. His professional career started in the late fifties on a local

Schenectady, New York Schenectady () is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-largest city by population. The city is in eastern New Y ...

television program called ''Teenage Barn''. Accompanied by piano, he would sing such hits of the day as "Tammy" and "April Love". At 15, Katz studied guitar with

Dave Van Ronk David Kenneth Ritz Van Ronk (June 30, 1936 – February 10, 2002) was an American folk singer. An important figure in the American folk music revival and New York City's Greenwich Village scene in the 1960s, he was nicknamed the "Mayor of Mac ...

and

Reverend Gary Davis Reverend Gary Davis, also Blind Gary Davis (born Gary D. Davis, April 30, 1896 – May 5, 1972), was a blues and gospel singer who was also proficient on the banjo, guitar and harmonica. Born in Laurens, South Carolina and blind since infancy ...

. It was at this time that he met and befriended guitarist

Stefan Grossman Stefan Grossman (born April 16, 1945) is an American acoustic fingerstyle guitarist and singer, music producer and educator, and co-founder of Kicking Mule records. He is known for his instructional videos and Vestapol line of videos and DVDs. ...

. They would sometimes act as road managers for Reverend Davis and, in so doing, met many of the great "rediscovered" blues men of an earlier era, such as

Son House Edward James "Son" House Jr. (March 21, 1902His date of birth is a matter of some debate. House alleged that he was middle-aged during World War I and that he was 79 in 1965, which would make his date of birth around 1886. However, all legal re ...

Skip James Nehemiah Curtis "Skip" James (June 9, 1902October 3, 1969) was an American Delta blues singer, guitarist, pianist and songwriter. AllMusic stated: "This emotional, lyrical performer was a talented blues guitarist and arranger with an impressive ...

and

Mississippi John Hurt John Smith Hurt (March 8, 1893 – November 2, 1966), better known as Mississippi John Hurt, was an American country blues singer and guitarist. Raised in Avalon, Mississippi, Hurt taught himself to play the guitar around the age of nine. He wo ...

. As a part of the Greenwich Village culture during this time, Katz, along with Grossman,

Maria Muldaur Maria Muldaur (born Maria Grazia Rosa Domenica D'Amato; September 12, 1942) is an American folk and blues singer who was part of the American folk music revival in the early 1960s. She recorded the 1973 hit song "Midnight at the Oasis" and has ...

John Sebastian John Benson Sebastian (born March 17, 1944) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist and harmonicist who founded the rock band The Lovin' Spoonful. He made an impromptu appearance at the Woodstock festival in 1969David Grisman David Grisman (born March 23, 1945) is an American mandolinist. His music combines bluegrass, folk, and jazz in a genre he calls "Dawg music". He founded the record label Acoustic Disc, which issues his recordings and those of other acoustic mu ...

became interested in jug band music – the music of Cannon's Jug Stompers and The Memphis Jug Band. They and other friends formed the

Even Dozen Jug Band The Even Dozen Jug Band was founded in 1963 by Stefan Grossman (solo country blues and ragtime guitarist) and Peter Siegel (roots-based guitarist and producer) in New York City, New York. Other members were David Grisman (a noted mandolinist), ...

and recorded an album in 1964 for

Elektra Records Elektra Records (or Elektra Entertainment) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, founded in 1950 by Jac Holzman and Paul Rickolt. It played an important role in the development of contemporary folk and rock music between the 1 ...

. Katz played washboard in the band. After a brief sabbatical in college, Katz, while teaching guitar in Greenwich Village, auditioned for the

Danny Kalb Daniel Ira Kalb (September 9, 1942 – November 19, 2022) was an American blues guitarist and vocalist. He was an original member of the 1960s group the Blues Project. Life and career Kalb was a protégé of Dave Van Ronk and became a solo perfor ...

Quartet as a two-week substitute for

Artie Traum Arthur Roy Traum (April 3, 1943 – July 20, 2008) was an American guitarist, songwriter, and producer. Traum's work appeared on more than 35 albums. He produced and recorded with The Band, Arlen Roth, Warren Bernhardt, Pat Alger, Tony Levin, J ...

. Traum did not return to the group and when

Al Kooper Al Kooper (born Alan Peter Kuperschmidt; February 5, 1944) is a retired American songwriter, record producer and musician, known for organizing Blood, Sweat & Tears, although he did not stay with the group long enough to share its popularity. ...

joined, the Blues Project was formed. They worked out of New York, and it was the mid-sixties, so the Blues Project experimented, dabbled in their own style and gave Katz an opportunity to showcase his own songs. The Blues Project recorded three albums while together in their first incarnation. "Steve's Song", on the ''Projections'' album was the first original song that Katz had recorded. After two years as house band at the

Cafe Au Go Go The Cafe Au Go Go was a Greenwich Village night club located in the basement of the New Andy Warhol Garrick Theatre building in the late 1960s, and located at 152 Bleecker Street in Manhattan, New York City. The club featured many musical groups, ...

and

Murray the K Murray Kaufman (February 14, 1922 – February 21, 1982), professionally known as Murray the K, was an influential New York City rock and roll impresario and disc jockey of the 1950s, '60s and '70s. During the early days of Beatlemania, he freque ...

's last "submarine race-watching" spectacular at the RKO 58th Street theater in New York, The Blues Project broke up, playing the

Monterey Pop Festival The Monterey International Pop Festival was a three-day music festival held June 16 to 18, 1967, at the Monterey County Fairgrounds in Monterey, California. The festival is remembered for the first major American appearances by the Jimi Hendrix ...

as their last major engagement.

Blood, Sweat and Tears

After the demise of the Blues Project, Katz, Kooper,

Bobby Colomby Robert Wayne Colomby (born 20 December 1944) is a jazz-rock fusion drummer, record producer and television presenter. He is best known as an original member of the group Blood, Sweat & Tears, which he co-founded in 1967. He has also played with ...

and

Jim Fielder Jim Fielder (born October 4, 1947 in Denton, Texas) is an American bassist, best known for his work as an original member of Blood, Sweat & Tears. Fielder attended Loara High School in Anaheim, California. While at Loara, the young Fielder befrie ...

decided to work up a set of music – mainly of Kooper's new songs – for a benefit concert to raise money to send Kooper to London where he wanted to live. Joined by

Fred Lipsius Fred Lipsius (born 19 November 1943 in the Bronx) is an American musician who is the original saxophonist and arranger for the jazz-rock band Blood, Sweat & Tears, for which he played alto saxophone and piano. He was with the band from 1967 to 197 ...

on alto sax, the concert raised "enough money for a cab to the airport". There was no choice but to start another band. Influenced by the

Electric Flag The Electric Flag was an American soul rock band, led by guitarist Mike Bloomfield, keyboardist Barry Goldberg and drummer Buddy Miles, and featuring other musicians such as vocalist Nick Gravenites and bassist Harvey Brooks. Bloomfield forme ...

and an album by

The Buckinghams The Buckinghams are an American sunshine pop band from Chicago. They formed in 1966 and went on to become one of the top-selling acts of 1967, charting their only five top 40 hits in the U.S. that year. The band dissolved in 1970, but re-formed ...

entitled ''Time and Charges'', a horn section was utilized with rock arrangements that were a touch more sophisticated than most horn arrangements in rock up to that time. Thus, Blood, Sweat & Tears was formed, a

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

contract obtained, and the album ''

Child is Father to the Man ''Child Is Father to the Man'' is the debut album by Blood, Sweat & Tears, released in February 1968. It reached number 47 on Billboard's Pop Albums chart in the United States. History As a teenager, Al Kooper went to a concert for jazz trumpe ...

'' released. Recorded and mixed in only two weeks, the album sold moderately well but was a critical success. Katz sang one original song ("Megan's Gypsy Eyes") and "Morning Glory" by

Tim Buckley Timothy Charles Buckley III (February 14, 1947 – June 29, 1975) was an American musician. His music and style changed considerably through the years. Buckley began his career based in folk music, but his subsequent albums experimented with ja ...

. Kooper left Blood, Sweat & Tears after only six months and while they were reorganizing, Katz wrote record reviews for Eye Magazine, a Cosmopolitan spin-off. Getting the record company to continue with the band without Kooper was difficult. Auditions were held and

David Clayton-Thomas David Clayton-Thomas (born David Henry Thomsett, 13 September 1941) is a Grammy Award-winning Canadian musician, singer, and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist of the American band Blood, Sweat & Tears. Clayton-Thomas has been inducte ...

was hired as lead singer. Their next album sold six million copies worldwide and fostered three top 10 singles. Katz continued with Blood, Sweat & Tears for five years, during which time the group won three

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

Awards, were voted best band by the Playboy Jazz and Pop Poll two years in a row, and won three major

Down Beat ' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Chi ...

awards. He wrote many songs during his tenure with the group.

Record producer, label executive, author

In 1972 Steve met singer

. After the commercial failure of Reed's album ''

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

'', Katz produced two albums: ''

'' and a live record ''

''. After a number of productions during this period, including '' Night Lights'' by

, Katz returned to playing music joining

with

Eric Kaz Eric Justin Kaz (born January 21, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter born in Brooklyn, New York. Besides his solo work, Kaz was a member of Blues Magoos for their fourth and fifth albums, ''Never Goin' Back to Georgia'' and ''Gulf Coast Bound ...

Craig Fuller Craig Lee Fuller (born July 18, 1949) is an American musician and songwriter. Fuller was the co-founder of Pure Prairie League, along with John David Call and George Powell. Fuller wrote and sang their first hit "Amie". He departed the band i ...

Pure Prairie League Pure Prairie League is an American country rock band whose origins go back to 1965 and Waverly, Ohio, with singer and guitarist Craig Fuller, drummer Tom McGrail, guitarist and drummer Jim Caughlan and steel guitarist John David Call. Fuller st ...

, and

Doug Yule Douglas Alan Yule (born February 25, 1947) is an American musician and singer, most notable for being a member of the Velvet Underground from 1968 to 1973 serving as the bassist, guitarist and occasional lead vocalist. Biography Early life Doug ...

from

The Velvet Underground The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City in 1964. The original line-up consisted of singer/guitarist Lou Reed, multi-instrumentalist John Cale, guitarist Sterling Morrison, and drummer Angus MacLise. MacLise w ...

. The first of their two albums was produced by

George Martin Sir George Henry Martin (3 January 1926 – 8 March 2016) was an English record producer, arranger, composer, conductor, and musician. He was commonly referred to as the "Fifth Beatle" because of his extensive involvement in each of the B ...

. In 1977, Katz became East Coast Director of A&R and later Vice President of

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it is ...

. During the three years that he spent at Mercury he produced the Irish group

and spent a good deal of time in Ireland producing three albums for the group. Horslips had originally been an acoustic band that sang their songs in Gaelic, and the band members made Katz aware of

Irish traditional music Irish traditional music (also known as Irish trad, Irish folk music, and other variants) is a genre of folk music that developed in Ireland. In ''A History of Irish Music'' (1905), W. H. Grattan Flood wrote that, in Gaelic Ireland, there w ...

. In 1987, Steve became managing director of

Green Linnet Records Green Linnet Records was an American independent record label that specialized in Celtic music. Founded by Lisa Null and Patrick Sky as Innisfree Records in 1973, the label was initially based in Null's house in New Canaan, Connecticut. In 1975, t ...

, a leading record label of traditional Irish music in America. Katz stayed at Green Linnet for five years, during which time he married Alison Palmer, a

ceramic artist Ceramic art is art made from ceramic materials, including clay. It may take forms including artistic pottery, including tableware, tiles, figurines and other sculpture. As one of the plastic arts, ceramic art is one of the visual arts. Whi ...

. Together, they started a small business. He is a professional photographer and is married to Alison Palmer, a ceramic artist. Katz's memoir, ''Blood, Sweat, and My Rock 'n' Roll Years: Is Steve Katz a Rock Star?'' was published by Lyons Press in 2015."Blood, Sweat, and My Rock n' Roll Years: Is Steve Katz a Rock Star?"
''Publishers Weekly'', retrieved December 6, 2022.

References

Interview, Rock Influence, on November 4, 1984
(video, 10 mins, 47 secs). * Bill Kopp
"Rock ‘n’ roll veteran Steve Katz brings an evening of songs and stories to Asheville"
''Mountain Xpress, June 16, 2017. * Michael Sangiacomo
"http://www.cleveland.com/music/index.ssf/2015/05/ex-bst_founder_steve_katz_kill.html"
''Cleveland Plain Dealer'', May 18, 2015. * Mike Horyczun
"Steve Katz shares insights into his 'Blood, Sweat & Rock 'n' Roll Years' at Norwalk Public Library appearance"
''The Hour'', November 26, 2015, archived fro
the original
on March 27, 2020. * Bruce Eder
Steve Katz Biography
at AllMusic * Michael Limnios
"Steve Katz: Rock-N-Roll Bloodline"
''Blues GR'', September 28, 2014 (blog).

''CT Insider'', August 8, 2018. * Joe Donahue
"Steve Katz At Hevreh In Great Barrington 8/16"
WAMC Northeast Public Radio, August 1, 2018.

External links

*https://stevekatzmusic.wordpress.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Katz, Steve 1945 births Living people American rock guitarists American male guitarists Blood, Sweat & Tears members American male singers American rock singers American harmonica players Lead guitarists 20th-century American guitarists American Flyer (band) members 20th-century American male musicians Even Dozen Jug Band members The Blues Project members