WHEN I WASN'T MAKING
TOO MUCH MONEY
YOU KNOW WHERE
MY PAYCHECK WENT
YOU KNOW I BROUGHT IT
HOME TO BABY
AND I NEVER SPENT
ONE RED CENT
Child Is Father to the Man
is the debut album by
released in
February 1968.
It reached number 47
on the
Billboard
pop albums chart
in the United States.
History
As a teenager,
went to
a concert
for jazz trumpeter
Maynard Ferguson
and this experience
inspired Kooper
to start a rock band
with a horn section.
Originally in
a band called
The Blues Project,
Kooper left after
band leader
Danny Kalb
rejected his idea
of bringing in
a horn section.
He then left for
the West Coast
and found bassist
Jim Fielder
who believed in
the songs that
Kooper wrote.
Though Kooper
had big ideas
for his next project,
he didn't have
the money
to bring his ideas
to fruition.
He then threw
a benefit for
himself and
invited
several musicians
he previously
worked with,
such as
Judy Collins,
Simon & Garfunkel,
David Blue,
Eric Andersen
and
Richie Havens.
Although the performances
sold out,
the owner of
the Cafe Au Go Go
added such
numerous expenses
to the gross receipts
that the net receipts
after the performance
were not enough
to get a plane ticket
or a taxi
to the airport.
He later called
Fielder and
convinced him to
come to New York.
He also asked
Bobby Colomby,
Anderson
and
Steve Katz,
who was
his bandmate
in his former band
The Blues Project.
Colomby called
Fred Lipsius
and the band
placed an ad in
The Village Voice
for more horn players.
Within a month,
the band assembled
an eight piece
which also contained
Randy Brecker,
Jerry Weiss
and
Dick Halligan.
Kooper then asked
John Simon
to produce them,
after being fresh off
from producing
Simon & Garfunkel's
album
Bookends.
The album was
recorded in two weeks
in December 1967.
Simon asked all
of the members
to record
their material
in one take
so he could
study songs
and make
useful suggestions
to the arrangements.
After a
brief promotional tour,
Colomby
and
Katz
ousted Kooper
from the band,
which led to
Child is Father to the Man
being the only
BS&T album
on which Kooper
ever appeared.
The band would later
have two
number one albums
and several
Grammys,
although Kooper
felt they were
playing music
that he
didn't agree with.
Despite being asked
to leave
Blood, Sweat & Tears,
Kooper felt everything
worked out well
for him
and the band
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