Steve Katz (musician)
Encyclopedia
Steve Katz is a guitarist and record producer who is best known as a member of the rock group Blood, Sweat & Tears
. Katz was an original member of the rock band
s The Blues Project
and American Flyer
. As a producer, his credits include the 1979 album Short Stories Tall Tales for the Irish band Horslips
, and the Lou Reed
albums Rock 'n' Roll Animal
and Sally Can't Dance
and the Elliott Murphy
album Night Lights
. He is married to Alison Palmer, a ceramic artist.
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
and Reverend Gary Davis
. It was at this time that he met and befriended guitarist Stefan Grossman
. 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
, Skip James
and Mississippi John Hurt
.
As a part of the Greenwich Village culture during this time, Katz, along with Grossman, Maria Muldaur
, John Sebastian
and David Grisman
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
and recorded an album in 1964 for Elektra Records
. Katz played washboard in the band.
After a brief sabbatical in college, Katz, while teaching guitar in Greenwich Village, auditioned for the Danny Kalb
Quartet as a two-week substitute for Artie Traum
. Traum did not return to the group and when Al Kooper
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
and Murray the K
’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
as their last major engagement.
and Jim Fielder
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
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
and an album by The Buckinghams
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
contract obtained, and the album Child is Father to the Man
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
.
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
was hired as lead singer. Their next album sold six million copies worldwide and fostered three number one singles. Katz continued with Blood, Sweat & Tears for five years, during which time the group won three Grammy Awards, were voted best band by the Playboy Jazz and Pop Poll two years in a row, and won three major Down Beat
awards. He wrote many songs during his tenure with the group.
. After the commercial failure of Reed's album Berlin, Katz produced Rock & Roll Animal and Sally Can’t Dance. After a number of productions during this period, including Nightlights by Elliott Murphy
, Katz returned to playing music joining American Flyer with Eric Kaz
, Craig Fuller
from Pure Prairie League, and Doug Yule
from The Velvet Underground
. The first of their two albums was produced by George Martin
.
In 1977, Katz became East Coast Director of A&R and later Vice President of Mercury Records
. During the three years that he spent at Mercury he produced the Irish group Horslips
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. In 1987, Steve became Managing Director of Green Linnet Records
, 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. Together, they started a small business. He also does photography professionally. After a 35-year absence, Katz rejoined Blood, Sweat & Tears as the band marked the 40th anniversary of its inception.
Blood, Sweat & Tears
Blood, Sweat & Tears is an American music group, originally formed in 1967 in New York City. Since its beginnings in 1967, the band has gone through numerous iterations with varying personnel and has encompassed a multitude of musical styles...
. Katz was an original member of the rock band
Rock Band
Rock Band is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. It is the first title in the Rock Band series. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were released in the United States on November 20, 2007, while the PlayStation 2 version was...
s The Blues Project
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. While their songs drew from a wide array of musical styles, they are most remembered as one of the earliest practitioners of psychedelic rock, as well as one...
and American Flyer
American Flyer (band)
American Flyer was an American folk rock supergroup.They formed in 1976 and released two successful albums on United Artists before disbanding in 1978. They also charted one minor hit, "Let Me Down Easy", which hit #80 on the U.S...
. As a producer, his credits include the 1979 album Short Stories Tall Tales for the Irish band Horslips
Horslips
Horslips are an Irish Celtic rock band that compose, arrange and perform songs based on traditional Irish jigs and reels. The group are regarded as 'founding fathers of Celtic rock' for their fusion of traditional Irish music with rock music and went on to inspire many local and international acts....
, and the Lou Reed
Lou Reed
Lewis Allan "Lou" Reed is an American rock musician, songwriter, and photographer. He is best known as guitarist, vocalist, and principal songwriter of The Velvet Underground, and for his successful solo career, which has spanned several decades...
albums Rock 'n' Roll Animal
Rock 'n' Roll Animal
Rock n Roll Animal is a live album by Lou Reed, released in 1974. In its original form, it features five songs from different periods of his creative career, including several songs by the Velvet Underground. The songs are all re-arranged into a powerful glam rock set...
and Sally Can't Dance
Sally Can't Dance
Sally Can't Dance is the fourth solo album by Lou Reed. It is Reed's highest-charting album, reaching the Top 10. It is also the first solo Lou Reed album not to feature any songs originally recorded by Reed's earlier band, The Velvet Underground, as well as the first of Reed's solo studio albums...
and the Elliott Murphy
Elliott Murphy
Elliott James Murphy is an American rock singer-songwriter, novelist, producer and journalist living in Paris.-Biography:Elliott James Murphy, Jr. was born in Rockville Centre, New York to a show business family...
album Night Lights
Night Lights
Night Lights: A Collection of Previously Unreleased Songs is a compilation album released by American pop punk band Punchline on December 1, 2009, compiling 20 of the band's b-sides from the past 6–7 years....
. He is married to Alison Palmer, a ceramic artist.
Biography
Steve Katz's professional career started in the late fifties on a local Schenectady, New YorkSchenectady, New York
Schenectady is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 66,135...
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
Dave Van Ronk
Dave Van Ronk was an American folk singer, born in Brooklyn, New York, who settled in Greenwich Village, New York, and was eventually nicknamed the "Mayor of MacDougal Street" ....
and Reverend Gary Davis
Reverend Gary Davis
Reverend Gary Davis, also Blind Gary Davis, was an American blues and gospel singer and guitarist, who was also proficient on the banjo and harmonica...
. It was at this time that he met and befriended guitarist Stefan Grossman
Stefan Grossman
Stefan Grossman is an American acoustic fingerstyle guitarist and singer, music producer and educator, and co-founder of Kicking Mule records.-Early life and influences:Born in Brooklyn, New York, to Herbert and Ruth Grossman...
. 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
Son House
Eddie James "Son" House, Jr. was an American blues singer and guitarist. House pioneered an innovative style featuring strong, repetitive rhythms, often played with the aid of slide guitar, and his singing often incorporated elements of southern gospel and spiritual music...
, Skip James
Skip James
Nehemiah Curtis "Skip" James was an American Delta blues singer, guitarist, pianist and songwriter, born in Bentonia, Mississippi, died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
and Mississippi John Hurt
Mississippi John Hurt
John Smith Hurt, better known as Mississippi John Hurt was an American country blues singer and guitarist.Raised in Avalon, Mississippi, Hurt taught himself how to play the guitar around age nine...
.
As a part of the Greenwich Village culture during this time, Katz, along with Grossman, Maria Muldaur
Maria Muldaur
Maria Muldaur is a folk-blues singer who was part of the American folk music revival in the early 1960s...
, John Sebastian
John Sebastian
John Benson Sebastian Jr. is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and autoharpist. He is best known as a founder of The Lovin' Spoonful, a band inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000...
and David Grisman
David Grisman
David Grisman is an American bluegrass/newgrass mandolinist and composer of acoustic music. In the early 1990s, he started the Acoustic Disc record label in an effort to preserve and spread acoustic or instrumental music.-Biography:Grisman grew up in Hackensack, New Jersey...
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
Even Dozen Jug Band
The Even Dozen Jug Band was founded in 1963 by Stefan Grossman and Peter Siegel in New York City, New York...
and recorded an album in 1964 for Elektra Records
Elektra Records
Elektra Records is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group. In 2004, it was consolidated into WMG's Atlantic Records Group. After five years of dormancy, the label was revived by Atlantic in 2009....
. Katz played washboard in the band.
After a brief sabbatical in college, Katz, while teaching guitar in Greenwich Village, auditioned for the Danny Kalb
Danny Kalb
Danny Kalb is an American blues guitarist, and was one of the original members of the 1960s group, Blues Project.-Life and career:...
Quartet as a two-week substitute for Artie Traum
Artie Traum
Artie Traum was a New Age Voice Award-winning guitarist, producer and songwriter. Traum's work appeared on more than 35 albums...
. Traum did not return to the group and when Al Kooper
Al Kooper
Al Kooper is an American songwriter, record producer and musician, known for organizing Blood, Sweat & Tears , providing studio support for Bob Dylan when he went electric in 1965, and also bringing together guitarists Mike Bloomfield and Stephen Stills to...
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
Cafe Au Go Go
The Cafe au Go Go was a Greenwich Village night club located in the basement of 152 Bleecker Street. The club featured many well known musical groups, folksingers and comedy acts between the opening in February 1964 until closing in October 1969. Originally owned by Howard Solomon who sold the club...
and Murray the K
Murray the K
Murray Kaufman , professionally known as Murray the K, was an influential rock and roll impresario and disc jockey of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s...
’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
Monterey Pop Festival
The Monterey International Pop Music Festival was a three-day concert event held June 16 to June 18, 1967 at the Monterey County Fairgrounds in Monterey, California...
as their last major engagement.
Blood, Sweat & Tears
After the demise of the Blues Project, Katz, Kooper, Bobby ColombyBobby Colomby
Bobby Colomby is an innovative jazz-rock fusion drummer, and an original member of the group Blood, Sweat & Tears...
and Jim Fielder
Jim Fielder
Jim Fielder is an American bassist, best known for his work as an original member of Blood, Sweat & Tears....
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
Fred Lipsius was the original saxophonist and arranger for the jazz-rock band, Blood, Sweat and Tears, for which he played alto saxophone and piano...
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
Electric Flag
The Electric Flag was a blues rock soul group, led by guitarist Mike Bloomfield, keyboardist Barry Goldberg and drummer Buddy Miles, and featuring other well-known musicians such as vocalist Nick Gravenites and bassist Harvey Brooks. Bloomfield formed the Electric Flag in 1967, following his stint...
and an album by The Buckinghams
The Buckinghams
The Buckinghams are an American Sunshine Pop band from Chicago, Illinois. They formed in 1966 and went on to become one of the top selling acts of 1967. The band dissolved in 1970 but reformed in 1980 and continue to tour throughout the United States....
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
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
contract obtained, and the album Child is Father to the Man
Child Is Father to the Man
Child Is Father to the Man is the debut album by Blood, Sweat & Tears, released in February of 1968. It reached number 47 on Billboard's Pop Albums chart.-History:...
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
Tim Buckley
Timothy Charles Buckley III was an American vocalist, and musician. His music and style changed considerably through the years; his first album was mostly folk oriented, but over time his music incorporated jazz, psychedelia, funk, soul, avant-garde and an evolving "voice as instrument," sound...
.
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
David Clayton-Thomas is a Canadian musician and singer best known as the lead vocalist for the American band; Blood, Sweat & Tears...
was hired as lead singer. Their next album sold six million copies worldwide and fostered three number one singles. Katz continued with Blood, Sweat & Tears for five years, during which time the group won three Grammy Awards, were voted best band by the Playboy Jazz and Pop Poll two years in a row, and won three major Down Beat
Down Beat
Down Beat is an American magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond" to indicate its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Chicago, Illinois...
awards. He wrote many songs during his tenure with the group.
As a producer
In 1972 Steve met singer Lou ReedLou Reed
Lewis Allan "Lou" Reed is an American rock musician, songwriter, and photographer. He is best known as guitarist, vocalist, and principal songwriter of The Velvet Underground, and for his successful solo career, which has spanned several decades...
. After the commercial failure of Reed's album Berlin, Katz produced Rock & Roll Animal and Sally Can’t Dance. After a number of productions during this period, including Nightlights by Elliott Murphy
Elliott Murphy
Elliott James Murphy is an American rock singer-songwriter, novelist, producer and journalist living in Paris.-Biography:Elliott James Murphy, Jr. was born in Rockville Centre, New York to a show business family...
, Katz returned to playing music joining American Flyer with Eric Kaz
Eric Kaz
Eric Kaz, born in Brooklyn, New York in 1947, is a singer-songwriter active mainly in the late 1960s and the 1970s.-Biography:He first appeared on the popular music scene in the mid-60s playing piano in a band called Children of Paradise with Happy and Artie Traum...
, Craig Fuller
Craig Fuller
Craig Fuller is an American musician and songwriter. Co-founder of Pure Prairie League, along with John David Call and George Ed Powell. Fuller departed after their second album, Bustin' Out, due to draft board problems. He returned to the music business in 1976 for two LPs with American Flyer...
from Pure Prairie League, and Doug Yule
Doug Yule
Douglas Alan Yule is an American musician and singer, most notable for being a member of The Velvet Underground from 1968 to 1973.- Early career :Yule began playing with various bands in Boston in the 1960s...
from The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City. First active from 1964 to 1973, their best-known members were Lou Reed and John Cale, who both went on to find success as solo artists. Although experiencing little commercial success while together, the band is often cited...
. The first of their two albums was produced by George Martin
George Martin
Sir George Henry Martin CBE is an English record producer, arranger, composer and musician. He is sometimes referred to as "the Fifth Beatle"— a title that he often describes as "nonsense," but the fact remains that he served as producer on all but one of The Beatles' original albums...
.
In 1977, Katz became East Coast Director of A&R and later Vice President of Mercury Records
Mercury Records
Mercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal...
. During the three years that he spent at Mercury he produced the Irish group Horslips
Horslips
Horslips are an Irish Celtic rock band that compose, arrange and perform songs based on traditional Irish jigs and reels. The group are regarded as 'founding fathers of Celtic rock' for their fusion of traditional Irish music with rock music and went on to inspire many local and international acts....
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. In 1987, Steve became Managing Director of Green Linnet Records
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, the label became Innisfree/Green Linnet and Wendy...
, 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. Together, they started a small business. He also does photography professionally. After a 35-year absence, Katz rejoined Blood, Sweat & Tears as the band marked the 40th anniversary of its inception.