Spinning Wheel

"Spinning Wheel" was written by vocalist David Clayton-Thomas, arranged by saxophonist Fred Lipsius, and produced by James William Guercio. In our 2015 interview with Clayton-Thomas, he explained: "I came up with the song just picking it away on a guitar when I found some chord changes I liked. As for the lyrics, everybody was getting so serious about 'The Revolution' and everything else in those days. It was just kind of a way to say, 'Lighten up people. Take it easy. It's all going to come full circle.' And it did. Ten years later, we went from 'The Revolution' to Ronald Reagan."

The "Spinning Wheel" is an intriguing metaphor for the cycles of events we go through in life. There is also carousel imagery in the song, as David Clayton-Thomas references the carousel horses in the line, "Ride the painted pony." This was inspired by a Joni Mitchell song called "The Circle Game," where Mitchell sings about seasonal cycles and brings in the carousel with the line, "The painted ponies go up and down." This marked the first instance of a Joni Mitchell influence in a popular song. Like Clayton-Thomas, Mitchell is from Canada, and he heard her work long before most. Mitchell didn't release her first album until 1968, but in the years prior she developed a reputation as an insightful songwriter and performer, and Clayton-Thomas was a big fan. Mitchell didn't release her version of "The Circle Game" until 1970, but Buffy Sainte-Marie recorded it in 1967 and Tom Rush in 1968.

Blood, Sweat & Tears was formed in 1967 by Al Kooper after leaving the group Blues Project. Four of their eight members played horns, which defined their sound. Their 1968 album Child Is Father to the Man managed just modest sales, and Kooper left soon after. He was replaced by David Clayton-Thomas, who brought "Spinning Wheel" to the group and became their lead vocalist. With Clayton-Thomas up front, BS&T became one of the biggest acts of the late '60s and early '70s, with "Spinning Wheel" their calling card. The group had trouble keeping momentum because they burned out on the road, since that was the only way most of their members could make a living. Clayton-Thomas left in 1972 but returned in 1975. The band stopped recording in 1980, but continued as a live act with various iterations into the '10s.