Blood, Sweat & Tears prodding, they came to see Clayton-Thomas perform and were so impressed that he was offered the role of lead singer in a re-constituted Blood Sweat & Tears. Trombonist Halligan took up the organ chores and Jerry Hyman joined to take over trombone. With new trumpeters Soloff and Winfield the now nine-member band debuted at New York's Cafe Au Go Go on June 18, 1968, beginning a two-week residency. The group's second album, "Blood, Sweat & Tears", was produced by James William Guercio and released in late 1968. It was more pop-oriented, featuring fewer compositions by the band. The record quickly
Rock with Bill Haley and the Comets by Haley himself, as he and his band later went on to Decca Records and recorded "Rock Around the Clock". All the songs on "Rock with Bill Haley and the Comets" were previously released as singles under the Essex banner, including several that were originally released when the band used the name Bill Haley and the Saddlemen. The album does not include any of the tracks Haley and the Comets recorded in 1954 before moving to Decca, nor are any of the tracks from 1951-52 included that Haley recorded for Essex's sister label, Holiday Records (although later releases of Haley's