David Clayton-Thomas, Blood, Sweat & Tears Singer Dies at 84

David Clayton-Thomas, the Grammy-winning singer and songwriter who fronted the jazz-rock band Blood, Sweat & Tears on its biggest hits, died on Wednesday, June 24, at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto. He was 84. His death was confirmed by a family spokesperson and his publicist.

Clayton-Thomas was best known for his powerful, soulful baritone, which drove the band’s signature brass-heavy sound on a string of late-1960s hits. He wrote the group’s most famous original, “Spinning Wheel,” and was the lead voice on “You’ve Made Me So Very Happy” and “And When I Die.” All three songs peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1969.

Born David Henry Thomsett on Sept. 13, 1941, in Surrey, England, to a Canadian soldier and an English music student, he moved with his family to the Toronto suburbs after World War II. His childhood was difficult; he left home as a teenager, spent periods homeless, and had several run-ins with the law. He taught himself to play guitar on an instrument left behind in a prison cell and began singing in jailhouse concerts.

After his release in 1962, he immersed himself in Toronto’s Yonge Street music scene, mentored by rockabilly singer Ronnie Hawkins. He...