José Feliciano-Feliciano! (RCA-Victor)

Released June 1968

Bonus: Season Corrections and Omissions

José Feliciano’s Feliciano! is a remarkable example of how a great interpreter can completely reinvent familiar material. Released in 1968, the album consists entirely of covers, but Feliciano transforms them through his distinctive combination of classical guitar, jazz, Latin rhythms, folk, blues, and soul. His versions of “California Dreamin’” and especially “Light My Fire” are the centerpieces, demonstrating his ability to make established songs sound completely new. The musicianship is exceptional, with jazz legend Ray Brown on bass, Milt Holland on percussion, and Jim Horn on flute and woodwinds supporting Feliciano’s extraordinary guitar playing and soulful vocals.The album reached No. 2 in America, while “Light My Fire” reached No. 3, helping Feliciano earn two Grammy Awards. Feliciano! is a masterclass in interpretation—proof that covering someone else’s music can become an original artistic statement. (S5-EP30)

Blood, Sweat & Tears- Self Titled (Columbia Records)

Release Date: December 11, 1968

Blood, Sweat & Tears’ self-titled 1968 album proved that sophisticated, horn-driven jazz-rock could also be enormously commercial. With David Clayton-Thomas replacing Al Kooper as the band’s focal point, BS&T combined jazz, soul, blues, classical music, Latin rhythms, and rock with remarkably tight arrangements and musicianship. Three singles—“Spinning Wheel,” “And When I Die,” and “You’ve Made Me So Very Happy”—reached No. 2, while the album topped the charts and eventually won the Grammy for Album of the Year. The album has been certified quadruple platinum with sales of more than four million units in the U.S. Beyond the hits, tracks such as “Smiling Phases” and the brilliant reinvention of Billie Holiday’s “God Bless the Child” demonstrate the band’s authentic connection to jazz and willingness to experiment with changing time feels, improvisation, and complex horn writing. Producer James William Guercio helped give the record precision without sacrificing energy. It remains a masterful achievement and proof that advanced musicianship could compete with the psychedelic studio experimentation dominating late-1960s rock. (S5-EP29)

Melissa Kozlowski on the Bruce Springsteen Center for American Music

Melissa Kozlowski serves as curator of the Bruce Springsteen Center for American Music at Monmouth University, bringing extensive experience as a historian, archivist, educator, and curator.

The Center’s roots date to a fan-created collection established in 2001. It moved to Monmouth University in 2011 and became the official repository for Bruce Springsteen’s archival materials in 2017. Today, its mission extends well beyond Springsteen, using exhibitions, concerts, lectures, films, workshops, educational programs, and archival research to explore the diversity and cultural importance of American music across genres and generations.

The center entered an exciting new era with the public opening of its new home on June 13, 2026, on the campus of Monmouth University. The approximately 32,000-square-foot, $50 million facility, and includes exhibition galleries, research archives, immersive and interactive experiences, and a performance theater. Visitors can explore Springsteen’s career and creative process, experience a new film narrated by Springsteen, and discover exhibitions examining the much broader history of American music.