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| prodigalson |
canned heat. so good. al wilson was a great guitarist and and a unique vocalist and bob hite was a great vocalist also. anyone know much about any good bootlegs or recordings of theirs. also wasnt there a conspiracy about wilsons death? |
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| BONOISLOVE |
I only like Brian Wilson. |
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| Bruno |
I like that song that is played in Forrest Gump. Let´s Work Together, right? |
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| Ten Thousand Motels |
Canned Heat
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Canned Heat is a blues-rock/ boogie band that formed in Los Angeles in 1965. The importance of the group lies not only with their blues-based music, but with their efforts to reintroduce and revive the careers of some of the great old bluesmen, and their improvisational abilities.
The group was led by Alan "Blind Owl" Wilson (guitar, harmonica, vocals) and Bob "The Bear" Hite (vocals, harmonica). Henry "Sunflower" Vestine also played guitar and was an ex-member of Frank Zappa's Mothers of Invention. Larry "The Mole" Taylor,(best known up until then as the Monkees session bassist), was their studio bassist, (joining full time through 1970), along with drummer Frank Cook for their first album. Canned Heat took their name from Tommy Johnson's 1928 "Canned Heat Blues", a song about an alcoholic who has desperately turned to drinking Sterno, which is generically called canned heat.
Wilson helped rediscover Son House and accompanied him on his 1965 comeback album. The group also strong-armed their record company (Liberty Records) into getting a contract for overlooked Texas bluesman Albert Collins.
Their debut album Canned Heat was released not long after their appearance at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival. Adolfo "Fito" De La Parra replaced Frank Cook as drummer for their second album, Boogie with Canned Heat (1968). It was more successful, spawning the hit single "On the Road Again". In 1969 they released the inconsistent double album, Livin' the Blues but it did bring them their biggest hit, "Goin' Up the Country". Guitarist Harvey Mandel replaced Vestine for part of 1969–70. The band appeared at the August 1969 Woodstock Music and Art Festival with their performance appearing in both the album and film release.
The next year was the musical high point for the original lineup. They brought in John Lee Hooker to record the double album Hooker 'N' Heat in May of 1970. This was to be the first album of Hooker's career to make the charts, topping out at number 73 in February of 1971. Unfortunately, Wilson died of a drug overdose in an apparent suicide, in September 1970 prior to the album's release. Autopsy results were inconclusive and as he left no suicide note, controversy remains over this matter.
The group had one additional hit with a cover of Wilbert Harrison's "Let's Work Together".
In the 1970s, the band would be joined by lead singer Bob Hite's younger brother Richard, who sang, played bass, and helped with arrangements. During this period, they recorded "One More River to Cross" on Atlantic Records, featuring the Memphis Horns.
The last studio recording with Bob Hite was 1978's Human Condition, with Hite singing the title track, an old Alan Wilson tune that had been recorded solo by Wilson but hadn't been released. A decade later came 1987's Hooker 'N Heat, (Live at the Fox Venice Theater) , (recorded and originally released in 1978, with Hite),with John Lee Hooker guesting again. Both recordings feature the guitar and vocals of Chicago's Mark Skyer, the live performance augmented by Larry Taylor on bass,(one of many short reunions), the late Ronnie Barron (October 9, 1943-March 20, 1997), on piano, and group vocals by the Chambers Brothers.
Bob Hite died in April, 1981,(as did Vestine in 1997 and Richard Hite in 2001), and by 1989 the trajectories of Hooker and Canned Heat crossed once again. This time they guested on his album, The Healer, which was a big hit. De La Parra leads the current band and Larry Taylor returned in 1994 after leaving in 1970. Taylor continues to be "first chair" bass with many top acts, including Kim Wilson and Tom Waits, "returning" numerous times to do special events and recordings with Canned Heat.
Ex-Heat guitarist Harvey Mandel was one of the guitarists considered to replace the departed Mick Taylor in the Rolling Stones, with his efforts appearing on the 1976 Stones album Black and Blue. His extensive soloing is featured on the most successful cut of the project:"Hot Stuff". Mandel continued to record, self releasing albums, and in 2004, oddly enough, recorded a song written by MP3.com cofounder Rod Underhill, a musician and lawyer who served as the founding music director for the original MP3.com. Mandel is currently recording and touring with the "Chicago Blues Reunion", along with Nick Gravenites, Barry Goldberg, Tracy Nelson, Sam Lay, and Corky Siegel.
The latest studio album offers 15 tracks in all and features the current Canned Heat line-up plus some very special guests: John Lee Hooker, Taj Mahal, Walter Trout, Corey Stevens, Robert Lucas, Larry Taylor, Henry Vestine, Harvey Mandel, Roy Rogers and Mike Finnegan.
Other members of the band over the years included Antonio Barrada, Richard Hite (Bear's younger brother), Stuart Brotman, Mark Andes, Daniel Mileaf, Walter Trout, James Thornbury, James Shane, Junior Watson, Joel Scott Hill, John Shumake, Greg Kage, Paul Bryant, Stanley Behrens, Dallas Hodge, John Paulus, Don Preston and Barry Levenson. Several others have at one time or another filled in with the group during the 70's and early 80's. The leadership of Fito de la Parra has managed to keep Canned Heat boogieing since the 1960s.
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| VoodooChileInWOnderl |
Fito de la Parra was (is) a great guy, he played with one of the best friends of my brother before he joined the heat in 1968 and was a friend of my brother before he moved to the USA.
Fito de la Parra with Javier Bátiz in Mexico City 1965. Javier was Carlos Santana's teacher
This is Fito with Chet Helms
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| GotToRollMe |
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| Kilroy |
I saw these guys on "Playboy After Dark" back in the Late 60's with my band mate Piano player friend Tommy. We were blown away by them and had to learn everything they did and who they listen to and what their favorite color was and anything we could find out about them.
Still love their stuff today. The drummer "Fido" blew me away that night with this great big chrome set "double bass with single tom" I think. I set my drums up like that for awhile until going back to the Watts/Starr Look and feel. I love the Heat. It was one of my first albims from the record copany. The pld man gave my brother and I =three Selection each I got Led Zepplin, Laugh in and The Heat.
[Edited by Kilroy] |
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| prodigalson |
there definanlty a great band who didnt get enough credit or appreciation.alan wilson is such a good guitarist...and hites vocals are so perfect. |
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| Ten Thousand Motels |
Oh c'mon don't let thread die yet. This is only one of maybe ten bands that I might put in the same league as the Stones. But don't take my word for it...blast a few Canned Heat records. AND what's more most of the good shit is pre-1970. Real early on. This band deserves the utmost respect...at least from any blues based rock n roll fan.
[Edited by Ten Thousand Motels] |
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| nanatod |
I saw them at Milwaukee Summerfest three years ago. The only original member was Fito, but it was still a good show. |
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| FPM C10 |
They deserve credit not only for being great blues musicians, but also great blues scholars. Henry Vestine was instrumental in finding Skip James in the 60's, for instance. Son House was rediscovered at about the same time, and Al Wilson gave him "how to play guitar like Son House" lessons to refresh his alcohol-impaired memory.
Al Wilson sang like Skip James. He HAD it. When he died, it was a tremendous loss, but I didn't realize that until much later. |
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| Ten Thousand Motels |
quote:
FPM C10 wrote:
Al Wilson sang like Skip James. He HAD it. When he died, it was a tremendous loss, but I didn't realize that until much later.
Yes. He had IT.
>Emerging in 1966, Canned Heat was founded by blues historians and record collectors Alan "Blind Owl" Wilson and Bob "The Bear" Hite. They gained international attention and secured their niche in the pages of rock 'n roll history with their performances at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival (along with Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and The Who) and the headlining slot at the original Woodstock Festival. Wilson was already renowned for his distinctive harmonica work when he accompanied veteran bluesman, Son House, on his rediscovery album, "Father of the Blues." Hite took the name Canned Heat from a 1928 recording by Tommy Johnson. They were joined by Henry "The Sunflower" Vestine, another ardent record collector capable of fretboard fireworks at a moment's notice who was a former member of Frank Zappa's Mothers of Invention. Rounding out the band in 1967 were Larry "The Mole" Taylor on bass, an experienced session musician who had played with Jerry Lee Lewis and The Monkees and Adolfo "Fito" de la Parra on drums who had played in two of the biggest Latin American bands, Los Sinners and Los Hooligans and then with The Platters, The Shirelles, T-Bone Walker and Etta James.
Canned Heat's unique blend of modern electric blues, rock and boogie has earned them a loyal following and influenced many aspiring guitarists and bands during the past 35 years. Their Top-40 country-blues-rock songs, "On The Road Again," "Let's Work Together," and "Going Up The Country," became rock anthems throughout the world with the later being adopted as the unofficial theme song for the film Woodstock.
Right from the start, Canned Heat has been at the forefront of popularizing blues music. Their second album, "Boogie With Canned Heat," included the worldwide hit "On The Road Again" and a twelve minute version of "Fried Hockey Boogie" that established them with hippie ballroom audiences as the "kings of the boogie!" Their third album, "Living The Blues," included a 19-minute tour de force, "Parthenogenesis" which displayed the quintet at their most experimental along with their incarnation of Henry Thomas' "Bulldozer Blues" where singer, Wilson, retained the tune of the original song, rewrote the lyric and came up with "Goin' Up The Country," whose simple message caught the "back-to-nature" attitude of the late '60s and went to #1 in 25 countries around the world.
The band can boast of collaborations with John Mayall and Little Richard and later with blues icon, John Lee Hooker, the musician that they initially got much of their musical inspiration from in the first place. This union first produced the spirited and revered album, "Hooker 'n Heat" and then Hooker's 1990 Grammy Award-winning classic, "The Healer." The band is also credited with bringing a number of other forgotten bluesmen to the forefront of modern blues including Sunnyland Slim, who they found driving a taxi in Chicago, Skip James, who they found in a hospital in Tunica, Mississippi and took to the Newport Festival, Memphis Slim and Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown with whom they recorded in France and Albert Collins. They brought Collins to California where they had their manager negotiate a recording agreement for Albert that started him on his way to becoming a well known musician throughout the world.
On September 3rd, 1970, the band was shattered by the suicide of Alan Wilson. His death sparked reconstruction within the group and member changes continued throughout the next two decades. On April 5th, 1981, at the Palamino in Los Angeles, gargantuan vocalist, Bob Hite, collapsed and died of a heart attack and on October 20th, 1997, Henry Vestine died in Paris, France following the final gig of a European tour.
Despite these untimely deaths and assorted musical trends, Canned Heat has survived under the leadership of Fito de la Parra since the late 70's. Since 1967, the band has toured extensively all over the world, performing at numerous festivals including Monterey Pop, Newport Pop, the Sturgis Motorcycle Run U.S.A., and the original Woodstock. They have performed at world-renowned venues such as Paris' Olympia, both Fillmore Auditoriums, The Kaleidoscope, Carnegie Hall (with John Lee Hooker), Madison Square Garden and even Royal Albert Hall and have played more biker festivals than any other band in the world.
They and/or their music have been featured on television (In Concert, David Frost, Merv Griffin, Midnight Special, Playboy After Dark, etc.), and in films ("Woodstock," "Flashback," and "Forrest Gump" etc.). Their legend has recently been heard and felt in various television commercials ("On The Road Again" for Miller Beer, "Goin' Up The Country" for Pepsi, Chevrolet and McDonalds, "Let's Work Together" for Lloyd's Bank, England's Electric Company and for Target Stores along with other songs for 7-Up, Levi's and Heineken Beer).
Now, more than fourty years later and with thirty-six albums to their credit, Canned Heat is still going strong. Anchored throughout by the steady hand of drummer/band leader Adolfo "Fito" de la Parra (a member since 1967) and with one of their strongest lineups ever, Canned Heat is well on track to carry the boogie-blues it made famous, well into the 21st century. Starting out 2006, the lineup has Fito on drums, Greg Kage on bass and vocals, Barry Levenson on guitar and the return of Robert Lucas guitar, harmonica and lead vocals. Their most recent CD is entitled "Friends In The Can." This record brings together a number of Canned Heat's musical friends from the past and present to join them in this musical collaboration and celebration of 40 years of Canned Heat blues and boogie.
Fito's book, "LIVING THE BLUES" is available through the band's website at www.cannedheatmusic.com and at most popular book outlets. It is the complete and outrageous Canned Heat story of "Music, Drugs, Death, Sex and Survival" along with over 100 captivating pictures from their past.
And, as The Bear would say: "Don't Forget To Boogie!"
~ Fito de la Parra, Skip Taylor - February 2006
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| Ten Thousand Motels |
>On September 3rd, 1970, the band was shattered by the suicide of Alan Wilson. His death sparked reconstruction within the group and member changes continued throughout the next two decades. On April 5th, 1981, at the Palamino in Los Angeles, gargantuan vocalist, Bob Hite, collapsed and died of a heart attack and on October 20th, 1997, Henry Vestine died in Paris, France following the final gig of a European tour.<
VIVA YOU FUCKERS!!!! BOOGIE!
Someday we'll all be together in Rock n Roll Heaven.
VIVA!
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| JesusChrist |
What HE said! |
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| Brainbell Jangler |
Canned Heat has been one of my favorites since 1970. The loss of Blind Owl during that fateful month of September 1970 (Jimi and Janis went that month, too) was bigger than most anyone realized. I met Henry Vestine in 1990 at Lucky's Tavern in my hometown of Eugene, Oregon, where he lived for years. I saw the Heat at the House of Blues in Cambridge, Mass. in 1995. During a drum solo, I walked up to the stage and said, "Hey, Henry. You're a long way from Lucky's, my man." He was glad to see a homey, and Fito was a great guy, too, as has been mentioned. |
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| prodigalson |
http://www.blindowl.net/fivenotes_copyw250.gif
anyone have a bigger version of this awesome pic of blind owl or any other great heat pictures? |
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| wisertime |
I saw them in October 1997, 10 days before Vestine's death. It is in my Top 3 favorite shows, Vestine was amazing even if he was really ill.
Read to Fito's book 'Living with The Blues", one of the best music books. Some Stones content in this book too.
Saw Canned Heat 1 month ago too, it's the best line up since Vestine died. |
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| Chuck |
Great band! The stuff they did with John Lee Hooker is fantastic. |
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