Canned Heat
Encyclopedia
Canned Heat is a blues-rock
/boogie rock
band that formed in Los Angeles
, California
in 1965. The group has been noted for its own interpretations of blues material as well as for efforts to promote the interest in this type of music and its original artists. It was launched by two blues enthusiasts, Alan Wilson
and Bob Hite, who took the name from Tommy Johnson's 1928 "Canned Heat Blues", a song about an alcoholic who had desperately turned to drinking Sterno
, generically called "canned heat". After appearances at Monterey
and Woodstock, at the end of the 1960s the band acquired worldwide fame with a lineup consisting of Bob Hite
, vocals, Alan "Blind Owl" Wilson
, guitar, harmonica and vocals, Henry Vestine
(or Harvey Mandel
) on lead guitar, Larry Taylor
on bass, and Adolfo "Fito" de la Parra on drums.
The music and attitude of Canned Heat afforded them a large following and established the band as one of the popular acts of the hippie era. Canned Heat appeared at most major musical events at the end of the 1960s and they were able to deliver on stage electrifying performances of blues standards and their own material and occasionally to indulge into lengthier 'psychedelic' solos. Two of their songs - "Going Up the Country
" and "On the Road Again
" - became international hits. "Going Up the Country" was a remake of the Henry Thomas
song "Bulldoze Blues" recorded in Louisville, Kentucky in 1927. "On the Road Again" was a cover version/re-working of the 1953 Floyd Jones
song of the same name, which is reportedly based on the Tommy Johnson
song "Big Road Blues" recorded in 1928.
Since the early 1970s numerous personnel changes have occurred and today, in the fifth decade of the band's existence the band includes Fito de la Parra and Larry Taylor from the "classic" 1960s lineup as well as Harvey Mandel. For much of the 1990s and 2000s de la Parra was the only member from the band's 1960s lineup. He has written a book about the band's career. Larry Taylor, whose presence in the band has not been steady, is the other surviving member from the earliest lineups. Harvey Mandel
, Walter Trout
and Junior Watson
are among the guitarists who gained fame for playing in later editions of the band. British blues
pioneer John Mayall
has frequently found musicians for his band among former Canned Heat members.
was a meeting place for people interested in music. In 1965 some blues devotees there decided to form a jug band
and started rehearsals. The initial configuration comprised Bob Hite as vocalist, Al Wilson on bottleneck guitar, Mike Perlowin on lead guitar, Stu Brotman on bass and Keith Sawyer on drums. Perlowin and Sawyer dropped out within a few days, so guitarist Kenny Edwards
(a friend of Alan Wilson) stepped in to replace Perlowin, and Ron Holmes agreed to sit in on drums until they could find a permanent drummer.
Another of Bob's friends, Henry Vestine (who had been expelled from Frank Zappa's
Mothers of Invention for excessive drug use), asked if he could join the band and was accepted while keeping Edwards on temporarily. Soon Edwards departed (he went on to form the Stone Poneys
with Linda Ronstadt
) and at the same time Frank Cook
came in to replace Holmes as their permanent drummer. Cook already had substantial professional experience, having performed with such jazz luminaries as bassist Charlie Haden
, trumpeter Chet Baker
, or pianist Elmo Hope
and had also collaborated with black soul/pop artists such as Shirley Ellis
and Dobie Gray
.
Producer Johnny Otis
recorded the band's first (unreleased) album in 1966 with the ensemble of Hite, Wilson, Cook, Vestine, and Brotman; but the record was not actually released until 1970 when it appeared as Vintage Heat
, released by Janus Records
. Otis ran the board for a dozen tracks, including two versions of "Rollin' and Tumblin'
" (with and without harmonica), "Spoonful" by Willie Dixon
, and "Louise" by John Lee Hooker
all from his studio off of Vine Street in Los Angeles. Over a summer hiatus in 1966 Stuart Brotman effectively left Canned Heat after he had signed a contract for a long engagement in Fresno with an Armenian belly-dance revue. Canned Heat had contacted Brotman, touting a recording contract which had to be signed the next day, but Brotman was unable to make the signing on short notice. Brotman would go on to join the world-music band Kaleidoscope
with David Lindley
, replacing Chris Darrow. Replacing Brotman in Canned Heat was Mark Andes
, who lasted only a couple of months before he returned to his former colleagues in the Red Roosters, who adopted the new name Spirits Rebellious, later shortened to Spirit
.
After joining up with managers Skip Taylor and John Hartmann
, Canned Heat finally found a permanent bassist in Larry Taylor, who joined in March 1967. He was a former member of The Moondogs and the brother of Ventures’ drummer, Mel Taylor, and already had experience backing Jerry Lee Lewis
and Chuck Berry
in concert, and recording studio sessions for The Monkees
.
In this format (Hite, Wilson, Vestine, Taylor, Cook) the band started recording in April 1967 for Liberty Records
. "Rollin’ and Tumblin’" backed with "Bullfrog Blues" became Canned Heat’s first single. The first official album, Canned Heat
, was released three months later in July 1967. All tracks were re-workings of older blues songs. The Los Angeles Free Press reported: “This group has it! They should do very well, both live and with their recordings.” Canned Heat
fared reasonably well commercially, reaching #76 on the Billboard chart.
on June 17, 1967. A picture of the band taken at the performance was featured on the cover of Down Beat
Magazine where an article complimented their playing: “Technically, Vestine and Wilson are quite possibly the best two-guitar team in the world and Wilson has certainly become our finest white blues harmonica man. Together with powerhouse vocalist Bob Hite, they performed the country and Chicago blues idiom of the 1950s so skillfully and naturally that the question of which race the music belongs to becomes totally irrelevant.” D.A. Pennebaker's documentary
captured their rendition of "Rollin and Tumblin" and two other songs from the set, "Bullfrog Blues" and "Dust My Broom
", found place later in a boxed CD set in 1992. Heat is also included on an album called Early LA.
Canned Heat also began to garner their notoriety as "the bad boys of rock" for being jailed in Denver, Colorado
after a Denver Police informant
provided enough evidence for their arrest for drugs (an incident recalled in their song 'My Crime'). Band manager Skip Taylor was forced to obtain the $10,000 bail by selling off Canned Heat's publishing rights to Liberty Records President Al Bennett.
After the Denver incident, Frank Cook was replaced with Fito de la Parra, who had been playing the drums in Bluesberry Jam
(the band which evolved into Pacific Gas & Electric
). As an official member of Canned Heat, de la Parra played his first gig on December 1, 1967, sharing top billing with the Doors
at the Long Beach Auditorium. This began what Fito refers to as the classic and perhaps best known Canned Heat line-up, who together recorded some of the band's most famous and well-regarded songs. During this "classic" period, Skip Taylor and John Hartmann introduced the use of band member nicknames:
Their second released album, Boogie with Canned Heat
, included "On the Road Again
", an updated version of a 1950's composition by Floyd Jones
. 'On the Road Again' became the band's break-out song and was a worldwide success, becoming a number one hit in most markets and finally put a blues song on the top charts. The album also included a twelve-minute version of "Fried Hockey Boogie", (credited to Larry Taylor, but rather obviously derived from John Lee Hooker
’s "Boogie Chillen" riff) allowed each member to stretch out on his instrument while establishing them with hippie ballroom audiences across America as the “kings of the boogie”. Hite’s "Amphetamine Annie" (a tune inspired by the drug abuse of an acquaintance), became one of their most enduring songs and one of the first “anti-drug” songs of the decade. Although not featured on the album's artwork, this was the first Canned Heat Album to have featured drummer Fito de la Parra.
With this success Skip, John and new associate Gary Essert leased a Hollywood club they named the Kaleidoscope on Sunset Boulevard east of Vine in which Canned Heat essentially became the house band; hosting others such as Jefferson Airplane
, the Grateful Dead, Buffalo Springfield
and Sly & The Family Stone
. Also in 1968, after playing before 80,000 at the first annual Newport Pop Festival in September, Canned Heat left for their first European tour. It entailed a month of concert performances and media engagements that included TV appearances on the British show Top of the Pops
. They also appeared on the German program Beat Club, where they lip-synched "On the Road Again" as it rose to #1 in both countries and practically in all of Europe.
, which included their best known song, "Going Up the Country
". Alan Wilson's incarnation of Henry Thomas
’s "Bull-doze Blues" was almost a note-for-note copy of the original, down to Thomas's instrumental break on the quills which Jim Horn
duplicated on flute. Wilson rewrote the lyrics with a simple message that caught the “back-to-nature” attitude of the late ‘60s. The song went to #1 in 25 countries around the world (#11 on the U.S national chart) and would go on to become the unofficial theme song of the Woodstock Festival
as captured in Michael Wadleigh's
1970 documentary
. The album also included a 19-minute experimental track "Parthenogenesis", which was a nine-part sound collage of blues, ragas, jaw-harp sounds, guitar distortion and other electronic effects; all pulled together under the direction of manager/producer, Skip Taylor. Longer still is 'Refried Boogie' clocking in at over 40 minutes, recorded live at the Kaleidoscope.
Also recorded live at the Kaleidoscope around this time was the album which would find later 1971 release with the deceptive title, Live At Topanga Corral
(later renamed Live at the Kaleidoscope), under Wand Records
; as Liberty Records didn’t want to release a live album at the time and manager Skip Taylor did not want a lawsuit. The band would end 1968 in a big way at a New Year's show in L.A.'s Shrine Auditorium
with Bob Hite riding a painted purple dayglo elephant to the stage.
In July, 1969, just prior to Woodstock, Hallelujah
, their fourth album was released. The Melody Maker
wrote: “While less ambitious than some of their work, this is nonetheless an excellent blues-based album and they remain the most convincing of the white electric blues groups.” The album contained mainly original compositions with lyrics relating to the band such as Alan Wilson's 'Time Was' and a few re-worked covers like 'Sic 'em Pigs' (Bukka White's
'Sic 'em Dogs') and the original Canned Heat by Tommy Johnson.
Within days of the album's release, Henry Vestine left the group after an on-stage blow up at the Fillmore West
between himself and Larry Taylor. The next night after Mike Bloomfield
and Harvey Mandel jammed with Canned Heat, both were offered Vestine's spot in the band's line-up and Mandel accepted. The new lineup played two dates at the Fillmore before appearing at Woodstock
in mid-August.
Arriving via helicopter at Woodstock, Canned Heat played their most famous set on the second day of the festival at sunset. The set included "Going Up the Country" which became the title track in the documentary
, even though the band's performance was not shown. The song was included in the first (triple) Woodstock album; while the second album, Woodstock 2
, contained "Woodstock Boogie". The expanded 25th Anniversary Collection added "Leaving This Town" to the band’s collection of Woodstock performances and "A Change Is Gonna Come" was included on the director's cut of the documentary film; leaving only "Let's Work Together" to be released.
Before their European tour in early 1970, the band recorded Future Blues
, an album containing five original compositions and three covers. A Wilbert Harrison
song Let's Work Together
was the single chosen for release in Europe to coincide with the tour. At the band's insistence the US release was delayed in order to offer the author's version a chance in the market first. Canned Heat had a big hit with "Let's Work Together" and was the bands only top ten hit to feature the vocals of Bob "The Bear" Hite. The album featured piano by Dr. John
and an atypical jump blues style also. Some controversy was sparked by the moon landing
/Iwo Jima
album cover and the upside down American flag. The upside down flag was Alan Wilson's idea and was a response to his love of nature, growing environmentalism and concern that humankind would soon be polluting the moon as well as the Earth (as reflected in his song "Poor Moon").
Material from their 1970 European tour provided the tracks for, Canned Heat '70 Concert Live In Europe
, later retitled Live In Europe. It was a live album that combined tracks from different shows throughout the tour, but was put together in such a way as to resemble one continuous concert for the listener. Although the album garnered some critical acclaim and did well in the UK (peaking at #15), it had only limited commercial success in the U.S.; Returning from Europe in May 1970, an exhausted Larry Taylor left the band to join John Mayall
(who had relocated to Laurel Canyon
) and was followed by Harvey Mandel.
This lineup went into the studio to record with John Lee Hooker
the tracks that would yield the double album, Hooker 'N Heat . The band had originally met Hooker at the airport in Portland, Oregon
and discovered they were fans of each other's work. Hooker and Canned Heat became good friends and Hooker had stated that Wilson was "the greatest harmonica player ever". The planned format for the sessions called for Hooker to perform a few songs by himself, followed by some duets with Alan Wilson playing piano or guitar. The rest of the album featured Hooker with some backing by the group (sans Bob Hite, who co-produced the album along with Skip Taylor). The album was finished after Wilson’s passing and became the first album in Hooker's career to make the charts, topping out at #73 in February 1971. Hooker N' Heat would unite again in 1978 and record a live album at L.A.'s Fox Venice Theatre, released in 1981 as, Hooker'n'Heat, live at the Fox Venice Theatre, under Rhino Records. Also in 1989 Canned Heat (and many others) guested on John Lee Hooker's album The Healer
.
Shortly after the original Hooker N' Heat sessions, the eccentric Alan "Blind Owl" Wilson, who had always suffered from depression, was said by some to have attempted suicide by driving his van off the road near Bob Hite's home in Topanga Canyon. Unlike other members of the band, Wilson did not have much success with women and was deeply upset and frustrated by this. His depression also worsened with his increasing environmental concern over the deteriorating health of the earth; all themes which were often reflected in his lyrics. On September 3, 1970, just prior to leaving for a festival in Berlin
, the band was shattered when they learned of Alan Wilson's death by barbiturate
overdose; found on a hillside behind Bob Hite’s Topanga home. Believed by Fito de la Parra and other members of the band to have been a suicide, Wilson died at the age of 27, just weeks before the deaths of Janis Joplin
and Jimi Hendrix
.
was recruited to fill the void left by Alan Wilson's death. The band still had a touring contract for September, as well as upcoming studio dates. That fall they toured Australia and Europe; including a show played in Baarn, Holland
for the VPRO television program Piknik and the following summer they appeared at the Turku
Festival in Finland. These performances were recorded, but were not released until much later with the albums, Live at Turku Rock Festival in 1995, and Under the Dutch Skies 1970 - 74 in 2007 (which encompassed three separate tours). At the end of 1971 a new studio album, Historical Figures and Ancient Heads
, was released. The album included Bob Hite’s vocal duet with Little Richard
on the Skip Taylor written track, "Rockin’ with the King" featuring the guitar playing of both Henry Vestine and Joel Scott Hill.
This line-up of Hite, Vestine, Scott-Hill, de la Barreda and de la Parra did not last, as the band was in disarray; Scott-Hill and de la Barreda's attitudes were not fitting in with the rest of the band, and drummer de la Parra decided to call it quits. He was talked out of it by Bob Hite, and it was Scott-Hill and de la Barreda who left the band instead.
New additions to the group were James Shane on rhythm guitar and vocals, Ed Beyer on keyboards, and Bob Hite's brother Richard Hite on bass. This "New Age" line-up recorded what would become the last album for Liberty/United Artists Records
, The New Age
, released in 1973. This album featured the popular biker themed anthem written by James Shane, entitled "The Harley-Davidson Blues". The era of the late-sixties was changing; but nonetheless the band embarked on another European Tour, in which they recorded a session with Memphis Slim
in Paris, France for the album, Memphis Heat. They also recorded with Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, while still in Paris, for the album, Gates On The Heat (both were released by Blue Star Records). Footage from this era can be seen on the DVD release of Canned Heat Live at Montreux released in 2004.
Met with hard times, Fito de la Parra writes that the band resorted to importing drugs from Mexico to make ends meet between shows. Over US$30,000 in debt, manager Skip Taylor advised the band to sign away their future royalties to their previous Liberty/United Artists material and jump to Atlantic Records
. After a bad introduction to Atlantic Records, which included a brawl between Hite and Vestine over a vending machine, the band released the album, One More River To Cross
in 1974. Produced by Roger Hawkins
and Barry Beckett
this album had a different sound and featured the Muscle Shoal Horns
.
On a subsequent promotional tour of Europe, this new "Horn Band" sound included the talents of Clifford Solomon and Jock Ellis. Absent from Canned Heat at this time, after growing ever more distant, was long time manager Skip Taylor, who had left after the band joined Atlantic. Atlantic producer Tom Dowd
tried to get one more album out of Canned Heat, but drugs and heavy drinking had taken their toll. Even though an album was recorded in 1974 (featuring some collaboration from former member Harvey Mandel); Atlantic had ended their relationship with Canned Heat before it could be released and The Ties That Bind, did not see the light of day until decades later in 1997.
Shortly thereafter, new manager Howard Wolf, set up the struggling band with a gig at California's Mammoth Ski Resort
. Bob Hite, in a foul rage, went off on the crowd; much to the disapproval of Henry Vestine, James Shane and Ed Beyer, who quit the band as a result.
Taking the place of those who departed were pianist Gene Taylor
and guitarist Chris Morgan. Taylor, however, quickly departed in response to an argument during a tour of Germany, and after a brief fill-in by Stan Webb
(of Chicken Shack
), Mark Skyer came in as the new guitar player. In the meantime the band had worked out a deal with Takoma Records
and this "Human Condition/Takoma" line-up recorded the 1977 album, Human Condition. Despite the appearance of the Chambers Brothers on the album, it was met with very little success; largely due to the growing popularity of Disco music in the late 70s. Before long, more arguments ensued and Mark Skyer, Chris Morgan and Richard Hite all quit the band. The Bear promptly hired a new bass player named Richard Exley after befriending him on tour and watching his performance with the band "Montana". Becoming fast friends with Hite, Exley toured the remainder of the year with the band and collaborated with Bob on many of the arrangements during their 1976 Texas Bicentennial Comeback Tour that same summer. Richard then quit the band after an argument over Hite's excessive drinking and drug use on stage. Frustrated and fed-up, Exley joined The Texas Heartbreakers at the end of that same year but still returned periodically to fill in as a favor to Hite while the band struggled to find permanent members amidst heavy drinking and drug use. This effectively reduced the band's members to just The Bear and Fito.
movie starring Dan Aykroyd
and John Belushi
. During this time Canned Heat drummer Fito de la Parra had bought into the partnership of an East Hollywood recording studio at which he was again working with former bandmate Larry "The Mole" Taylor. Taylor had been associating with virtuoso guitar player Mike "Hollywood Fats" Mann
and virtuoso piano player Ronnie Barron
and before long Taylor, Barron and Hollywood Fats were in the band. This version referred to by Hite and Mann as the "Burger Brothers" lineup, was soon joined by blind piano player Jay Spell, as Ronnie Barron walked out on the band after a blow-up between himself and The Mole.
The Burger Brothers played the 10th Anniversary of Woodstock at Parr Meadows in 1979. A recording of the performance eventually surfaced through King Biscuit Flower Hour's
Barry Ehrmann as, Canned Heat In Concert, in 1995 (de la Parra considers this to be Canned Heat's best recorded live album). Another recording made around this time was for Cream Records
, who desired a more R&B-style sound than what Canned Heat was currently offering. This upset Hollywood Fats and Mike Halby was brought in to finish the project; which would not find commercial release until 1981 when former band member Tony de la Barreda put it out under RCA
as a tribute album called, In Memory Of Bob "The Bear" Hite 1943-1981 - "Don't Forget To Boogie". After a falling out with de la Parra and Hite, Taylor and Mann were increasingly unhappy with the musical direction of the band and eventually left to focus more attention on their Hollywood Fats Band. Nevertheless, Jay Spell was still on board and brought in bass player Jon Lamb; Mike Halby was now a full time member and long time guitarist Henry Vestine once again made his return to Canned Heat, with The Bear and Fito as its leaders.
No longer managed by Howard Wolf, Eddie Haddad set the band up touring military bases across the U.S., Europe and Japan non-stop. Returning with little pay after the hellacious tour, Jay Spell quit the band. Jon Lamb stayed on for one more tour in the south and just before Christmas 1980 (and lacking the outlaw roots of the others), he too quit the band; but by then even The Bear was starting to lose it. He had attempted to give it another try by hiring a large enthusiastic biker with the moniker "The Push" as their manager; hoping that the band's popularity with the biker community would give them renewed energy. With new bass player Ernie Rodriguez joining the ranks, Canned Heat recorded the 1981 album, Kings of the Boogie, the last album to feature Hite on a few of the tracks.
On April 5, 1981, having collapsed from a heroin overdose during a show at the Palomino
in Los Angeles, Bob Hite was later found dead in de la Parra's Mar Vista home at the age of 38.
.
As production for "The Push's" video dragged on, a drunken Henry Vestine got into a brawl with Ernie Rodriguez and was once again out of the band; this time replaced by talented guitarist Walter Trout
. After a tour with John Mayall, as the production for "The Boogie Assault" continued on, Fito was forced to fire "The Push" as the band's manager; but did eventually finish the video and a live Album of the same name recorded in Australia in 1982 (also re-released as Live In Australia and Live In Oz). This version of Canned Heat would also soon dissolve with a dispute between Mike Halby and de la Parra after the recording of the Heat Brothers '84 EP.
During the 1980s the interest in the type of music played by Canned Heat was revived and, despite the past tragedies and permanent instability, the band appeared to be revitalized. In 1985 Trout had left to join John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, so Henry Vestine was once again back in the band and he brought with him new musical talent from Oregon
in James Thornbury (slide guitar and lead vocals) and Skip Jones (Bass). They were dubbed the "Nuts and Berries" band by Fito, due to their love of organic food. It wasn't long before former members Larry Taylor (replacing Jones) and Ronnie Barron returned to round out the group. Versions of this lineup would record the live album, Boogie Up The Country, in Kassel, Germany in 1987 and also appear on the, Blues Festival Live in Bonn '87 Vol 2, compilation. Barron, just as before did not last long in this lineup, nor did Vestine, who was once again ousted from the band due to pressure from Larry Taylor. Replacing Vestine on lead guitar was Junior Watson
; his style emulated Hollywood Fats (who died in late 1986) and was perfectly suited for the band as witnessed by the well-regarded album, Reheated
. Unfortunately the album was released only in Germany in 1988 due to disagreements with the Chameleon Music Group Record label. In 1990, the "Would-Be" lineup of James T, Taylor, Watson and de la Parra also recorded a sequel live album in Australia entitled Burnin' Live.
The lineup dissolved in the early 1990s as Junior Watson went his own way and Harvey Mandel came back into the fold, bringing along Ron Shumake on bass to take some of the load off of Larry Taylor. Mandel, however, left the band after a few tours, so female singer and guitarist Becky Barksdale was brought in for a tour of France, Germany and Hawaii; but lasted no longer. Smokey Hormel was also considered, but only played one gig before friction between Fito and Larry Taylor caused Taylor to bitterly go his separate way with Hormel in tow.
The revolving door that was Canned Heat continued as Vestine and Watson made their returns to the lineup as the "Heavy Artillery" band. Several former members including Mandel, Barron and Taylor joined up in de la Parra's effort for the album, Internal Combustion, which was released in 1994, but saw only limited release due to the returning manager Skip Taylor's falling out with Red River Records. In 1995 James Thornbury left the band with no hard feelings after 10 years of service to live the married life in New South Wales, Australia and new front-man Robert Lucas came in to take his place. Greg Kage took the reins as the bass player and after a reconciliation with Larry Taylor the band released, Canned Heat Blues Band, in 1996. On October 20, 1997, a tired and cancer stricken Henry Vestine died in Paris, France following the final gig of a European tour.
Canned Heat’s recent studio albums include Boogie 2000 (1999), and Friends In The Can (2003), which features various guests including John Lee Hooker
, Taj Mahal
, Walter Trout
, Corey Stevens
, Roy Rogers
, Harvey Mandel, Larry Taylor
and Henry Vestine
. Eric Clapton
and Dr. John
made guest appearances on the Christmas Album (2007). In July 2007, a documentary, Boogie with Canned Heat: The Canned Heat Story, was released, as was music historian Rebecca Davis Winters' biography of Alan Wilson, "Blind Owl Blues".
By the year 2000 Robert Lucas had departed and the lineup was completed by John Paulus, Dallas Hodge (guitar) and Stanley Behrens (sax, flute). Lucas returned to Canned Heat in late 2005 but left again in the fall of 2008. He died November 23, 2008 at a friend’s home in Long Beach, Calif, aged 46; the cause was an apparent drug overdose. Other more recent deaths of band members included Bob Hite's brother, bassist Richard Hite, who died at the age of 50 on September 22, 2001 due to complications with cancer. Also former bassist Antonio De La Barreda died of a heart attack on February 19, 2009.
From late 2008 to the Spring of 2010 did the lineup include Dale Spalding (guitar, harmonica and vocals), Barry Levenson (lead guitar), Greg Kage (bass), and classic lineup hold-over and band leader Adolfo "Fito" de la Parra on drums. Harvey Mandel and Larry Taylor toured with Canned Heat during the summer of 2009 on the Heroes of Woodstock Tour
to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Woodstock.
In 2010 Taylor and Mandel officially replaced Kage and Levenson. The current touring band thus consists of Dale Spalding, "Fito" de la Parra, Larry Taylor and Harvey Mandel.
*- Actually released in 1996
Blues-rock
Blues rock is a hybrid musical genre combining bluesy improvisations over the 12-bar blues and extended boogie jams with rock and roll styles. The core of the blues rock sound is created by the electric guitar, piano, bass guitar and drum kit, with the electric guitar usually amplified through a...
/boogie rock
Boogie rock
Boogie rock is a music genre which came out of the hard heavy blues rock of the late 1960s. It tends to feature a repetitive driving rhythm in place of instrumental experimentation found in the more progressive blues-rock bands of the period.-Definitions:...
band that formed in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
in 1965. The group has been noted for its own interpretations of blues material as well as for efforts to promote the interest in this type of music and its original artists. It was launched by two blues enthusiasts, Alan Wilson
Alan Wilson (musician)
Alan "Blind Owl" Christie Wilson was the leader, singer, and primary composer in the American blues band Canned Heat. He played guitar and harmonica, and wrote most of the songs for the band.-Early years:...
and Bob Hite, who took the name from Tommy Johnson's 1928 "Canned Heat Blues", a song about an alcoholic who had desperately turned to drinking Sterno
Sterno
Sterno is a fuel made from denatured and jellied alcohol. It is designed to be burned directly from its can. Its primary uses are in the food service industry for buffet heating and in the home for fondue and as a chafing fuel for heating chafing dishes...
, generically called "canned heat". After appearances at Monterey
Monterey Pop Festival
The Monterey International Pop Music Festival was a three-day concert event held June 16 to June 18, 1967 at the Monterey County Fairgrounds in Monterey, California...
and Woodstock, at the end of the 1960s the band acquired worldwide fame with a lineup consisting of Bob Hite
Bob Hite
Robert Ernest "Bob" "The Bear" Hite was the American lead singer of the blues-rock band, Canned Heat, from 1965 to his death in 1981....
, vocals, Alan "Blind Owl" Wilson
Alan Wilson (musician)
Alan "Blind Owl" Christie Wilson was the leader, singer, and primary composer in the American blues band Canned Heat. He played guitar and harmonica, and wrote most of the songs for the band.-Early years:...
, guitar, harmonica and vocals, Henry Vestine
Henry Vestine
Henry Charles Vestine a.k.a. "The Sunflower", was an American guitar player known mainly as a member of the band Canned Heat. He was with the group from its start in 1966 to July 1969...
(or Harvey Mandel
Harvey Mandel
Harvey Mandel is an American guitarist known for his innovative approach to electric guitar playing. A professional at twenty, he played with Charlie Musselwhite, Canned Heat, The Rolling Stones, and John Mayall before starting a solo career...
) on lead guitar, Larry Taylor
Larry Taylor
Larry Taylor is an American bass guitarist, best known for his work as a member of Canned Heat from 1967. Before joining Canned Heat he had been a session bassist for The Monkees and Jerry Lee Lewis...
on bass, and Adolfo "Fito" de la Parra on drums.
The music and attitude of Canned Heat afforded them a large following and established the band as one of the popular acts of the hippie era. Canned Heat appeared at most major musical events at the end of the 1960s and they were able to deliver on stage electrifying performances of blues standards and their own material and occasionally to indulge into lengthier 'psychedelic' solos. Two of their songs - "Going Up the Country
Going Up the Country
"Going Up the Country" is a song performed by the American blues-rock group Canned Heat. It appeared on their album Living the Blues and was also released as a single, reaching #11 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, #19 on UK Singles Chart and number one in 25 other countries...
" and "On the Road Again
On the Road Again (Canned Heat song)
"On the Road Again," a song recorded by the American blues rock group Canned Heat, was released as a single in April 1968, and appeared on their 1968 album Boogie with Canned Heat as well as the 1969 compilation The Canned Heat Cookbook...
" - became international hits. "Going Up the Country" was a remake of the Henry Thomas
Henry Thomas
Henry Jackson Thomas, Jr. is an American actor and musician. He has appeared in more than 40 films and is best known for his role as Elliott in the 1982 Steven Spielberg film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.-Early life:...
song "Bulldoze Blues" recorded in Louisville, Kentucky in 1927. "On the Road Again" was a cover version/re-working of the 1953 Floyd Jones
Floyd Jones
Floyd Jones was an American blues singer, guitarist and songwriter, who is significant as one of the first of the new generation of electric blues artists to record in Chicago after World War II. A number of Jones' recordings are regarded as classics of the Chicago blues idiom, and his song "On...
song of the same name, which is reportedly based on the Tommy Johnson
Tommy Johnson
Tommy Johnson was an influential American delta blues musician, who recorded in the late 1920s, and was known for his eerie falsetto voice and intricate guitar playing.-Early life:...
song "Big Road Blues" recorded in 1928.
Since the early 1970s numerous personnel changes have occurred and today, in the fifth decade of the band's existence the band includes Fito de la Parra and Larry Taylor from the "classic" 1960s lineup as well as Harvey Mandel. For much of the 1990s and 2000s de la Parra was the only member from the band's 1960s lineup. He has written a book about the band's career. Larry Taylor, whose presence in the band has not been steady, is the other surviving member from the earliest lineups. Harvey Mandel
Harvey Mandel
Harvey Mandel is an American guitarist known for his innovative approach to electric guitar playing. A professional at twenty, he played with Charlie Musselwhite, Canned Heat, The Rolling Stones, and John Mayall before starting a solo career...
, Walter Trout
Walter Trout
Walter Trout is an American blues guitarist, singer and songwriter.-Biography:Trout's career began on the Jersey coast scene of the late 1960s and early 1970s. He then decided to relocate to Los Angeles where he became a sideman for Percy Mayfield and Deacon Jones...
and Junior Watson
Junior Watson
Junior Watson is an American jump blues guitarist and singer.-Career:Watson is regarded as an influential West Coast blues player. He was a founding member of the blues band The Mighty Flyers and, starting in the early 1980s, he performed with the band for a decade. He also performed with Canned...
are among the guitarists who gained fame for playing in later editions of the band. British blues
British blues
British blues is a form of music derived from American blues that originated in the late 1950s and which reached its height of mainstream popularity in the 1960s, when it developed a distinctive and influential style dominated by electric guitar and made international stars of several proponents of...
pioneer John Mayall
John Mayall
John Mayall, OBE is an English blues singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, whose musical career spans over fifty years...
has frequently found musicians for his band among former Canned Heat members.
Origins and early lineups
Canned Heat was started within the community of blues collectors. Bob Hite had been trading blues records since his early teens and his house in Topanga CanyonTopanga, California
Topanga is a census-designated place in western Los Angeles County, California, USA. It is located in the Santa Monica Mountains. Occupying Topanga Canyon, it is often referred to by that name. Topanga is bounded on three sides by State Park or conservancy lands, and on the south by the Pacific...
was a meeting place for people interested in music. In 1965 some blues devotees there decided to form a jug band
Jug band
A Jug band is a band employing a jug player and a mix of traditional and home-made instruments. These home-made instruments are ordinary objects adapted to or modified for making of sound, like the washtub bass, washboard, spoons, stovepipe and comb & tissue paper...
and started rehearsals. The initial configuration comprised Bob Hite as vocalist, Al Wilson on bottleneck guitar, Mike Perlowin on lead guitar, Stu Brotman on bass and Keith Sawyer on drums. Perlowin and Sawyer dropped out within a few days, so guitarist Kenny Edwards
Kenny Edwards
Kenny Edwards was an American singer/songwriter. He was a founding member of The Stone Poneys and a long-time collaborator with both Linda Ronstadt and Karla Bonoff.-Biography:...
(a friend of Alan Wilson) stepped in to replace Perlowin, and Ron Holmes agreed to sit in on drums until they could find a permanent drummer.
Another of Bob's friends, Henry Vestine (who had been expelled from Frank Zappa's
Frank Zappa
Frank Vincent Zappa was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed...
Mothers of Invention for excessive drug use), asked if he could join the band and was accepted while keeping Edwards on temporarily. Soon Edwards departed (he went on to form the Stone Poneys
Stone Poneys
The Stone Poneys were a folk-rock trio formed in Los Angeles, consisting of Bobby Kimmel , Kenny Edwards , and Linda Ronstadt . Their recordings include Linda Ronstadt's first hit song, a cover of Mike Nesmith's "Different Drum"...
with Linda Ronstadt
Linda Ronstadt
Linda Ronstadt is an American popular music recording artist. She has earned eleven Grammy Awards, two Academy of Country Music awards, an Emmy Award, an ALMA Award, numerous United States and internationally certified gold, platinum and multiplatinum albums, in addition to Tony Award and Golden...
) and at the same time Frank Cook
Frank Cook (musician)
Frank Cook was a drummer and former member of blues bands Pacific Gas & Electric, Canned Heat and Bluesberry Jam. For a time he was also the manager of Pacific Gas & Electric.-History:...
came in to replace Holmes as their permanent drummer. Cook already had substantial professional experience, having performed with such jazz luminaries as bassist Charlie Haden
Charlie Haden
Charles Edward Haden is an American jazz musician. He is a double bassist, probably best known for his long association with saxophonist Ornette Coleman...
, trumpeter Chet Baker
Chet Baker
Chesney Henry "Chet" Baker, Jr. was an American jazz trumpeter, flugelhornist and singer.Though his music earned him a large following , Baker's popularity was due in part to his "matinee idol-beauty" and "well-publicized drug habit."He died in 1988 in Amsterdam, the...
, or pianist Elmo Hope
Elmo Hope
St. Elmo Sylvester Hope was an American jazz pianist, performing chiefly in the bop and hard bop genres. His highly individual piano-playing and, especially, his compositions have led a few enthusiasts and critics such as David Rosenthal to place him alongside his contemporaries Bud Powell and...
and had also collaborated with black soul/pop artists such as Shirley Ellis
Shirley Ellis
Shirley Ellis is an American soul music singer and songwriter of West Indian origin. She is best known for her novelty hits "The Nitty Gritty" , "The Name Game" and "The Clapping Song"...
and Dobie Gray
Dobie Gray
Dobie Gray is an African American singer and songwriter, whose musical career has spanned soul, country, pop and musical theater...
.
Producer Johnny Otis
Johnny Otis
Johnny Otis is an American singer, musician, talent scout, disc jockey, composer, arranger, recording artist, record producer, vibraphonist, drummer, percussionist, bandleader, and impresario.He is commonly referred to as The Godfather Of Rhythm And Blues.-Personal life:Otis, the son of Alexander...
recorded the band's first (unreleased) album in 1966 with the ensemble of Hite, Wilson, Cook, Vestine, and Brotman; but the record was not actually released until 1970 when it appeared as Vintage Heat
Vintage (Canned Heat album)
Vintage was the first album recorded by Canned Heat in 1966, although it did not see actual release until 1970 under Janus Records. Produced by rhythm & blues legend, Johnny Otis, the album featured Muddy Waters/Elmore James' song "Rollin' and Tumblin'" recorded with and without Alan Wilson's...
, released by Janus Records
Janus Records
Janus Records was a record label owned by GRT Records, also known as General Recorded Tape. Artists who had hits on Janus included Mungo Jerry, The Whispers, Cymande, Charlie, Al Stewart, Ian Thomas, and Ray Stevens. Chess Records was administered as a division of Janus in the early 1970s...
. Otis ran the board for a dozen tracks, including two versions of "Rollin' and Tumblin'
Rollin' and Tumblin'
"Rollin' and Tumblin" is a blues song that has been recorded hundreds of times by various artists. Considered as a traditional, it has been recorded with different lyrics and titles...
" (with and without harmonica), "Spoonful" by Willie Dixon
Willie Dixon
William James "Willie" Dixon was an American blues musician, vocalist, songwriter, arranger and record producer. A Grammy Award winner who was proficient on both the Upright bass and the guitar, as well as his own singing voice, Dixon is arguably best known as one of the most prolific songwriters...
, and "Louise" by John Lee Hooker
John Lee Hooker
John Lee Hooker was an American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist.Hooker began his life as the son of a sharecropper, William Hooker, and rose to prominence performing his own unique style of what was originally closest to Delta blues. He developed a 'talking blues' style that was his trademark...
all from his studio off of Vine Street in Los Angeles. Over a summer hiatus in 1966 Stuart Brotman effectively left Canned Heat after he had signed a contract for a long engagement in Fresno with an Armenian belly-dance revue. Canned Heat had contacted Brotman, touting a recording contract which had to be signed the next day, but Brotman was unable to make the signing on short notice. Brotman would go on to join the world-music band Kaleidoscope
Kaleidoscope (US band)
Kaleidoscope was an American psychedelic folk and ethnic band who recorded 4 albums and several singles for Epic Records between 1966 and 1970.-Formation:...
with David Lindley
David Lindley (musician)
David Perry Lindley is an American musician who is notable for his work with Jackson Browne, Warren Zevon, and other rock musicians. He has worked extensively in other genres as well, performing with artists as varied as Curtis Mayfield and Dolly Parton...
, replacing Chris Darrow. Replacing Brotman in Canned Heat was Mark Andes
Mark Andes
Mark Andes is an American musician, known for his work as a bassist with Spirit, Jo Jo Gunne, Firefall, Heart, and Mirabal.-Early life:...
, who lasted only a couple of months before he returned to his former colleagues in the Red Roosters, who adopted the new name Spirits Rebellious, later shortened to Spirit
Spirit (band)
Spirit was an American jazz/hard rock/progressive rock/psychedelic band founded in 1967, based in Los Angeles, California.- The original lineup :...
.
After joining up with managers Skip Taylor and John Hartmann
John Hartmann
-References:...
, Canned Heat finally found a permanent bassist in Larry Taylor, who joined in March 1967. He was a former member of The Moondogs and the brother of Ventures’ drummer, Mel Taylor, and already had experience backing Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis is an American rock and roll and country music singer-songwriter and pianist. An early pioneer of rock and roll music, Lewis's career faltered after he married his young cousin, and he afterwards made a career extension to country and western music. He is known by the nickname 'The...
and Chuck Berry
Chuck Berry
Charles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter, and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music. With songs such as "Maybellene" , "Roll Over Beethoven" , "Rock and Roll Music" and "Johnny B...
in concert, and recording studio sessions for The Monkees
The Monkees
The Monkees are an American pop rock group. Assembled in Los Angeles in 1966 by Robert "Bob" Rafelson and Bert Schneider for the American television series The Monkees, which aired from 1966 to 1968, the musical acting quartet was composed of Americans Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork,...
.
In this format (Hite, Wilson, Vestine, Taylor, Cook) the band started recording in April 1967 for Liberty Records
Liberty Records
Liberty Records was a United States-based record label. It was started by chairman Simon Waronker in 1955 with Al Bennett as president and Theodore Keep as chief engineer. It was reactivated in 2001 in the United Kingdom and had two previous revivals.-1950s:...
. "Rollin’ and Tumblin’" backed with "Bullfrog Blues" became Canned Heat’s first single. The first official album, Canned Heat
Canned Heat (album)
Canned Heat is the 1967 debut album by Canned Heat. It was released shortly after their appearance at the Monterey Pop Festival, and features performances of several blues covers....
, was released three months later in July 1967. All tracks were re-workings of older blues songs. The Los Angeles Free Press reported: “This group has it! They should do very well, both live and with their recordings.” Canned Heat
Canned Heat (album)
Canned Heat is the 1967 debut album by Canned Heat. It was released shortly after their appearance at the Monterey Pop Festival, and features performances of several blues covers....
fared reasonably well commercially, reaching #76 on the Billboard chart.
Rise to fame and formation of the classic lineup
The first big live appearance of Canned Heat was at the Monterey Pop FestivalMonterey Pop Festival
The Monterey International Pop Music Festival was a three-day concert event held June 16 to June 18, 1967 at the Monterey County Fairgrounds in Monterey, California...
on June 17, 1967. A picture of the band taken at the performance was featured on the cover of Down Beat
Down Beat
Down Beat is an American magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond" to indicate its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Chicago, Illinois...
Magazine where an article complimented their playing: “Technically, Vestine and Wilson are quite possibly the best two-guitar team in the world and Wilson has certainly become our finest white blues harmonica man. Together with powerhouse vocalist Bob Hite, they performed the country and Chicago blues idiom of the 1950s so skillfully and naturally that the question of which race the music belongs to becomes totally irrelevant.” D.A. Pennebaker's documentary
Monterey Pop
Monterey Pop is a 1968 concert film by D. A. Pennebaker that documents the Monterey Pop Festival of 1967. Among Pennebaker's several camera operators were fellow documentarians Richard Leacock and Albert Maysles...
captured their rendition of "Rollin and Tumblin" and two other songs from the set, "Bullfrog Blues" and "Dust My Broom
Dust My Broom
"Dust My Broom" is a blues standard originally recorded as "I Believe I'll Dust My Broom"by Robert Johnson, the Mississippi Delta blues singer and guitarist, on November 23, 1936 in San Antonio, Texas. The song was originally released on 78 rpm format as Vocalion 03475, ARC 7-04-81 and Conqueror 8871...
", found place later in a boxed CD set in 1992. Heat is also included on an album called Early LA.
Canned Heat also began to garner their notoriety as "the bad boys of rock" for being jailed in Denver, Colorado
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
after a Denver Police informant
Informant
An informant is a person who provides privileged information about a person or organization to an agency. The term is usually used within the law enforcement world, where they are officially known as confidential or criminal informants , and can often refer pejoratively to the supply of information...
provided enough evidence for their arrest for drugs (an incident recalled in their song 'My Crime'). Band manager Skip Taylor was forced to obtain the $10,000 bail by selling off Canned Heat's publishing rights to Liberty Records President Al Bennett.
After the Denver incident, Frank Cook was replaced with Fito de la Parra, who had been playing the drums in Bluesberry Jam
Bluesberry Jam
Bluesberry Jam were a blues rock band active in the 1960s. They were for a time geographically as well as chronilogically similar to Pacific Gas & Electric and Canned Heat...
(the band which evolved into Pacific Gas & Electric
Pacific Gas & Electric (band)
Pacific Gas & Electric was an American blues rock band in the late 1960s and early 1970s, led by singer Charlie Allen. Their biggest hit was "Are You Ready?"-Career:...
). As an official member of Canned Heat, de la Parra played his first gig on December 1, 1967, sharing top billing with the Doors
The Doors
The Doors were an American rock band formed in 1965 in Los Angeles, California, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, drummer John Densmore, and guitarist Robby Krieger...
at the Long Beach Auditorium. This began what Fito refers to as the classic and perhaps best known Canned Heat line-up, who together recorded some of the band's most famous and well-regarded songs. During this "classic" period, Skip Taylor and John Hartmann introduced the use of band member nicknames:
- Bob "The Bear" Hite
- Alan "Blind Owl" Wilson
- Henry "Sunflower" Vestine (and later Harvey "The Snake" Mandel)
- Larry "The Mole" Taylor
- Adolfo "Fito" de la Parra
Their second released album, Boogie with Canned Heat
Boogie with Canned Heat
Boogie with Canned Heat is the second album by Canned Heat, released in 1968. Unlike their debut, it features mostly original material. It included the top 10 hit "On the Road Again," one of their best known songs. "Amphetamine Annie," a warning about the dangers of amphetamine abuse, also...
, included "On the Road Again
On the Road Again (Canned Heat song)
"On the Road Again," a song recorded by the American blues rock group Canned Heat, was released as a single in April 1968, and appeared on their 1968 album Boogie with Canned Heat as well as the 1969 compilation The Canned Heat Cookbook...
", an updated version of a 1950's composition by Floyd Jones
Floyd Jones
Floyd Jones was an American blues singer, guitarist and songwriter, who is significant as one of the first of the new generation of electric blues artists to record in Chicago after World War II. A number of Jones' recordings are regarded as classics of the Chicago blues idiom, and his song "On...
. 'On the Road Again' became the band's break-out song and was a worldwide success, becoming a number one hit in most markets and finally put a blues song on the top charts. The album also included a twelve-minute version of "Fried Hockey Boogie", (credited to Larry Taylor, but rather obviously derived from John Lee Hooker
John Lee Hooker
John Lee Hooker was an American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist.Hooker began his life as the son of a sharecropper, William Hooker, and rose to prominence performing his own unique style of what was originally closest to Delta blues. He developed a 'talking blues' style that was his trademark...
’s "Boogie Chillen" riff) allowed each member to stretch out on his instrument while establishing them with hippie ballroom audiences across America as the “kings of the boogie”. Hite’s "Amphetamine Annie" (a tune inspired by the drug abuse of an acquaintance), became one of their most enduring songs and one of the first “anti-drug” songs of the decade. Although not featured on the album's artwork, this was the first Canned Heat Album to have featured drummer Fito de la Parra.
With this success Skip, John and new associate Gary Essert leased a Hollywood club they named the Kaleidoscope on Sunset Boulevard east of Vine in which Canned Heat essentially became the house band; hosting others such as Jefferson Airplane
Jefferson Airplane
Jefferson Airplane was an American rock band formed in San Francisco in 1965. A pioneer of the psychedelic rock movement, Jefferson Airplane was the first band from the San Francisco scene to achieve mainstream commercial and critical success....
, the Grateful Dead, Buffalo Springfield
Buffalo Springfield
Buffalo Springfield is a North American folk rock band renown both for its music and as a springboard for the careers of Neil Young, Stephen Stills, Richie Furay and Jim Messina. Among the first wave of North American bands to become popular in the wake of the British invasion, the group combined...
and Sly & The Family Stone
Sly & the Family Stone
Sly and the Family Stone were an American rock, funk, and soul band from San Francisco, California. Active from 1966 to 1983, the band was pivotal in the development of soul, funk, and psychedelic music...
. Also in 1968, after playing before 80,000 at the first annual Newport Pop Festival in September, Canned Heat left for their first European tour. It entailed a month of concert performances and media engagements that included TV appearances on the British show Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. After 25 December 2006 it became a radio program, now hosted by Tony Blackburn...
. They also appeared on the German program Beat Club, where they lip-synched "On the Road Again" as it rose to #1 in both countries and practically in all of Europe.
"Going Up The Country" and Woodstock
In October the band released their third album, Living the BluesLiving the Blues
Living the Blues is the third album by Canned Heat, a double album released in 1968. It was one of the first double albums to place well on album charts. It features Canned Heat's signature song, "Going Up the Country," which would later be used in the Woodstock film. John Mayall appears on...
, which included their best known song, "Going Up the Country
Going Up the Country
"Going Up the Country" is a song performed by the American blues-rock group Canned Heat. It appeared on their album Living the Blues and was also released as a single, reaching #11 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, #19 on UK Singles Chart and number one in 25 other countries...
". Alan Wilson's incarnation of Henry Thomas
Henry Thomas (blues musician)
Henry Thomas was an American pre-World War II country blues singer, songster and musician. He was often billed as "Ragtime Texas".-Life and career:Thomas was born in Big Sandy, Texas, United States....
’s "Bull-doze Blues" was almost a note-for-note copy of the original, down to Thomas's instrumental break on the quills which Jim Horn
Jim Horn
Jim Horn is an American saxophonist and woodwind player. He was born in Los Angeles, and after replacing saxophonist Steve Douglas in 1959, he toured with member Duane Eddy for five years, playing sax and flute on the road, and in the recording studio...
duplicated on flute. Wilson rewrote the lyrics with a simple message that caught the “back-to-nature” attitude of the late ‘60s. The song went to #1 in 25 countries around the world (#11 on the U.S national chart) and would go on to become the unofficial theme song of the Woodstock Festival
Woodstock Festival
Woodstock Music & Art Fair was a music festival, billed as "An Aquarian Exposition: 3 Days of Peace & Music". It was held at Max Yasgur's 600-acre dairy farm in the Catskills near the hamlet of White Lake in the town of Bethel, New York, from August 15 to August 18, 1969...
as captured in Michael Wadleigh's
Michael Wadleigh
Michael Wadleigh is an American movie director and cinematographer renowned for his groundbreaking documentary of the 1969 Woodstock Festival, Woodstock....
1970 documentary
Woodstock (film)
Woodstock is a 1970 American documentary on the Woodstock Festival that took place in August 1969 at Bethel in New York. Entertainment Weekly called this film the benchmark of concert movies and one of the most entertaining documentaries ever made...
. The album also included a 19-minute experimental track "Parthenogenesis", which was a nine-part sound collage of blues, ragas, jaw-harp sounds, guitar distortion and other electronic effects; all pulled together under the direction of manager/producer, Skip Taylor. Longer still is 'Refried Boogie' clocking in at over 40 minutes, recorded live at the Kaleidoscope.
Also recorded live at the Kaleidoscope around this time was the album which would find later 1971 release with the deceptive title, Live At Topanga Corral
Live At Topanga Corral
Live at Topanga Corral is a 1971 live album by Canned Heat. The album is taken from a 1969 concert at the Kaleidoscope in Hollywood, California and not at the Topanga Corral as the title suggests...
(later renamed Live at the Kaleidoscope), under Wand Records
Wand Records
Wand Records was started by Florence Greenberg in 1961 as a subsidiary of Scepter Records. In 1976 Florence Greenberg decided to retire from the business and sold her record labels to Springboard International. When Springboard went bankrupt, Gusto Records acquired the catalog.Artists on Wand...
; as Liberty Records didn’t want to release a live album at the time and manager Skip Taylor did not want a lawsuit. The band would end 1968 in a big way at a New Year's show in L.A.'s Shrine Auditorium
Shrine Auditorium
The Shrine Auditorium is a landmark large-event venue, in Los Angeles, California, USA. It is also the headquarters of the Al Malaikah Temple, a division of the Shriners.-History:...
with Bob Hite riding a painted purple dayglo elephant to the stage.
In July, 1969, just prior to Woodstock, Hallelujah
Hallelujah (album)
Hallelujah is the fourth album by Canned Heat, released in 1969. It was re-released on CD in 2001 by MAM productions with four bonus tracks.-Track listing:#"Same All Over" – 2:51#"Change My Ways" – 2:47...
, their fourth album was released. The Melody Maker
Melody Maker
Melody Maker, published in the United Kingdom, was, according to its publisher IPC Media, the world's oldest weekly music newspaper. It was founded in 1926 as a magazine targeted at musicians; in 2000 it was merged into "long-standing rival" New Musical Express.-1950s–1960s:Originally the Melody...
wrote: “While less ambitious than some of their work, this is nonetheless an excellent blues-based album and they remain the most convincing of the white electric blues groups.” The album contained mainly original compositions with lyrics relating to the band such as Alan Wilson's 'Time Was' and a few re-worked covers like 'Sic 'em Pigs' (Bukka White's
Bukka White
Booker T. Washington White , better known as Bukka White, was an American Delta blues guitarist and singer. "Bukka" was not a nickname, but a phonetic misspelling of White's given name Booker, by his second record label .-Biography:Born between Aberdeen and Houston, Mississippi, White was the...
'Sic 'em Dogs') and the original Canned Heat by Tommy Johnson.
Within days of the album's release, Henry Vestine left the group after an on-stage blow up at the Fillmore West
Fillmore West
The Fillmore West was an historic music venue in San Francisco, California made famous by concert promoter Bill Graham. Named after Graham's original "Fillmore" location at the intersection of Fillmore Street and Geary Boulevard, it stood at Market Street and South Van Ness Avenue and was formerly...
between himself and Larry Taylor. The next night after Mike Bloomfield
Mike Bloomfield
Michael Bernard "Mike" Bloomfield was an American musician, guitarist, and composer, born in Chicago, Illinois, who became one of the first popular music superstars of the 1960s to earn his reputation almost entirely on his instrumental prowess, since he rarely sang before 1969–70...
and Harvey Mandel jammed with Canned Heat, both were offered Vestine's spot in the band's line-up and Mandel accepted. The new lineup played two dates at the Fillmore before appearing at Woodstock
Woodstock Festival
Woodstock Music & Art Fair was a music festival, billed as "An Aquarian Exposition: 3 Days of Peace & Music". It was held at Max Yasgur's 600-acre dairy farm in the Catskills near the hamlet of White Lake in the town of Bethel, New York, from August 15 to August 18, 1969...
in mid-August.
Arriving via helicopter at Woodstock, Canned Heat played their most famous set on the second day of the festival at sunset. The set included "Going Up the Country" which became the title track in the documentary
Woodstock (film)
Woodstock is a 1970 American documentary on the Woodstock Festival that took place in August 1969 at Bethel in New York. Entertainment Weekly called this film the benchmark of concert movies and one of the most entertaining documentaries ever made...
, even though the band's performance was not shown. The song was included in the first (triple) Woodstock album; while the second album, Woodstock 2
Woodstock 2
Woodstock 2 is the second live album released of the 1969 Woodstock Festival concert. The 2-LP set contains more material from many acts featured on the first Woodstock album with additional performances from Mountain and Melanie....
, contained "Woodstock Boogie". The expanded 25th Anniversary Collection added "Leaving This Town" to the band’s collection of Woodstock performances and "A Change Is Gonna Come" was included on the director's cut of the documentary film; leaving only "Let's Work Together" to be released.
Future Blues (Canned Heat album)
Future Blues is the fifth album by Canned Heat, released in 1970. It was the last to feature original member and songwriter Alan Wilson. Their cover of "Let's Work Together" by Wilbert Harrison became a hit. "London Blues" features Dr. John...
, an album containing five original compositions and three covers. A Wilbert Harrison
Wilbert Harrison
Wilbert Harrison was an American rhythm and blues singer, pianist, guitarist and harmonica player.Born in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States, Harrison had a Billboard #1 record in 1959 with the song "Kansas City". The song was written in 1952 and was one of the first credited collaborations...
song Let's Work Together
Let's Work Together
"Let's Stick Together" or "Let's Work Together" as it was subsequently titled, is a blues song written by Wilbert Harrison, which was released in 1962...
was the single chosen for release in Europe to coincide with the tour. At the band's insistence the US release was delayed in order to offer the author's version a chance in the market first. Canned Heat had a big hit with "Let's Work Together" and was the bands only top ten hit to feature the vocals of Bob "The Bear" Hite. The album featured piano by Dr. John
Dr. John
Malcolm John "Mac" Rebennack, Jr. , better known by the stage name Dr. John , is an American singer-songwriter, pianist and guitarist, whose music combines blues, pop, jazz as well as Zydeco, boogie woogie and rock and roll.Active as a session musician since the late 1950s, he came to wider...
and an atypical jump blues style also. Some controversy was sparked by the moon landing
Moon landing
A moon landing is the arrival of a spacecraft on the surface of the Moon. This includes both manned and unmanned missions. The first human-made object to reach the surface of the Moon was the Soviet Union's Luna 2 mission on 13 September 1959. The United States's Apollo 11 was the first manned...
/Iwo Jima
Iwo Jima
Iwo Jima, officially , is an island of the Japanese Volcano Islands chain, which lie south of the Ogasawara Islands and together with them form the Ogasawara Archipelago. The island is located south of mainland Tokyo and administered as part of Ogasawara, one of eight villages of Tokyo...
album cover and the upside down American flag. The upside down flag was Alan Wilson's idea and was a response to his love of nature, growing environmentalism and concern that humankind would soon be polluting the moon as well as the Earth (as reflected in his song "Poor Moon").
Material from their 1970 European tour provided the tracks for, Canned Heat '70 Concert Live In Europe
Canned Heat '70 Concert Live In Europe
Canned Heat '70 Concert Live In Europe is a 1970 live album by Canned Heat. The album is taken from various locations on live concert European tour right before Alan Wilson’s death and is the band's first officially released live album.-Track listing:...
, later retitled Live In Europe. It was a live album that combined tracks from different shows throughout the tour, but was put together in such a way as to resemble one continuous concert for the listener. Although the album garnered some critical acclaim and did well in the UK (peaking at #15), it had only limited commercial success in the U.S.; Returning from Europe in May 1970, an exhausted Larry Taylor left the band to join John Mayall
John Mayall
John Mayall, OBE is an English blues singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, whose musical career spans over fifty years...
(who had relocated to Laurel Canyon
Laurel Canyon, Los Angeles, California
Laurel Canyon is a canyon neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It was first developed in the 1910s, and became a part of the city of Los Angeles in 1923 ....
) and was followed by Harvey Mandel.
Hooker N' Heat and the death of Alan Wilson
With Taylor and Mandel gone, Henry Vestine returned on guitar, accompanied by bassist Antonio de la Barreda who had played with Fito de la Parra for five years in Mexico City and was previously a member of the groups Jerome and Sam & The Goodtimers.This lineup went into the studio to record with John Lee Hooker
John Lee Hooker
John Lee Hooker was an American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist.Hooker began his life as the son of a sharecropper, William Hooker, and rose to prominence performing his own unique style of what was originally closest to Delta blues. He developed a 'talking blues' style that was his trademark...
the tracks that would yield the double album, Hooker 'N Heat . The band had originally met Hooker at the airport in Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
and discovered they were fans of each other's work. Hooker and Canned Heat became good friends and Hooker had stated that Wilson was "the greatest harmonica player ever". The planned format for the sessions called for Hooker to perform a few songs by himself, followed by some duets with Alan Wilson playing piano or guitar. The rest of the album featured Hooker with some backing by the group (sans Bob Hite, who co-produced the album along with Skip Taylor). The album was finished after Wilson’s passing and became the first album in Hooker's career to make the charts, topping out at #73 in February 1971. Hooker N' Heat would unite again in 1978 and record a live album at L.A.'s Fox Venice Theatre, released in 1981 as, Hooker'n'Heat, live at the Fox Venice Theatre, under Rhino Records. Also in 1989 Canned Heat (and many others) guested on John Lee Hooker's album The Healer
The Healer (album)
The Healer is a blues album by John Lee Hooker, released in 1989. The album features collaborations with Bonnie Raitt, Charlie Musselwhite, Los Lobos and Carlos Santana, among others. The Healer peaked at number 62 on the Billboard 200 and won a Grammy award.-Track listing:All songs were written by...
.
Shortly after the original Hooker N' Heat sessions, the eccentric Alan "Blind Owl" Wilson, who had always suffered from depression, was said by some to have attempted suicide by driving his van off the road near Bob Hite's home in Topanga Canyon. Unlike other members of the band, Wilson did not have much success with women and was deeply upset and frustrated by this. His depression also worsened with his increasing environmental concern over the deteriorating health of the earth; all themes which were often reflected in his lyrics. On September 3, 1970, just prior to leaving for a festival in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, the band was shattered when they learned of Alan Wilson's death by barbiturate
Barbiturate
Barbiturates are drugs that act as central nervous system depressants, and can therefore produce a wide spectrum of effects, from mild sedation to total anesthesia. They are also effective as anxiolytics, as hypnotics, and as anticonvulsants...
overdose; found on a hillside behind Bob Hite’s Topanga home. Believed by Fito de la Parra and other members of the band to have been a suicide, Wilson died at the age of 27, just weeks before the deaths of Janis Joplin
Janis Joplin
Janis Lyn Joplin was an American singer, songwriter, painter, dancer and music arranger. She rose to prominence in the late 1960s as the lead singer of Big Brother and the Holding Company and later as a solo artist with her backing groups, The Kozmic Blues Band and The Full Tilt Boogie Band...
and Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
.
Historical Figures, New Age and Human Condition line-ups
Joel Scott Hill, who had previously played with The Strangers and later Moby GrapeMoby Grape
Moby Grape is an American rock group from the 1960s, known for having all five members contribute to singing and songwriting and that collectively merged elements of folk music, blues, country, and jazz together with rock and psychedelic music...
was recruited to fill the void left by Alan Wilson's death. The band still had a touring contract for September, as well as upcoming studio dates. That fall they toured Australia and Europe; including a show played in Baarn, Holland
Baarn
Baarn is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of Utrecht.-The municipality Baarn :The municipality of Baarn consists of the following towns: Baarn, Eembrugge, Lage Vuursche.- The town Baarn :...
for the VPRO television program Piknik and the following summer they appeared at the Turku
Turku
Turku is a city situated on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River. It is located in the region of Finland Proper. It is believed that Turku came into existence during the end of the 13th century which makes it the oldest city in Finland...
Festival in Finland. These performances were recorded, but were not released until much later with the albums, Live at Turku Rock Festival in 1995, and Under the Dutch Skies 1970 - 74 in 2007 (which encompassed three separate tours). At the end of 1971 a new studio album, Historical Figures and Ancient Heads
Historical Figures and Ancient Heads
Historical Figures and Ancient Heads is the sixth album by Canned Heat, released in 1971. It was the first album not to feature original member and songwriter Alan Wilson who had died the previous year. Featuring new guitarman Joel Scott Hill and Little Richard on “Rockin’ WIth The King”...
, was released. The album included Bob Hite’s vocal duet with Little Richard
Little Richard
Richard Wayne Penniman , known by the stage name Little Richard, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, recording artist, and actor, considered key in the transition from rhythm and blues to rock and roll in the 1950s. He was also the first artist to put the funk in the rock and roll beat and...
on the Skip Taylor written track, "Rockin’ with the King" featuring the guitar playing of both Henry Vestine and Joel Scott Hill.
This line-up of Hite, Vestine, Scott-Hill, de la Barreda and de la Parra did not last, as the band was in disarray; Scott-Hill and de la Barreda's attitudes were not fitting in with the rest of the band, and drummer de la Parra decided to call it quits. He was talked out of it by Bob Hite, and it was Scott-Hill and de la Barreda who left the band instead.
New additions to the group were James Shane on rhythm guitar and vocals, Ed Beyer on keyboards, and Bob Hite's brother Richard Hite on bass. This "New Age" line-up recorded what would become the last album for Liberty/United Artists Records
United Artists Records
United Artists Records was a record label founded by Max E. Youngstein of United Artists in 1957 initially to distribute records of its movie soundtracks, though it soon branched out into recording music of a number of different genres.-History:...
, The New Age
The New Age (album)
The New Age is the seventh studio album by Canned Heat, released in 1973. It was the first album to feature the talents of James Shane and Ed Beyer. Clara Ward also appears on the album in her very last recording...
, released in 1973. This album featured the popular biker themed anthem written by James Shane, entitled "The Harley-Davidson Blues". The era of the late-sixties was changing; but nonetheless the band embarked on another European Tour, in which they recorded a session with Memphis Slim
Memphis Slim
Memphis Slim was an American blues pianist, singer, and composer. He led a series of bands that, reflecting the popular appeal of jump blues, included saxophones, bass, drums, and piano. A song he first cut in 1947, "Every Day I Have the Blues", has become a blues standard, recorded by many other...
in Paris, France for the album, Memphis Heat. They also recorded with Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, while still in Paris, for the album, Gates On The Heat (both were released by Blue Star Records). Footage from this era can be seen on the DVD release of Canned Heat Live at Montreux released in 2004.
Met with hard times, Fito de la Parra writes that the band resorted to importing drugs from Mexico to make ends meet between shows. Over US$30,000 in debt, manager Skip Taylor advised the band to sign away their future royalties to their previous Liberty/United Artists material and jump to Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
. After a bad introduction to Atlantic Records, which included a brawl between Hite and Vestine over a vending machine, the band released the album, One More River To Cross
One More River To Cross (album)
One More River To Cross is the eighth studio album by Canned Heat, released in 1973. The band negotiated out of their contract with Liberty Records and debuted with Atlantic Records. This album featured horn arrangements played by the Muscle Shoal Horns along with Barry Beckett and Roger Hawkins...
in 1974. Produced by Roger Hawkins
Roger Hawkins
Roger G Hawkins , is an American drummer best known for playing as part of the studio backing band known as The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section of Alabama...
and Barry Beckett
Barry Beckett
Barry Edward Beckett was a keyboardist who worked as a session musician with several notable artists on their studio albums...
this album had a different sound and featured the Muscle Shoal Horns
Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section
The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, also known as The Swampers, are a group of American soul, R&B, and country studio musicians based in the town of Muscle Shoals, Alabama...
.
On a subsequent promotional tour of Europe, this new "Horn Band" sound included the talents of Clifford Solomon and Jock Ellis. Absent from Canned Heat at this time, after growing ever more distant, was long time manager Skip Taylor, who had left after the band joined Atlantic. Atlantic producer Tom Dowd
Tom Dowd
Tom Dowd was an American recording engineer and producer for Atlantic Records. He was credited with innovating the multi-track recording method. Dowd worked on a virtual "who's who" of recordings that encompassed blues, jazz, pop, rock and soul records.- Early years :Born in Manhattan, Dowd grew...
tried to get one more album out of Canned Heat, but drugs and heavy drinking had taken their toll. Even though an album was recorded in 1974 (featuring some collaboration from former member Harvey Mandel); Atlantic had ended their relationship with Canned Heat before it could be released and The Ties That Bind, did not see the light of day until decades later in 1997.
Shortly thereafter, new manager Howard Wolf, set up the struggling band with a gig at California's Mammoth Ski Resort
Mammoth Mountain Ski Area
Mammoth Mountain Ski Area is a large ski resort located in Eastern California, along the east side of the Sierra Nevada mountain range in the Inyo National Forest.- Description :...
. Bob Hite, in a foul rage, went off on the crowd; much to the disapproval of Henry Vestine, James Shane and Ed Beyer, who quit the band as a result.
Taking the place of those who departed were pianist Gene Taylor
Gene Taylor
Gary Eugene "Gene" Taylor is the former U.S. Representative for , serving from 1989 until 2011. He was defeated for re-election in 2010 by State Rep. Steven Palazzo, who gained 52% of the vote compared to Taylor's 47%. He left office in January 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party...
and guitarist Chris Morgan. Taylor, however, quickly departed in response to an argument during a tour of Germany, and after a brief fill-in by Stan Webb
Stan Webb
Stan Webb is the frontman and lead guitarist with the blues band, Chicken Shack.-Career:...
(of Chicken Shack
Chicken Shack
Chicken Shack are a British blues band, founded in the mid-1960s by Stan Webb , Andy Silvester , and Alan Morley , who were later joined by Christine Perfect in 1968.-Career:...
), Mark Skyer came in as the new guitar player. In the meantime the band had worked out a deal with Takoma Records
Takoma Records
Takoma Records was a small but influential record label founded by John Fahey in the late 1950s.. It was named after Fahey's hometown, the Washington, D.C. suburb of Takoma Park, Maryland.-History:...
and this "Human Condition/Takoma" line-up recorded the 1977 album, Human Condition. Despite the appearance of the Chambers Brothers on the album, it was met with very little success; largely due to the growing popularity of Disco music in the late 70s. Before long, more arguments ensued and Mark Skyer, Chris Morgan and Richard Hite all quit the band. The Bear promptly hired a new bass player named Richard Exley after befriending him on tour and watching his performance with the band "Montana". Becoming fast friends with Hite, Exley toured the remainder of the year with the band and collaborated with Bob on many of the arrangements during their 1976 Texas Bicentennial Comeback Tour that same summer. Richard then quit the band after an argument over Hite's excessive drinking and drug use on stage. Frustrated and fed-up, Exley joined The Texas Heartbreakers at the end of that same year but still returned periodically to fill in as a favor to Hite while the band struggled to find permanent members amidst heavy drinking and drug use. This effectively reduced the band's members to just The Bear and Fito.
Burger brothers revival and the death of Bob Hite
The popularity of the blues genre rose in the late 70s and early 80s with the release of The Blues BrothersThe Blues Brothers
The Blues Brothers are an American blues and soul revivalist band founded in 1978 by comedy actors Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi as part of a musical sketch on Saturday Night Live...
movie starring Dan Aykroyd
Dan Aykroyd
Daniel Edward "Dan" Aykroyd, CM is a Canadian comedian, actor, screenwriter, musician, winemaker and ufologist. He was an original cast member of Saturday Night Live, an originator of The Blues Brothers and Ghostbusters and has had a long career as a film actor and screenwriter.-Early...
and John Belushi
John Belushi
John Adam Belushi was an American comedian, actor, and musician, best known as one of the original cast members of the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live, The Star of the Films National Lampoon's Animal House and the The Blues Brothers and for fronting the American blues and soul...
. During this time Canned Heat drummer Fito de la Parra had bought into the partnership of an East Hollywood recording studio at which he was again working with former bandmate Larry "The Mole" Taylor. Taylor had been associating with virtuoso guitar player Mike "Hollywood Fats" Mann
Hollywood Fats
Hollywood Fats was an American blues guitarist, active in Los Angeles, California.-Biography:Hollywood Fats was born Michael Leonard Mann in Los Angeles, and started playing guitar at the age of 10...
and virtuoso piano player Ronnie Barron
Ronnie Barron
Ronnie Barron was an American actor, keyboardist, organist, and white soul singer during the 1970s. He was known for his work as a session musician for several artists, as well as his collaborations with Dr...
and before long Taylor, Barron and Hollywood Fats were in the band. This version referred to by Hite and Mann as the "Burger Brothers" lineup, was soon joined by blind piano player Jay Spell, as Ronnie Barron walked out on the band after a blow-up between himself and The Mole.
The Burger Brothers played the 10th Anniversary of Woodstock at Parr Meadows in 1979. A recording of the performance eventually surfaced through King Biscuit Flower Hour's
King Biscuit Flower Hour
The King Biscuit Flower Hour was a syndicated radio show presented by the D.I.R. Radio Network that featured concert performances by various rock artists.-History:...
Barry Ehrmann as, Canned Heat In Concert, in 1995 (de la Parra considers this to be Canned Heat's best recorded live album). Another recording made around this time was for Cream Records
Cream Records
Cream Records is a record label started by Alvin Bennett in 1968, after he sold Liberty Records to Transamerica Corporation. In 1977, it acquired Hi Records from Willie Mitchell...
, who desired a more R&B-style sound than what Canned Heat was currently offering. This upset Hollywood Fats and Mike Halby was brought in to finish the project; which would not find commercial release until 1981 when former band member Tony de la Barreda put it out under RCA
RCA
RCA Corporation, founded as the Radio Corporation of America, was an American electronics company in existence from 1919 to 1986. The RCA trademark is currently owned by the French conglomerate Technicolor SA through RCA Trademark Management S.A., a company owned by Technicolor...
as a tribute album called, In Memory Of Bob "The Bear" Hite 1943-1981 - "Don't Forget To Boogie". After a falling out with de la Parra and Hite, Taylor and Mann were increasingly unhappy with the musical direction of the band and eventually left to focus more attention on their Hollywood Fats Band. Nevertheless, Jay Spell was still on board and brought in bass player Jon Lamb; Mike Halby was now a full time member and long time guitarist Henry Vestine once again made his return to Canned Heat, with The Bear and Fito as its leaders.
No longer managed by Howard Wolf, Eddie Haddad set the band up touring military bases across the U.S., Europe and Japan non-stop. Returning with little pay after the hellacious tour, Jay Spell quit the band. Jon Lamb stayed on for one more tour in the south and just before Christmas 1980 (and lacking the outlaw roots of the others), he too quit the band; but by then even The Bear was starting to lose it. He had attempted to give it another try by hiring a large enthusiastic biker with the moniker "The Push" as their manager; hoping that the band's popularity with the biker community would give them renewed energy. With new bass player Ernie Rodriguez joining the ranks, Canned Heat recorded the 1981 album, Kings of the Boogie, the last album to feature Hite on a few of the tracks.
On April 5, 1981, having collapsed from a heroin overdose during a show at the Palomino
Palomino Club (North Hollywood)
The Palomino Club was a music venue in North Hollywood, called "Country Music's most important West Coast club" by the Los Angeles Times. It featured such performers as Johnny Cash, Linda Ronstadt, Buck Owens, Patsy Cline, Delaney Bramlett, The Flying Burrito Brothers, Johnny Carver, Hoyt Axton,...
in Los Angeles, Bob Hite was later found dead in de la Parra's Mar Vista home at the age of 38.
Later history and the death of Henry Vestine
The death of frontman Bob "The Bear" Hite was a devastating blow that most thought would end the career of Canned Heat; however Fito de la Parra kept the band alive and would lead it back into prosperity over the next few decades. An Australian tour had been set up before The Bear's death and harmonica player Rick Kellog had joined to finish off the Kings of the Boogie album. This first incarnation of Canned Heat without Bob Hite was nicknamed the "Mouth Band" by Henry Vestine and was a huge hit in Australia, especially with the biker crowd. Under the management of "The Push", the band toured the States playing biker bars and began work on a video known as, "The Boogie Assault", starring Canned Heat and various members of the San Francisco chapter of the Hells AngelsHells Angels
The Hells Angels Motorcycle Club is a worldwide one-percenter motorcycle gang and organized crime syndicate whose members typically ride Harley-Davidson motorcycles. In the United States and Canada, the Hells Angels are incorporated as the Hells Angels Motorcycle Corporation. Their primary motto...
.
As production for "The Push's" video dragged on, a drunken Henry Vestine got into a brawl with Ernie Rodriguez and was once again out of the band; this time replaced by talented guitarist Walter Trout
Walter Trout
Walter Trout is an American blues guitarist, singer and songwriter.-Biography:Trout's career began on the Jersey coast scene of the late 1960s and early 1970s. He then decided to relocate to Los Angeles where he became a sideman for Percy Mayfield and Deacon Jones...
. After a tour with John Mayall, as the production for "The Boogie Assault" continued on, Fito was forced to fire "The Push" as the band's manager; but did eventually finish the video and a live Album of the same name recorded in Australia in 1982 (also re-released as Live In Australia and Live In Oz). This version of Canned Heat would also soon dissolve with a dispute between Mike Halby and de la Parra after the recording of the Heat Brothers '84 EP.
During the 1980s the interest in the type of music played by Canned Heat was revived and, despite the past tragedies and permanent instability, the band appeared to be revitalized. In 1985 Trout had left to join John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, so Henry Vestine was once again back in the band and he brought with him new musical talent from Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
in James Thornbury (slide guitar and lead vocals) and Skip Jones (Bass). They were dubbed the "Nuts and Berries" band by Fito, due to their love of organic food. It wasn't long before former members Larry Taylor (replacing Jones) and Ronnie Barron returned to round out the group. Versions of this lineup would record the live album, Boogie Up The Country, in Kassel, Germany in 1987 and also appear on the, Blues Festival Live in Bonn '87 Vol 2, compilation. Barron, just as before did not last long in this lineup, nor did Vestine, who was once again ousted from the band due to pressure from Larry Taylor. Replacing Vestine on lead guitar was Junior Watson
Junior Watson
Junior Watson is an American jump blues guitarist and singer.-Career:Watson is regarded as an influential West Coast blues player. He was a founding member of the blues band The Mighty Flyers and, starting in the early 1980s, he performed with the band for a decade. He also performed with Canned...
; his style emulated Hollywood Fats (who died in late 1986) and was perfectly suited for the band as witnessed by the well-regarded album, Reheated
Reheated
Reheated is an album by Canned Heat, released in 1988. Just two members of the classic lineup, Fito de la Parra and Larry Taylor, are present on this album. The new members are accomplished musicians who have been able to revamp the music played without straying from the original spirit of the band...
. Unfortunately the album was released only in Germany in 1988 due to disagreements with the Chameleon Music Group Record label. In 1990, the "Would-Be" lineup of James T, Taylor, Watson and de la Parra also recorded a sequel live album in Australia entitled Burnin' Live.
The lineup dissolved in the early 1990s as Junior Watson went his own way and Harvey Mandel came back into the fold, bringing along Ron Shumake on bass to take some of the load off of Larry Taylor. Mandel, however, left the band after a few tours, so female singer and guitarist Becky Barksdale was brought in for a tour of France, Germany and Hawaii; but lasted no longer. Smokey Hormel was also considered, but only played one gig before friction between Fito and Larry Taylor caused Taylor to bitterly go his separate way with Hormel in tow.
The revolving door that was Canned Heat continued as Vestine and Watson made their returns to the lineup as the "Heavy Artillery" band. Several former members including Mandel, Barron and Taylor joined up in de la Parra's effort for the album, Internal Combustion, which was released in 1994, but saw only limited release due to the returning manager Skip Taylor's falling out with Red River Records. In 1995 James Thornbury left the band with no hard feelings after 10 years of service to live the married life in New South Wales, Australia and new front-man Robert Lucas came in to take his place. Greg Kage took the reins as the bass player and after a reconciliation with Larry Taylor the band released, Canned Heat Blues Band, in 1996. On October 20, 1997, a tired and cancer stricken Henry Vestine died in Paris, France following the final gig of a European tour.
Canned Heat today
Canned Heat's popularity has endured in some European countries and Australia. In Belgium they have a particularly devoted following thanks in great part to Walter de Paduwa, aka Dr. Boogie, considered by the band as their "official historian". He has assisted Fito de la Parra in compiling and producing, The Boogie House Tapes Vol. 1 in 2000, The Boogie House Tapes Vol. 2 in 2004, and Dr. Boogie Presents Rarities from the Bob Hite Vaults in 2008; all collected from unreleased and rare Canned Heat recordings. Dr. Boogie's weekly Sunday evening radio show on Radio Classic 21, has for over a decade invariably started with a Canned Heat song.Canned Heat’s recent studio albums include Boogie 2000 (1999), and Friends In The Can (2003), which features various guests including John Lee Hooker
John Lee Hooker
John Lee Hooker was an American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist.Hooker began his life as the son of a sharecropper, William Hooker, and rose to prominence performing his own unique style of what was originally closest to Delta blues. He developed a 'talking blues' style that was his trademark...
, Taj Mahal
Taj Mahal (musician)
Henry Saint Clair Fredericks , who uses the stage name Taj Mahal, is an American Grammy Award winning blues musician. He incorporates elements of world music into his music...
, Walter Trout
Walter Trout
Walter Trout is an American blues guitarist, singer and songwriter.-Biography:Trout's career began on the Jersey coast scene of the late 1960s and early 1970s. He then decided to relocate to Los Angeles where he became a sideman for Percy Mayfield and Deacon Jones...
, Corey Stevens
Corey Stevens
-Biography:Stevens began playing guitar at age 11 and moved to Los Angeles after graduating from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale to pursue a career in the music business. Stevens worked as a school teacher for the Los Angeles Unified School District for ten years before signing a...
, Roy Rogers
Roy Rogers
Roy Rogers, born Leonard Franklin Slye , was an American singer and cowboy actor, one of the most heavily marketed and merchandised stars of his era, as well as being the namesake of the Roy Rogers Restaurants franchised chain...
, Harvey Mandel, Larry Taylor
Larry Taylor
Larry Taylor is an American bass guitarist, best known for his work as a member of Canned Heat from 1967. Before joining Canned Heat he had been a session bassist for The Monkees and Jerry Lee Lewis...
and Henry Vestine
Henry Vestine
Henry Charles Vestine a.k.a. "The Sunflower", was an American guitar player known mainly as a member of the band Canned Heat. He was with the group from its start in 1966 to July 1969...
. Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
and Dr. John
Dr. John
Malcolm John "Mac" Rebennack, Jr. , better known by the stage name Dr. John , is an American singer-songwriter, pianist and guitarist, whose music combines blues, pop, jazz as well as Zydeco, boogie woogie and rock and roll.Active as a session musician since the late 1950s, he came to wider...
made guest appearances on the Christmas Album (2007). In July 2007, a documentary, Boogie with Canned Heat: The Canned Heat Story, was released, as was music historian Rebecca Davis Winters' biography of Alan Wilson, "Blind Owl Blues".
By the year 2000 Robert Lucas had departed and the lineup was completed by John Paulus, Dallas Hodge (guitar) and Stanley Behrens (sax, flute). Lucas returned to Canned Heat in late 2005 but left again in the fall of 2008. He died November 23, 2008 at a friend’s home in Long Beach, Calif, aged 46; the cause was an apparent drug overdose. Other more recent deaths of band members included Bob Hite's brother, bassist Richard Hite, who died at the age of 50 on September 22, 2001 due to complications with cancer. Also former bassist Antonio De La Barreda died of a heart attack on February 19, 2009.
From late 2008 to the Spring of 2010 did the lineup include Dale Spalding (guitar, harmonica and vocals), Barry Levenson (lead guitar), Greg Kage (bass), and classic lineup hold-over and band leader Adolfo "Fito" de la Parra on drums. Harvey Mandel and Larry Taylor toured with Canned Heat during the summer of 2009 on the Heroes of Woodstock Tour
Heroes of Woodstock Tour
The Heroes of Woodstock Tour was a North American concert tour celebrating the 40th anniversary of the 1969 Woodstock Festival. The tour features several bands, most of which performed at the original Woodstock festival or feature members that performed at the festival...
to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Woodstock.
In 2010 Taylor and Mandel officially replaced Kage and Levenson. The current touring band thus consists of Dale Spalding, "Fito" de la Parra, Larry Taylor and Harvey Mandel.
Collaborations
Canned Heat have collaborated with many blues artists, recording and helping them to regain some notoriety. Among them notable names are:- John Lee HookerJohn Lee HookerJohn Lee Hooker was an American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist.Hooker began his life as the son of a sharecropper, William Hooker, and rose to prominence performing his own unique style of what was originally closest to Delta blues. He developed a 'talking blues' style that was his trademark...
: in 1971 Canned Heat backed John Lee Hooker on the album Hooker'n'Heat. In 1978 a joint performance was recorded live and released as Hooker'n'Heat, live at the Fox Venice Theatre (1981). In 1989 Canned Heat (and many others) guested on John Lee Hooker's album The Healer. - Sunnyland SlimSunnyland SlimAlbert "Sunnyland Slim" Luandrew was an American blues pianist, who was born in the Mississippi Delta, and later moved to Chicago, Illinois, to contribute to that city's post-war scene as a center for blues music...
: in the spring of 1968, Al Wilson, Bob Hite, and Fito de la Parra took a cab whose driver turned out to be Sunnyland Slim. Bob and Alan convinced him to go in the studio again and cut an album for a sublabel of Liberty Records. The album, Slim’s Got His Thing Goin’ On featured tracks with Slim fronting Canned Heat and Hite acted as co-producer. Slim thanked them by playing the piano on "Turpentine Moan" for the album Boogie with Canned HeatBoogie with Canned HeatBoogie with Canned Heat is the second album by Canned Heat, released in 1968. Unlike their debut, it features mostly original material. It included the top 10 hit "On the Road Again," one of their best known songs. "Amphetamine Annie," a warning about the dangers of amphetamine abuse, also...
. - Memphis SlimMemphis SlimMemphis Slim was an American blues pianist, singer, and composer. He led a series of bands that, reflecting the popular appeal of jump blues, included saxophones, bass, drums, and piano. A song he first cut in 1947, "Every Day I Have the Blues", has become a blues standard, recorded by many other...
: in Paris, on September 18, 1970 Canned Heat went into the studio at the request of French music producer Phillipe Rault to record with Memphis Slim. Three years later and after an overdubbing session with the Memphis Horns of StaxStaxStax can refer to:* StAX, Streaming API for XML. An API for reading and writing XML in Java.* Stax Earspeakers, a Japanese brand of electrostatic earspeakers* Stax Records, an American record company...
Records fame, Memphis Heat was finally released on the French label, Barclay (and was re-released in 2006 on Sunnyside Recordings). - Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown: in 1973 Canned Heat went again in France to record for Rault, this time with Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown. The sessions did not work out as planned but the album was released as Gate’s on the Heat and another track appeared in 1975 on his album Down South in the Bayou Country. Later they joined him for a set at the Montreux Jazz FestivalMontreux Jazz FestivalThe Montreux Jazz Festival is the best-known music festival in Switzerland and one of the most prestigious in Europe; it is held annually in early July in Montreux on the shores of Lake Geneva...
. A DVD of the performance was released. - Javier Batiz: during the summer of 1969 Fito de La Parra arranged in LA a recording session for Mexican R&B star Javier Batiz with whom he had played before moving north and joining Canned Heat. His fellow band mate Larry Taylor took part in the project and also three musicians who in later years would join the band: Tony de la Barreda (bass), Ernest Lane (piano) and Clifford Solomon (sax). The recording was released some 30 years later as The USA Sessions.
- Albert CollinsAlbert CollinsAlbert Collins was an American electric blues guitarist and singer whose recording career began in the 1960s in Houston and whose fame eventually took him to stages across the US, Europe, Japan and Australia...
: in early 1969 Canned Heat met Albert Collins after a gig and advised him to move to L.A. in order to boost his career; there they found him an agent and introduced him to executives for UA. In appreciation, Collins’ first record title for UA became Love Can Be Found Anywhere, taken from the lyrics of "Fried Hockey Boogie". - Henry VestineHenry VestineHenry Charles Vestine a.k.a. "The Sunflower", was an American guitar player known mainly as a member of the band Canned Heat. He was with the group from its start in 1966 to July 1969...
: a recording project from 1981 has been released more than twenty years later under Henry Vestine's name as I Used To Be Mad (but Now I am Half Crazy). The musicians on the album are the Canned Heat members at that time: Henry Vestine (guitar), Mike Halby (vocals, guitar), Ernie Rodrigues (vocals, bass), Ricky Kellogg (vocals, harmonica) and Fito De La Parra (drums). - Fito de La Parra and Walter de Paduwa, aka Dr. Boogie, have compiled an album of blues selected from Bob Hite's collection Rarities from the Bob Hite Vault, Sub Rosa SRV 271. Included are tracks by a dozen artists such as Pete JohnsonPete JohnsonPete Johnson was an American boogie-woogie and jazz pianist.Journalist Tony Russell stated in his book The Blues - From Robert Johnson to Robert Cray, that "Johnson shared with the other members of the 'Boogie Woogie Trio' the technical virtuosity and melodic fertility that can make this the most...
, Johnny OtisJohnny OtisJohnny Otis is an American singer, musician, talent scout, disc jockey, composer, arranger, recording artist, record producer, vibraphonist, drummer, percussionist, bandleader, and impresario.He is commonly referred to as The Godfather Of Rhythm And Blues.-Personal life:Otis, the son of Alexander...
, Clarence Brown, Otis RushOtis RushOtis Rush is a blues musician, singer and guitarist. His distinctive guitar style features a slow burning sound and long bent notes...
, Etta JamesEtta JamesEtta James is an American blues, soul, rhythm and blues , rock and roll, gospel and jazz singer. In the 1950s and 1960s, she had her biggest success as a blues and R&B singer...
and Elmore JamesElmore JamesElmore James was an American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter and band leader. He was known as "the King of the Slide Guitar" and had a unique guitar style, noted for his use of loud amplification and his stirring voice.-Biography:James was born Elmore Brooks in the old Richland community in...
.
Members
- Only official band members are listed.
- Members of the bands classic eras are in bold.
- † notes that a member is deceased.
- Harvey Mandel and Larry Taylor may not have appeared at all shows during their membership in the 1990s or 2000s. They would also both occasionally perform or record with the band when they were not members.
Current members
- Adolfo "Fito" de la Parra - drums, vocals (1967–present)
- Larry "The Mole" TaylorLarry TaylorLarry Taylor is an American bass guitarist, best known for his work as a member of Canned Heat from 1967. Before joining Canned Heat he had been a session bassist for The Monkees and Jerry Lee Lewis...
- bass, guitar, vocals (1967–70, 1978–80, 1987–92, 1996–97, 2009–present) - Harvey "The Snake" MandelHarvey MandelHarvey Mandel is an American guitarist known for his innovative approach to electric guitar playing. A professional at twenty, he played with Charlie Musselwhite, Canned Heat, The Rolling Stones, and John Mayall before starting a solo career...
- guitar (1969–70, 1990, 1996–99, 2009–present) - Dale Spalding - guitar, harmonica, bass, vocals (2008–present)
Frontmen (Guitar/Harmonica/Lead Vocals)
- Alan "Blind Owl" WilsonAlan Wilson (musician)Alan "Blind Owl" Christie Wilson was the leader, singer, and primary composer in the American blues band Canned Heat. He played guitar and harmonica, and wrote most of the songs for the band.-Early years:...
(1965–70) † - Bob "The Bear" HiteBob HiteRobert Ernest "Bob" "The Bear" Hite was the American lead singer of the blues-rock band, Canned Heat, from 1965 to his death in 1981....
(1965–81) † - Richard Kellogg (1981–85)
- James Thornbury (1985–95)
- Robert Lucas (1995–2000, 2005–08) †
- Dallas Hodge (2000–05)
Guitar
- Mike Perlowin (1965)
- Kenny EdwardsKenny EdwardsKenny Edwards was an American singer/songwriter. He was a founding member of The Stone Poneys and a long-time collaborator with both Linda Ronstadt and Karla Bonoff.-Biography:...
(1965–66) † - Henry "The Sunflower" VestineHenry VestineHenry Charles Vestine a.k.a. "The Sunflower", was an American guitar player known mainly as a member of the band Canned Heat. He was with the group from its start in 1966 to July 1969...
(1966–69, 1970–74, 1980–81, 1985–88, 1992–97) † - Joel Scott Hill (1970–72)
- James Shane (1972–74)
- Chris Morgan (1974–77)
- Stan WebbStan WebbStan Webb is the frontman and lead guitarist with the blues band, Chicken Shack.-Career:...
(1974-75) - Mark Skyer (1975–77)
- Mike "Hollywood Fats" MannHollywood FatsHollywood Fats was an American blues guitarist, active in Los Angeles, California.-Biography:Hollywood Fats was born Michael Leonard Mann in Los Angeles, and started playing guitar at the age of 10...
(1978–80) † - Mike Halby (1980–84)
- Walter TroutWalter TroutWalter Trout is an American blues guitarist, singer and songwriter.-Biography:Trout's career began on the Jersey coast scene of the late 1960s and early 1970s. He then decided to relocate to Los Angeles where he became a sideman for Percy Mayfield and Deacon Jones...
(1981–85) - Junior WatsonJunior WatsonJunior Watson is an American jump blues guitarist and singer.-Career:Watson is regarded as an influential West Coast blues player. He was a founding member of the blues band The Mighty Flyers and, starting in the early 1980s, he performed with the band for a decade. He also performed with Canned...
(1988–91, 1992-97) - Becky Barksdale (1992)
- Smokey Hormel (1992)
- Paul Bryant (1997–2000)
- John Paulus (2000–06)
- Barry Levenson (2006–10)
Drums
- Keith Sawyer (1965)
- Ron Holmes (1965–66)
- Frank CookFrank Cook (musician)Frank Cook was a drummer and former member of blues bands Pacific Gas & Electric, Canned Heat and Bluesberry Jam. For a time he was also the manager of Pacific Gas & Electric.-History:...
(1966–67)
Bass
- Stuart Brotman (1965–66)
- Mark AndesMark AndesMark Andes is an American musician, known for his work as a bassist with Spirit, Jo Jo Gunne, Firefall, Heart, and Mirabal.-Early life:...
(1966–67) - Antonio de la Barreda (1970–72) †
- Richard Hite (1972–76) †
- Richard Exley (1976–77)
- Jon Lamb (1980)
- Ernie Rodriguez (1980–85)
- Skip Jones (1985–87)
- Ron Shumake (1990–96)
- Mark "Pocket" Goldberg (1996)
- Greg Kage (1996–2010)
Keyboards/Misc
- Ed Beyer (1972–74)
- Clifford Solomon (1974)
- Jock Ellis (1974)
- Gene TaylorGene Taylor (musician)Gene Taylor is an American blues rock and boogie-woogie pianist.-Biography:Taylor began his musical training as a drummer at age eight but two years later he had picked up both the guitar and his initial piano skills from boogie-woogie pianist-neighbours...
(1974–76) - Ronnie BarronRonnie BarronRonnie Barron was an American actor, keyboardist, organist, and white soul singer during the 1970s. He was known for his work as a session musician for several artists, as well as his collaborations with Dr...
(1978, 1987–88) † - Jay Spell (1978–80) †
- Stanley "The Baron" Behrens (2000–05)
Original recordings
| Title | Released | Label |
|---|---|---|
| Canned Heat Canned Heat (album) Canned Heat is the 1967 debut album by Canned Heat. It was released shortly after their appearance at the Monterey Pop Festival, and features performances of several blues covers.... |
1967 | Liberty Records |
| Boogie with Canned Heat Boogie with Canned Heat Boogie with Canned Heat is the second album by Canned Heat, released in 1968. Unlike their debut, it features mostly original material. It included the top 10 hit "On the Road Again," one of their best known songs. "Amphetamine Annie," a warning about the dangers of amphetamine abuse, also... |
1968 | Liberty Records |
| Living the Blues Living the Blues Living the Blues is the third album by Canned Heat, a double album released in 1968. It was one of the first double albums to place well on album charts. It features Canned Heat's signature song, "Going Up the Country," which would later be used in the Woodstock film. John Mayall appears on... |
1968 | Liberty Records |
| Hallelujah Hallelujah (album) Hallelujah is the fourth album by Canned Heat, released in 1969. It was re-released on CD in 2001 by MAM productions with four bonus tracks.-Track listing:#"Same All Over" – 2:51#"Change My Ways" – 2:47... |
1969 | Liberty Records |
| Future Blues Future Blues (Canned Heat album) Future Blues is the fifth album by Canned Heat, released in 1970. It was the last to feature original member and songwriter Alan Wilson. Their cover of "Let's Work Together" by Wilbert Harrison became a hit. "London Blues" features Dr. John... |
1970 | Liberty Records |
| Vintage Vintage (Canned Heat album) Vintage was the first album recorded by Canned Heat in 1966, although it did not see actual release until 1970 under Janus Records. Produced by rhythm & blues legend, Johnny Otis, the album featured Muddy Waters/Elmore James' song "Rollin' and Tumblin'" recorded with and without Alan Wilson's... |
1970 | Janus |
| Canned Heat '70 Concert Live In Europe Canned Heat '70 Concert Live In Europe Canned Heat '70 Concert Live In Europe is a 1970 live album by Canned Heat. The album is taken from various locations on live concert European tour right before Alan Wilson’s death and is the band's first officially released live album.-Track listing:... |
1970 | Liberty Records |
| Hooker 'N Heat | 1970 | Liberty Records |
| Live At Topanga Corral Live At Topanga Corral Live at Topanga Corral is a 1971 live album by Canned Heat. The album is taken from a 1969 concert at the Kaleidoscope in Hollywood, California and not at the Topanga Corral as the title suggests... |
1971 | Wand Records |
| Historical Figures and Ancient Heads Historical Figures and Ancient Heads Historical Figures and Ancient Heads is the sixth album by Canned Heat, released in 1971. It was the first album not to feature original member and songwriter Alan Wilson who had died the previous year. Featuring new guitarman Joel Scott Hill and Little Richard on “Rockin’ WIth The King”... |
1971 | United Artists |
| The New Age The New Age (album) The New Age is the seventh studio album by Canned Heat, released in 1973. It was the first album to feature the talents of James Shane and Ed Beyer. Clara Ward also appears on the album in her very last recording... |
1973 | United Artists |
| One More River to Cross One More River To Cross (album) One More River To Cross is the eighth studio album by Canned Heat, released in 1973. The band negotiated out of their contract with Liberty Records and debuted with Atlantic Records. This album featured horn arrangements played by the Muscle Shoal Horns along with Barry Beckett and Roger Hawkins... |
1973 | Atlantic/ WEA Records |
| Memphis Heat | 1974 | Barclay (France) |
| Gates On Heat | 1974 | Barclay (France) |
| Human Condition | 1978 | Takoma/Sonet |
| Captured live | 1980 | Accord |
| Hooker'n'Heat, Live at the Fox Venice Theatre | 1981 | Rhino |
| Kings of the Boogie (Dog House Blues) | 1981 | Destiny Records |
| The Heat Brothers '84 | 1984* | |
| Infinite Boogie | 1986 | Rhino |
| Boogie Up The Country | 1987 | |
| Reheated Reheated Reheated is an album by Canned Heat, released in 1988. Just two members of the classic lineup, Fito de la Parra and Larry Taylor, are present on this album. The new members are accomplished musicians who have been able to revamp the music played without straying from the original spirit of the band... |
1988 | SPV |
| Burnin' live | 1991 | SPV |
| Boogie Assault ; reissues Live in Oz | 1991 | AIM |
| Canned Heat Live | 1993 | |
| Internal Combustion | 1994 | AIM |
| King Biscuit Flower Hour King Biscuit Flower Hour The King Biscuit Flower Hour was a syndicated radio show presented by the D.I.R. Radio Network that featured concert performances by various rock artists.-History:... |
1995 | |
| Live at Turku Festival | 1995 | |
| Canned Heat Blues Band | 1996 | Ruf Records |
| The Ties That Bind | 1997 (but recorded in 1975) | RCA Mexico/Archive Recordings |
| House of Blue Lights | 1998 | |
| Boogie 2000 | 1999 | Ruf Records |
| The Boogie House Tapes | 2000 | Ruf Records |
| Friends in the Can | 2003 | Ruf Records |
| The USA Sessions | 2003 | |
| The Boogie House Tapes Volume 2 | 2004 | Ruf Records |
| Under Dutch Skies | 2007 | |
| Christmas Album Christmas Album (Canned Heat album) Christmas Album is a Christmas album by Canned Heat, released on September 25, 2007 through Fuel 2000-Track listing:# Deck the Halls# The Christmas Song# Christmas Blues# Santa Claus Is Coming to Town# I Won't Be Home for Christmas... |
2007 | Ruf Records |
Compilations
- 1969 – Canned Heat Cookbook, Liberty
- 1971 – Canned Heat Collage, Sunset
- 1972 – The Best of Canned Heat, 1990 CD, EMI/Capitol
- 1975 – The Very Best of Canned Heat, 1975 LP United Artists
- 1989 – Let's Work Together: The Best of Canned HeatLet's Work Together: The Best of Canned HeatLet's Work Together: The Best of Canned Heat is a compilation album by Canned Heat, released in 1989. Most songs on this album have been released on the first five Canned Heat albums between 1966 and 1970. The Chipmunk Song was a non-album single from 1969 and Rockin' with the King is from a later...
, EMI - 1994 – Uncanned! The Best of Canned HeatUncanned! The Best of Canned HeatUncanned! The Best of Canned Heat is two disc CD set issued in 1994, features various tracks from previous albums and some previously unreleased tracks...
, EMI/Capitol - 1996 – Best of Hooker 'n' Heat, EMI E2-38207
- 1996 - Straight Ahead, Magnum (from Vintage (1966) + Live at Topanga (1969))
- 2007 - The Very Best of Canned Heat, EMI
Further reading
- Rebecca Davis Winters, "Blind Owl Blues: The Mysterious Life and Death of Blues Legend Alan Wilson" (2007) ISBN 978-0-615-14617-1
- Charles Shaar MurrayCharles Shaar MurrayCharles Shaar Murray is an English music journalist. His first experience in journalism came 1970 when he was asked to contribute to the satirical magazine Oz...
, Blues on CD: The Essential Guide (1993) ISBN 1-85626-084-4 - Fito De La Parra, Living The Blues. Canned Heat's story of Music, Drugs, Death, Sex and Survival (2000) ISBN 0-9676449-0-9
- Boogie with Canned Heat: The Canned Heat Story, a documentary (on DVD, Eagle Ent., 2007)
External links
- The band's official website
- A concise history of Canned Heat (recommended reading)
- History and discography
- A studio and concert chronology
- Joel Scott Hill's official website
- James Thornbury interview
- Dallas Hodge info
- Alan "Blind Owl" Wilson biography site featuring musicological essays
- Family-authorized tribute website for co-founder Alan "Blind Owl" Wilson