Canned Heat
A hard-luck blues band of the '60s, Canned Heat was founded by blues historians and record collectors Alan Wilson and Bob Hite. They seemed to be on the right track and played all the right festivals (including Monterey and Woodstock, making it very prominently into the documentaries about both) but somehow never found a lasting audience.
Their hearts were certainly in the right place. Canned Heat's debut album -- released shortly after their appearance at Monterey -- was every bit as deep into the roots of the blues as any other combo of the time mining similar turf, with the exception of the original Paul Butterfield band. Hite was nicknamed "The Bear" and stalked the stage in the time-honored tradition of Howlin' Wolf and other large-proportioned bluesmen. Wilson was an extraordinary harmonica player, with a fat tone and great vibrato. His work on guitar, especially in open tunings (he played on Son House's rediscovery recordings of the mid-'60s, incidentally) gave the band a depth and texture that most other rhythm players could only aspire to. Henry Vestine -- another dyed-in-the-wool record collector -- was the West Coast's answer to Michael Bloomfield and capable of fretboard fireworks at a moment's notice.
Canned Heat's breakthrough moment occurred with the release of their second album, establishing them with hippie ballroom audiences as the "kings of the boogie." As a way of paying homage to the musician they got the idea from in the first place, they later collaborated on an album with John Lee Hooker that was one of the elder bluesman's most successful outings with a young white (or Black, for that matter) combo backing him up. After two big chart hits with "Goin' Up the Country" and an explosive version of Wilbert Harrison's "Let's Work Together," Wilson died under mysterious (probably drug-related) circumstances in 1970, and Hite carried on with various reconstituted versions of the band until his death from a heart seizure just before a show in 1981.
The surviving members -- led by drummer Adolfo "Fito" de la Parra -- continued touring and recording, recruiting new vocalist Walter Trout; he was replaced in 1985 by James Thornbury, who fronted the band for the next decade. After Thornbury exited in 1995, Canned Heat tapped Robert Lucas to assume lead vocal duties; they soon recorded The Canned Heat Blues Band, which sadly was Vestine's last recording with the group -- he died in Paris in October 1997 in the wake of the band's recent tour. Boogie 2000 followed two years later.
© Cub Koda & Bruce Eder /TiVo
Similar artists
-
Historical Figures And Ancient Heads/The New Age
Rock - Released by EMI Catalogue on Jan 1, 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rollin' & Tumblin'
Blues - Released by Sunset Blvd. Records on May 11, 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
Cadillac Walk (Remix/Single Edit)
Blues - Released by Friday Rights Management, LLC on May 8, 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sterno Masters (Re-Recorded and Re-Mastered)
Blues - Released by StarPointe Records on May 15, 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Canned Heat At Their Best
Pop - Released by StreamWorld Entertainment Classics on Jul 5, 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Classic Collection
Rock - Released by CLASSIC WORLD ENTERTAINMENT on Mar 22, 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Great Canned Heat (Canned Heat)
Rock - Released by Blaricum CD Company (B.C.D.) B.V. on Jan 1, 1994
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Canned Heat Selected Favorites
R&B - Released by Charly Records on Jun 20, 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Boogie House Tapes Vol. 3
Blues - Released by Ruf Records on Nov 21, 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Boogie House Tapes Volume Three (Original Recording Remastered)
Reggae - Released by Friday Music Two on Nov 6, 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Deck the Halls (Remastered)
Blues - Released by Friday Rights Management, LLC on Mar 29, 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mercury Blues (Remixed)
Blues - Released by Friday Rights Management, LLC on Mar 25, 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rock 'N Roll Show
Rock - Released by Warner Music Group - X5 Music Group on Nov 22, 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Canned Heat - Live at Kaleidoscope Club
Blues - Released by Eastmill on Jan 30, 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Burnin': Live in Australia (Remastered Recording) (Live)
Reggae - Released by Friday Music Two on Sep 1, 1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Please Don't Go
Blues - Released by Friday Rights Management, LLC on Apr 3, 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Live at the Turku Rock Festival 1971 (Original Recording Remastered)
Reggae - Released by Friday Music Two on Apr 1, 1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sterno Masters
Rock - Released by Aspirion Records on Jul 19, 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
You Just Got To Rock
Blues - Released by Collecting Records OMP on Jan 1, 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Let's Work Together (Live)
Blues - Released by Hitstown on Jan 19, 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo