Bob Hite – PowerPop… An Eclectic Collection of Pop Culture

Canned Heat – Going Up Country

I wasn’t there but this song equals Woodstock to me. Every time I hear this song I think of a field full of hippies with bubbles. Alan “Blind Owl” Wilson wrote this song based on an old blues song called Bull Doze Blues. It peaked at #11 in the Billboard 100 and #5 in Canada in 1969.

Alan Wilson moved to Los Angeles and met Bob “The Bear” Hite and in 1965 started Canned Heat. The group took their name from “Canned Heat Blues,” an obscure 1928 track by bluesman Tommy Johnson that described the drug high achieved through drinking the household product Sterno.

In 1967, after appearing at the Monterey Pop Festival, Canned Heat signed with Liberty Records. They made a self-titled album that year and it peaked at #76 on the Billboard Charts. In 1968 they released “Boogie with Canned Heat” which made it to number 16. They followed that album with “Living the Blues”(#18) and in 1969 released the album Hallelujah(#37).

Their appearance at Woodstock raised their stock higher. They had two hit singles both sung by Alan Wilson, this song released in 1968, and On The Road Again released in 1969. Alan wasn’t the regular lead singer of Canned Heat but he did sing the two best-known singles by them. They were both written by him and based on old blues songs. His unusual voice came from him trying to mimic the voice of old blues singers. Bob Hite was the lead singer of the band.

Alan Wilson is a forgotten figure who was a gifted musician. He died in 1970 under strange circumstances outdoors in a sleeping bag near his band’s lead singer’s (Bob Hite) house. He was dead at the age of 27. Jimi Hendrix would die in a couple of weeks and Janis Joplin would follow a month later…all of them were age 27.

Going Up Country was heavily influenced by an old and obscure Blues song called “Bull Doze Blues” by Henry Thomas. The song caught on in the summer of 1969 and was very popular among Hippies who appreciated the nature theme.

Going Up Country

I’m goin’ up the country, baby don’t you want to go?
I’m goin’ up the country, baby don’t you want to go?
I’m goin’ to some place, I’ve never been before
I’m goin’ I’m goin’ where the water tastes like wine
I’m goin’ where the water tastes like wine
We can jump in the water, stay drunk all the time
I’m gonna leave this city, got to get away
I’m gonna leave this city, got to get away
All this fussin’ and fightin’ man, you know I sure can’t stay
So baby pack your leavin’ trunk
You know we’ve got to leave today
Just exactly where we’re goin’ I cannot say
But we might even leave the U.S.A.
It’s a brand new game, that I want to play

No use in your runnin’, or screamin’ and cryin’
‘Cause you got a home as long as I’ve got mine

Canned Heat – On The Road Again

Such an underrated band. What made this band real to me was their live album with John Lee Hooker called Hooker ‘n Heat…it is incredible. They also represent part of the Woodstock era well. When I think of Woodstock…this song and Going Up Country come to mind.

Their appearance there raised their stock higher. They had two hit singles Going Up Country and On The Road Again. They were both written by Alan “Blind Owl” Wilson and based on old blues songs. His unusual voice came from him trying to mimic the voice of old blues singers. Wilson was not the lead singer of Canned Heat but did sing on some songs.

Wilson’s nickname, “Blind Owl,” was bestowed upon him by friend John Fahey during a road trip in 1965 from Boston to Los Angeles and was a reference to the extra-thick lenses Wilson wore.

He had an encyclopedic knowledge of the blues. Wilson and Bob Hite founded the band in 1965. Lead singer Bob “The Bear” Hite was extroverted and a terrific 300lb showman. Wilson was just the opposite. He was very intelligent, awkward, suffered from depression, and was not a prototypical rock star. He was a great guitar and harp player.

Alan “Blind Owl” Wilson and Bob “The Bear” Hite

The song peaked at #16 in the Billboard 100, #8 in the UK and #8 in Canada in 1968. This song was on Canned Heat’s album “Boogie with Canned Heat.”Alan Wilson played a tamboura on this song to get the droning effect. Wilson’s falsetto was in the style of Skip James. The song was written by Alan Wilson and Floyd Jones.

Alan Wilson died on September 3, 1970. No one knows if it was a suicide or an accidental overdose of Seconal… Later in 1981 Bob “The Bear” Hite would also die of an overdose in 1981.

The band is still touring. They have drummer Adolfo de la Parra who has been with them since the sixties as the only long term member.

On The Road Again

Well, I’m so tired of crying
But I’m out on the road again
I’m on the road again
Well, I’m so tired of crying
But I’m out on the road again
I’m on the road again
I ain’t got no woman
Just to call my special friend

You know the first time I traveled
Out in the rain and snow
In the rain and snow
You know the first time I traveled
Out in the rain and snow
In the rain and snow
I didn’t have no payroll
Not even no place to go

And my dear mother left me
When I was quite young
When I was quite young
And my dear mother left me
When I was quite young
When I was quite young
She said “Lord, have mercy
On my wicked son”

Take a hint from me, mama
Please don’t you cry no more
Don’t you cry no more
Take a hint from me, mama
Please don’t you cry no more
Don’t you cry no more
‘Cause it’s soon one morning
Down the road I’m going

But I ain’t going down
That long old lonesome road
All by myself
But I ain’t going down
That long old lonesome road
All by myself
I can’t carry you, baby
Gonna carry somebody else

Canned Heat – Let’s Work Together

“Let’s Stick Together” was originally recorded by Wilbert Harrison in 1962. Eight years later, the American singer had a hit with a modified version, “Let’s Work Together,” which was covered by Canned Heat.

The song peaked at #26 in the Billboard 100 in 1970.

Canned Heat was a good blues band and their appearance at Woodstock raised their fortunes. They would end up with 3 top 40 songs and 2 more in the top 100. Going Up Country and On The Road Again were the band’s best-known hits. They were doing well but it came to an end when guitarist/vocalist Alan “Blind Owl” Wilson died on September 3, 1970. No one knows if it was a suicide or an accidental overdose of Seconal.

Canned Heat continues to this day but they were never as successful after Alan passed away. Bob Hite is singing this song.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnPkEyP_Tzg

Let’s Work Together

Together we’ll stand
Divided we’ll fall
Come on now, people
Let’s get on the ball

And work together
Come on, come on
Let’s work together
Now, now people
Because together we will stand
Every boy, every girl and man

People, when things go wrong
As they sometimes will
And the road you travel
It stays all uphill

Let’s work together
Come on, come on
Let’s work together, ah
You know together we will stand
Every boy, girl, woman and man

Oh well now, two or three minutes
Two or three hours
What does it matter now
In this life of ours

Let’s work together
Come on, come on
Let’s work together
Now, now people
Because together we will stand
Every boy, every woman and man

Ah, come on
Ah, come on, let’s work together

Well now, make someone happy
Make someone smile
Let’s all work together
And make life worthwhile

Let’s work together
Come on, come on
Let’s work together
Now, now people
Because together we will stand
Every boy, girl, woman and man

Oh well now, come on you people
Walk hand in hand
Let’s make this world of ours
A good place to stand

And work together
Come on, come on
Let’s work together
Now, now people
Because together we will stand
Every boy, girl, woman and man
Ah, yeah

Well now, together we will stand
Every boy, girl, woman and man
Ah, yeah