I am watching...

[mjp]

Here's a pic of some of their gold records (more than one million copies sold of each of them)

Just so you know; "Gold" equals one million dollars in sales - well short of a million copies (very short of a million in the days of $12 - $15 CDs). "Platinum" is a million copies. So in the Canned Heat heyday gold would have meant 200,000 (or less) sales.

Nothing against Canned Heat as a thing or entity, I'm just telling it like it is as someone who happened to be alive and buying records at the time. I never heard anyone talk about them, and never saw any of their records in great numbers in the stores. Maybe in the cut out bins, but that's about it. ;)

Doesn't mean they couldn't have been great (I don't know if they were or not, I only ever heard that one god damned weird mumbly song with the flute hook). Plenty of very influential bands didn't sell records.

 

[Bukfan]

Just so you know; "Gold" equals one million dollars in sales - well short of a million copies (very short of a million in the days of $12 - $15 CDs). "Platinum" is a million copies. So in the Canned Heat heyday gold would have meant 200,000 (or less) sales.

Really? I did'nt know that. I do know their "gold" records state over one million copies sold, but so does their "platinum" records which makes it a bit confusing.

Nothing against Canned Heat as a thing or entity, I'm just telling it like it is as someone who happened to be alive and buying records at the time. I never heard anyone talk about them, and never saw any of their records in great numbers in the stores. Maybe in the cut out bins, but that's about it.

I know you have nothing against Canned Heat and I'm glad you told me about their status back in the day. I always knew they were more popular in Europe and Australia but I did'nt know they were considered a minor band in the US at the time.

Btw, I found the "Top 10 bands" quote. It's in the book by Canned Heat drummer Fito De La Parra, called, "Living The Blues" (page 106 & 112):

"Unlike many bands, Canned Heat was not a one hit wonder with the proverbial 15 minutes of fame. We were one of America's Top 10 bands in 1968-69 and in league with the best British bands, Cream and Led Zeppelin. We were heading over Santana and the Allman Brothers at the Fillmore East and B.B. King and Fats Domino at the Hollywood Bowl. Creedence Clearwater Revival was our opening act at the Swing Auditorium in San Bernadino.
One of my fondest memories was our performance at the Masonic Temple in Cleveland. We were on a double bill with Cream..."

I did notice he's comparing Canned Heat with the best British bands and not the best American bands. ;)

Here's a pic of one of their "Gold" records (I presume it's a gold record since it's golden) for one million copies sold (of their "god damned weird mumbly song with the flute hook" :D).

 

[Gerard K H Love]

Didn't 45s like that sell for under $1.00 back in the olden days. or $.69


No doubt. Canned Heat fans are all fried, Stovrogin.

 

[mjp]

Really? I did'nt know that. I do know their "gold" records state over one million copies sold, but so does their "platinum" records which makes it a bit confusing.

I think we may both be right:

"Presently, an American RIAA-certified gold record is a single or album that has sold 500,000 units (records, tapes or compact discs). Originally, the requirement for a gold single was one million units sold and a gold album represented $1 million in sales (at wholesale value). In 1975, the additional requirement of 500,000 units sold was added for gold albums. Reflecting growth in record sales, the platinum award was instituted in 1976 for albums selling one million units and singles selling two million units."

 

[number6horse]

I think the song with the flute hook was "Going Up The Country".

"On The Road Again" was their harmonica hook song. Not to be confused with Willie Nelson's "On The Road Again", which had a sweet nylon-string guitar solo hook going for it.

 

[Gerard K H Love]

.. --Canned Heat

Listen to that and you can understand why some people liked to take acid.

 

[mjp]

You know, I have changed my mind about Canned Heat. Anyone who would get up there with that voice, and actually put it on records...that's some good old fashioned, "fuck you!" punk rock right there!

CANNED HEAT! FTW!

 

[Bukfan]

I think the song with the flute hook was "Going Up The Country".

You're right, No.6! "Going Up The Country", the so-called "Woodstock Anthem". My mistake! "On The Road Again" has that Indian Tambura drone sound.

But what do you expect when Kermit the frog fronts a band?!

Now it finally dawned on me, ROC. You were thinking of Alan Wilson with the high pitched voice singing on songs like "On The Road Again" and Going Up The Country" etc. Their regular front man was Bob Hite who did the vocals on most of their songs but Alan Wilson did the vocals on many of their more memorable songs.

I think we may both be right:

Right, the changing definitions does'nt make it any easier.

You know, I have changed my mind about Canned Heat.

That's cool, mjp! So there's hope for you yet. :D

 

[Gerard K H Love]

I love it when we all get filled with clarity and enlightenment...

 

[Bukfan]

And buknet does it better than all those money grabbing guru's out there. :D

 

[1fsh2fsh]

This was one of those bands that I really tried to like, but never really could. Seems that I heard them alot. maybe it was just the crowd that I was around. Wanna-be hippies. (on acid)

 

[slimedog]

I was pretty young in the sixties but wasn't there a little genre called "boogie rock" which was taking that riff from John Lee Hooker and just running it into the ground?

And wasn't Canned Heat, and especially with this song, a prime example of what "boogie rock" was at the time?

Also, I think there singer was blind and also overdosed if I'm correct.

 

[Gerard K H Love]

Alan Wilson was the lead singer song writer who had the nick name "Blind Owl" due to his extreme nearsightedness. He died of a drug overdose in 1970.

I wouldn't think of Canned Heat as Boogie Rock but Wiki says so.


edit: great minds think alike, like Bukfan below.

 

[Bukfan]

You're right about it all, slimedog, except Alan Wilson wasn't blind but he was extremely nearsighted and couldn't see more than 2 feet away without his thick glasses. He died at 27 in 1970. It was either a drug overdose or a suicide. There's some doubt about it, but according to the drummer, Fito De La Parra, it was a suicide.
Canned Heat did indeed use John Lee Hooker's boogie riff to create some "boogie music". They even recorded a double album together with John Lee Hooker called "Hooker 'n' Heat".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hooker_'N_Heat

They also played together with John Lee Hooker at several concerts. One of those concerts was recorded and issued as an album called, "Hooker 'n ' Heat - Recorded Live At The Fox Venice Theater". Canned Heat was also backing Hooker in a couple of songs on his "comeback" album, "The Healer".

I have'nt heard the term "Boogie Rock" before. I've always thought of Canned Heat as a Boogie-Blues group, but Boogie Rock might fit the bill.

 

[Digney in Burnaby]

Has Canned Heat made it to the ballot for the RnR Hall? I see from the induction process they have to get past the "historians" to get voted in. The joke about the Stooges was it took seven (ten?) tries to get them in. Were they on the ballot that many times?

 

[mjp]

Their regular front man was Bob Hite who did the vocals on most of their songs but Alan Wilson did the vocals on many of their more memorable songs.

Oh, that's got to suck - you're the singer for a band and you let a mumbly soprano do a couple songs and those are the only songs you're known for. Ha. Boogie is a cruel mistress, indeed.

Don't forget that boogie was also a verb back in prehistoric times. As in, "I'm going to the Queen concert and I'm gonna BOOGIE ALL NIGHT!"

The Sarah Silverman Program had a very funny episode this week about LSD and jam bands. "The drugs made me realize it's not about the drugs!"

The joke about the Stooges was it took seven (ten?) tries to get them in. Were they on the ballot that many times?

Last year was the ninth time they were passed over. Now they are in? Like I said, If Ron Asheton wouldn't have died they probably would have passed them over again. It's easier to appreciate idiots like the Stooges when they are no longer alive to puke on your banquet table.

 

[esart]

I loved when Sarah Silverman said that when she was being totally high on acid. It was one of the funniest things I've ever heard. ("No man, listen.. The drugs made me realize that it's not about the drugs!") Then she made the audience come back and listen to the band without acid and ruined it for everyone. It made one hippie guy want to go back to law school! Ha! Yes, it was a good episode.

[Elvis Costello thread is here.]

 

[Bukfan]

Has Canned Heat made it to the ballot for the RnR Hall? I see from the induction process they have to get past the "historians" to get voted in. The joke about the Stooges was it took seven (ten?) tries to get them in. Were they on the ballot that many times?

I really don't know. I know there's a petition people can sign on the internet for getting Canned Heat and Country Joe into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.
Don't ask me why the creator of the petition has lumped Canned Heat and Country Joe together in the same petition. I find it a bit weird.

Here's the link to the petition. There's 2433 signatures so far:

http://www.petitiononline.com/mod_perl/signed.cgi?cjfish

 

[hoochmonkey9]

yes. that's the only thing weird about that petition.




;)

 

[Stavrogin]

Don't ask me why the creator of the petition has lumped Canned Heat and Country Joe together in the same petition. I find it a bit weird.

Creator = Wavy Gravy? That might explain the weirdness. Wasn't aware of this petition - Country Joe!? Canned Heat doesn't stand a chance. We're not often kind to the homegrown talent here in the States. The R&R Hall Of Fame is ridiculous anyhow. The biggest exhibit should rightfully be the corporate screw-job suffered by musicians entering the biz.

 

[Digney in Burnaby]

There was (still is?) a campaign to get Link Wray in.