Interesting. I don't think I can recognize all but two of their songs. On The Road Again is really similar sounding.
Interesting. I don't think I can recognize all but two of their songs. On The Road Again is really similar sounding.
Interesting. I don't think I can recognize all but two of their songs. On The Road Again is really similar sounding.
This was written by Alan Wilson, who was Canned Heat's vocalist, guitarist and primary songwriter. Wilson committed suicide on September 3, 1970, becoming one of the first 27-year-old rock casualties, a group that would soon include Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and Jim Morrison.
Canned Heat's band members were notoriously avid record collectors; this was derived from an old and obscure Blues song in 1928 called "Bull Doze Blues" by Henry Thomas. Thomas was from the songster tradition and had a unique sound, sometimes accompanying himself on quills, an early Afro-American wind instrument similar to panpipes. For "Going Up the Country", Canned Heat's Wilson used Thomas' melody on the quills and his basic rhythm, but arranged it for a rock setting and rewrote the lyrics. Bob Hite sang lead on most Canned Heat songs, but this one was sung by Alan Wilson in his distinctive tenor. In addition to the bass and drum rhythm section, Henry Vestine supplied a "light electric rhythm guitar" and multi-instrumentalist Jim Horn reproduced Thomas' quill parts on the flute. Horn made his biggest impact as a saxophone player, appearing on tracks by The Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney and The Beach Boys.