July 08, 2004
AUSTIN POWER
Regular correspondent Joe Gross writes:
"DO NOT sleep on Canned Heat. They were one of the, if not THE, first rock band made up of serious, nerdy record collectors (in their case, blues 78s). At least those who openly identified as record collectors. This is of historical value, weight, etc. and can be said to lead to say, I dunno, Sonic Youth maybe. This is also the reason that "Goin' Up the Country" was based on an old Henry Thomas tune (the wonderful "Bull Doze Blues").
Also, a few key members were introduced to each other by that other blues nerd, John Fahey. And C.H.'s performance in the Woodstock film just fucking smokes."
This communication triggered a memory: At some point in the 1970s, Joe Bussard sold Canned Heat so many vintage 78s from his collection that he was subsequently able to buy a pool, a fixture he regularly credits to their patronage.
Posted by Sasha at July 8, 2004 08:59 PM | TrackBack