Alan Wilson (Canned Heat) Interview April 05, 1968 - www.blindowl.ch - Superexcellent compendium of links and references is a harvest of information. Includes an entire page dedicated to videos of Alan Wilson, viewable on the Web.
Brings tears to my eyes to hear his voice after all these years. Thank you so much for these interview tapes. Just found them. I am his half sister, Lisa, sharing our mother, Shirley. My sister Heidi and I took at trip out west with Alan’s biographer, Rebecca Davis Winters, to visit the spot where he died over a decade ago. It brought peace. But still sadness for a life lost, trying to figure out why.
I am just reading that book. Your brother was a truly fascinating and talented man. I am so sorry you lost him at such a young age but hope you take comfort in the fact that he is still loved and admired by so many.
Indeed @lisal53 My 15yr old son is Autistic and from what I have read so far, I can see that in Alan too. They have such an amazing way at looking at things and we can learn so much from them. Alan’s legacy will always remain strong and thoughts are with your family for the upcoming anniversary. xx
Arlington MA was not a very welcoming place, for an intellectual like Alan, back in the day. Or any guy really, that wasn't a jock. I'll bet that conflict helped to fuel his playing. I remember a small memorial at Menotomy Rocks Park, after his passing. Like my own late brother Danny, he will remain eternally youthful. RIP
The forgotten member of the 27 Club is the blues great Robert Johnson -- who died on the same date Aug 16 as Elvis Presley. (I think Al is a little forgotten because Canned Heat was never a huge success like the other artists, he played guitar in a band, wrote two hits, but was never front and center like Jim Morrison. People who didn't follow rock music closely wouldn't know his name). He is worthy though...he would have lasted.
Believe it or not, there were two others in between Robert Johnson and Brian Jones, even though these two play R & B music, they were still considered "Rock". One of them was Jessie Belvin (known for his song "Goodnight My Love" in '56) who was 27 when he died in an auto accident on Feb. 8, 1960 and four years later, lead singer Rudy Lewis of the Drifters (who sang lead on "On Broadway" "Up On The Roof" and some others) died of a drug related heart attack at the age of 27 on May 20, 1964. These two are often forgotten as well along with Alan Wilson.
From what I read about Alan, he was a humble and introverted guy who never wanted to be famous, he just wanted to play music. I almost think it's better to let him remain a hidden gem, one of those underrated artists that the majority of people have never heard of.
Same here, Fair Bloody Dinkum Alan Wilson is almost forgotten. Alan Wilson had great musical foresight, Canned Heat lost their heart when Alan Wilson died. And I am not taking anything away from the other band members. It was the same when John Bonham died, Led Zeppelin died too.
The way he spoke reminds me a bit of Jim Morrison: the intonations, the pauses, the extensive vocabulary, the poetic way of speaking. Alan was definitely a very intelligent, thoughtful guy and an extremely talented musician!
An absolutely fascinating figure Alan Wilson, his voice has a beautifully eerie quality to it , such a talented guy, 54 years gone but still so loved by so many music fans myself included. R.I.P. Alan.
I’m 22 and recently got into Canned Heat and this guy is such a legend. I’ve been playing (or at least trying to) lately and my research and taste has led me to Alan Wilson. His signing voice is so unique and his words about music theory is so incredible. Wish he would have lived on way longer than he did but I know the battles a 20’something faces. RIP Blind Owl, I hope you’d be proud that some college kid in 2019 worship you and your music.
amen brother. especially back in those days. when everything was experimental and sooo good..I was a Heat fan from the get go...don't forget to boogie! I finally got to see Canned Heat when only Fito was left from the originals, but when I closed my eyes i was back in '69..
Alan Wilson: articulate, sensitive, intelligent and brilliant. One of my favorite musicians of all time too. Genius is a word batted around far too freely, but Alan sure was one.
I think John Lee Hooker called him the best (harp player?) something or other he ever heard. the ol' memory's going. but JLH had the utmost respect for him as a bluesman.
Alan talks about loud volumes. I saw Heat in 69 @ The Westchester County Center. It was the 3rd time I saw them. My ears rang for 3 days afterwards.... The show was awesome. RIP Blind Owl. We still miss you all these years later.
Alan was my wife's first cousin (on the Brigham side of the family, Aunt Shirley was Alan's Mom). We once had a big package of old photocopied documents that his sister, Darrel, gave us years ago. I have no idea where that went but it had a lot of cool stuff in it. Darrel, sadly, passed away from cancer a few years ago. She was possibly the closest sibling Alan had and she'd kept some letters he'd written her while he was touring, after Canned Heat had "hit the big time" and was in pretty constant demand to perform. Darrel was devastated when Alan died and thought about him quite often, even decades after he was gone. I happened to be a big Canned Heat fan during my high school days in Portland (OR) and still remember the day when they announced on the local "underground" FM radio station that Alan had been found dead in that sleeping bag behind Bob Hite's house in LA. I met my wife in college about seven years later and only found out that she was Alan's cousin when she mentioned that when "On the Road Again" was playing on the radio. Small world...
Alan Wilson was quite unique amongst guitar players at this time. To my mind, he had more in common with John Fahey than Eric Clapton in as much as his style and knowlege of the earliest forms of regional acoustic music was tremendous. It does seem as though he was far to sensitive to deal with the demands made on musicians at the time - after they'd acheived success. His concerns were far more 'spiritual' than monetary; 'Poor Moon' being a case in point.
I would love to see those items in the box. He was absolutely brilliant, and I love hearing him speak and reading things he wrote, he’s very articulate, something I find VERY rare nowadays. If you ever find it, it would be an honor to have you post it on the website dedicated to him ( that has family photos Etc). I’d love to see more photos of him of well. I was born in the wrong year 77, had I been born closer to his time, I would have grabbed him and never let go ☹️
Hi Geoffrey,,,please let me know if there are any plans for publishing any of Alans letters or plans for a biography.I just saw the biopic on Paul Butterfield "Horn from the Heart" last night in Pasadena, CA .It was great.Best regards Dave Doyle Los Angeles
john kane which family members are you talking to? The family he grew up with or the family he hardly knew or saw? My family grew up with Alan and I am his only brother. As far as I know nobody has contacted us about any information. David Wilson
I met Alan’s Father, Jack, sister, Sharon and her son, Jason, I believe, who was an awesome keyboardist, in Key West, FL, winter of ‘94, when I was told Jack, 83 at the time, I believe, decided he’d had enough of the Mass. winter and announced he would be heading to Key West, Solo, in the Van. Actually, it was just he and Jason that time and the following year, came Sharon. Jack and Jason were fans as they watched me do portraits every night on Duval St. and I was honored to do a portrait of Jack. We hung out in the van listening to canned heat, and Jack said he remembered Alan Continuously playing the flute when writing ,” Up The Country.”They stayed in my tiny apartment on the coldest nights which wasn’t much warmer and Jack made his “Cardiac Pasta,” a seafood linguini with cheeses and sour cream which kept us well insulated from the inside out! My mom came to visit and We all went to the beach in Jacks van. Mum couldn’t fathom I was hanging with such Illuminati and had a ball. I remember Jack said he was the oldest person at Woodstock, Now. A handsome tall man, with crystal blue eyes and a beautiful thick head of blinding white hair. Anyway, those were the days, my friend.
Just a remarkable snapshot of the guy. The intelligence of the man, his obvious deep study of The Blues....Do so wish he had remained on earth for a very long span.
Who cares about academic sounding ?.. yeah he was a very smart and intelligent dude.... Quite different than academic sounding!..and his singing & guitar playing had no academic sounds to it... Straight from the soul
he deserves induction to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. just read his wikipedia. he single handedly revived Son House's career, by teaching House his own songs all over again, as he couldn't play them from memory. that alone, is a service we owe him for. he wrote 'CANNED HEAT's' biggest hits. John Lee Hooker called him the best harp player ever! and his guitar playing was highly respected .
Sooooo aware of all aspects of the ‘game’. So studious, so sensitive and appreciative of his precursors, just a tender soul not at home in a mixed up world/industry.
Alan was a great musician man, I loved his slide guitar style. My favorite Canned Heat song is Lets Work Together, but I dug Goin Up Country also. I was 17 in 1967 and had the opportunity to hear a lot of great music back in the day. We had the Monterey Pop Festival, I believe in 67 and Woodstock in 69 with Hendrix, Crosby Stills Nash, and CCR.
I dated a dude in high school who is Alan's doppelganger. They even had the same build and hairstyle lol but he never played guitar as well as Al did. He was a cutie pie though, we smoked a lotta weed together and would stay on the phone for hours on end. First time I saw Alan on TV (we are millennials) I did a double take and my boyfriend was thoroughly freaked out when I called him into the room and showed him lmao. Things didn't work out but we ended it on good terms and remain friends although we lost touch a couple years ago. Canned Heat always reminds me of him now and our time together. It sucks so much how this dude passed away at only 27, what a waste of a beautiful, intellectual, creative, gentle and conscientious person. Rip Alan 🙏
Wow! Thank you so much! It's great to hear the Blind Owl talking about his contemporaries, Hendrix, Clapton, Butterfield, with no sense of being starstruck - and deservedly so, because he IS every bit as great in his own way, he is one of them.
Wow listening to his voice is almost trance like ..I can feel the creation of his words as the first enter his brain before they come out of his mouth ...if that makes any sense at all ...
Lovely voice - very articulate ! An incredible knowledge of blues and music in general A very talented musician and person - such a loss RIP ❤️ young man - hope you are at peace ✌️
I'm here after finding out about Omar gosh went to the house and the place where Allen died 😔🙏 in heartbroken such a young star gone far too soon rip your my New idol I'm looking for all your posts, music etc blessings 🙏🌹🌱🌴🌵🌳🌿☘️🍃💐🥀🌻🌼🌲🌅
Alan Blind Owl Wilson! Along with Big Walter Shakey Horton for me are the 2 most underrated and under-appreciated harmonica/blues artists of all time! Alan was SO unique! I am so thankful to have heard his harp on Goin' Down Slow in 1967 as it was an everlasting influence on me. His solo on Walkin' By Myself simply Awesome! Craig Twister Steward - former Harp Artist with Frank Zappa and others....
This man was the most amazing man I have ever listened to. He had such talent and a future. It is so tragic what happened. They need to make a movie called “The Blind Owl”
I wear earplugs with my band as well as where I work, and it takes a little getting used to. Mostly with your volume while playing within the band, and talking to people at work and within the band. It's well worth protecting your hearing.
It's amazing how modern he sounds. You could literally take his voice, intonations, everything he's talking about and imagine him as a modern indie musician today.
He was way ahead of his time. He’s talking about stuff that Eric Clapton was trying to figure out later when he left Cream, and what other folks didn’t figure out for another ten years.
Beautiful and very meaningful words from a most serious blues scholar. Loved his Hindu Saraswati Vina playing on John Fahey's 'Sail Away Ladies'. Love the birds chirping. God Keep His Soul.
Thank you so much for sharing this. Al was a legend. I was 12 when he died and didn’t understand it, then Hendrix. Smh. Blues keeps me going and Al was instrumental in that.
I had once heard that Alan was autistic. And perhaps he was, but he was articulate, intelligent, and oh so very talented. A great legacy from this musician.
Autism/Aspergen totally untapped genious's. Greatest musicians, maths, artists.computer experts. ... .......they excel ... I absolutely adore them... acebuck have different forums , and I have a lot of beautiful friends on there......They are sensitive, and have amazing aura perceptions .. They either like you or they don't .. They sense your aura and equilibrium... if you are not on their wave length, they will let you know immediately, thats why I love them. What you see , is what you get, they don't give out bullshit . A breath of fresh air . you become their friend and you will be their friend for LIFE ..
He's talking about volume wars a good two-three decade before it became a more commonly discussed problem in the music industry. Wilson heard the difference between a loud Hendrix/British sound, and more subdued blues.
Wilson’s grasp’- at this time 68’ -of all the nuances of traditional Blues is immense. He was acutely aware of the changes going on during -that time period when the old Blues was being morphed/blended -with Rock and psychedelic was then emerging.
This is very interesting in as much as I've always thought that the other guitar players that came and went in the band, were completely at odds with what Al Wilson was doing. The Owl was a musicologist; he was completely into the older turn of the century acoustic blues players that had nothing to do with the earsplitting volume people were playing at in the late 60s.
So even & articulate, he understands what he does...a musician saying that you can’t get the sound unless it’s played real loud (which I do, usually on Bluetooth), so I’ll use earplugs, if you don’t mind! The way he opens ‘Woodstock Boogie’, with everyone casually taking up their positions...magic! I believe this was cut from the cinema release, & I’m so glad to find it here on RU-vid! Thank you! 🙏🏽💔🙏🏻
It's so sad to hear Alan's voice. Left this world too soon. He reminds me of Ian Curtis of Joy Division, both battled depression, only Ian DID commit suicide whereas Alan's death looks accidental, (we'll probably will never know) and both were on the cusp of superstardom. Oh, by the way, I hear an advert is using Canned Heat's immortal "On The Road Again". I'd like to hear anyone's thoughts on that. R I P Alan
Thank you for this very informative interview from Alan Wilson. His knowledge and caring about music is amazing. So very sad that drugs took him away. The world needs more people like him. Have to say that I wish that these interview segments were numbered better so we could listen to them in the right order.
