Forgotten Fretmasters #9 - Alan Wilson 

I love what you are doing. I am currently playing with Fito in Canned Heat with Dale Spaulding on harp, guitar and vocals and Rick Reed on bass. In 1968 I was a13 year old kid mesmerized by Alan Wilson, Mike Bloomfield and Johnny Winter. They pointed the way backwards to their heroes and I went down that glorious rabbit hole of influences where I still dwell today. 53 years later I get to play and sing Alan’s music and never take his genius for granted Thank you Jimmy Vivino (Burbank Ca) 2021

Alan Wilson was an amazing person and so much more than a gifted musician. He communicated with trees better than he did with people. He believed the trees could talk to him when he wrapped his arms around them. He read botany encyclopedias like they were novels and eventually learned the name of every tree in the world. His pockets were always filled with leaves, pinecones, plants and soil samples.

Canned heat didn’t get the recognition they deserved. Their Woodstock performance was epic .

I was at Woodstock 1969, and I can remember watching and hearing Canned Heat in their set. First of all I was one of the kids at the event, I was taken there by my older cousins who bought tickets. I was 12 years of age, we had to park our VW along the highway and walk about 5 miles to the festival. Along the hike I met some other kids my age, some were even younger than me! When we reached the farm my cousins asked me to remember where we were because we were going to meet up at the end of the festival. I was on my own for 3 days! When Canned Heat were on stage I was sitting with my friends and we were all thirsty as hell and hungry. We saw a bottle of soda being passed along, so we all took a big sip. When Canned Heat were jamming I stood up and was reaching out to catch the music that was floating around me. I didn't realise that I was tripping, but that was my introduction to acid. By the time Canned Heat got around to playing their finale "On The Road Again" I felt as though I was on stage with them. Their music has always been like hearing an old friend, and losing Blind Al so young was such a tragedy.

The Blind🦉 has been inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame as a Legendary Artist

What a wonderful tribute to a truly talented and gentle being. Today, 7/04/2023, would have been his 80th birthday. Rest in peace Alan.

The forgotten member of the 27club. And frankly one of the most underrated musicians (particularly blues, obviously) of all tine.

Happy birthday Alan you would have been 79 today Rest In Peace your music changed the world in such a small time.

The Blind 🦉 has been inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame as a Legendary Artist

You have totally delivered in this episode. A beautifully poignant tribute to a truly gifted soul. Wonderful work, thank you.

I'm a little young Australian that found Canned Heat by the magic of RU-vid. I think they were a fantastic band. As a mother of an autistic son I can see this in Alan Wilson. A quiet genius who couldn't relate to the hectic pace of this world. He did seem to take the world's problems to heart. His death in my opinion was accidental. So sad. Then Bob Hite also passed away at a young age due to an overdose. Tomorrow isn't promised to anyone. They did leave this world with wonderful music to warm the hearts of us that are still here to appreciate it

Alan Wilson, Gods gift to us. The good die young.

A touching tribute to Alan Wilson- well done. A forest walk always grounds me and helps to alleviate the blues.

Had Wilson lived he would have been one of the BEST blues guitarist on the planet.I make this statement without any slight on any guitarist.Remember our veterans this weekend.🗽🗽🗽🗽

I've listened to just about everything from canned heat. The one thing that i really think about most when i think about Allan Wilson is the Hooker & Heat songs. I just love John Lee talking about Wilson which he does quite a bit before songs. He is amazed how he can keep perfect time with him on harmonica and says "you musta really listen to my records alot" it's the dialogue that really brings Alan Wilson's spirit alive.

Thanks for doing this. He was a super nice guy - I remember him taking time to hang out with a bunch of us kids in '68 0r '69 after a Canned Heat show, just to talk about music. A real Gentle Man in the true sense. It still makes me sad to think about his death that way.

Alan "Blind Owl" Wilson was a gifted guitarist, great harp player, and distinct vocalist.

Blind Owl’s harp solo in Boogie Chillen 2 will never be outdone.

Allen Wilson is one of best guitarist of all time, a tragedy that he died at 27, even worse, never mentioned on the 27 club. he obviously had a lot more to give, today's doctors could have provided Allen with much needed help.

I “discovered” Canned Heat in 1968 after moving to Portland, OR. I also “discovered” John Fahey around that same time. It was years later (after Fahey died) that I found out about their friendship and Fahey being the person who brought Alan to LA. I still remember listening to KINK-FM in Portland on the day his death was announced in 1970. It was about seven years after that I met a girl in college who I’d eventually marry in early 1979. While we were going together in Stockton, CA; one day we were driving around when a Canned Heat song came on the radio. I told Tracey that I’d always been a big Canned Heat fan, to which she replied, “Oh yeah…Alan was my cousin”. As the old saying goes, you could have knocked me over with a feather at that point. So in early 1979, I became a 1st cousin by marriage to a musician I greatly admired yet would never be able to meet. I did meet Alan’s Mom, Shirley, in 1980 as well as his youngest half-sister Heidi. I also corresponded by mail with Alan’s delightful sister, Darrell, over the years until she passed away some time ago. She had a few stories about Alan I wish I could remember. Our middle son, Cliff, became a Canned Heat fan at an early age and is a pretty decent guitarist, too (a lot better than I ever was, anyway). We occasionally wondered whatever became of Alan’s gold-top Les Paul. Darrell mentioned that Bob Hite kept it for a while after Alan died but it was sold or traded and it’s whereabouts became a mystery. Good to see that it’s still around, battered but presumably in a collection somewhere. It sure produced some timeless music.

Paul “Koss” Kossoff deserves an episode !

I lost 3 of my favorites that year. Jimi, Duane Allman, and Alan Wilson. I saw Canned Heat and was in awe of the Owl’s solo. Drugs ruin lives. Drugs end lives.

Alan Wilson mesmerized the Woodstock crowd.

I grew up in Venice, Ca and in 1978 when the second Hooker & Heat album was recorded at the Fox Venice Theater I was a local kid who asked if I could help move some equipment because some of the roadies were off getting high or something… I became friendly with Bob Hite. I loved the stories he had to tell… And then there was his record collection…. He had some great stories about the eagerly days of the band. I’d see him around all the time… and the night he died (April 1981) I was at the Palomino because Bob helped me get in. I was a high school senior and he gave me tickets and told the people at the door that I was with him. I wasn’t around when he got the H but all hell broke loose between sets when he went into the coma. Such a terrible and depressing night. Last note… for years afterwards people would go up to Hite’s house and party there as well as what was believed to be the spot where Alan Wilson died. Sadly I never got to see Canned Heat with Alan. Thanks for doing another great and well informed video. Wilson was/ is a genius and sadly has been greatly overlooked… and I agree 100%. Today he’d be considered on the Autism spectrum. Sadly back then things like that were dismissed as weakness, etc. #RockOn ✌🏽

There are some good resources on the web about Al Wilson, many obliquely referring to his social inadequacies as a cause of considerable personal anxiety fo him. While he was probably shy and perhaps on the spectrum, he was able to articulate a considerable intellect and champion the blues legends he formed functional relationships with. He may have been an early champion of nature and communing with it, but it appears his lack of “social success” was at least partly due to not washing and having B.O. as a result. Regardless of his personal unhappiness he was a brilliant guitarist, harmonica player, singer and musician in the blues idiom. He understood earlier than most that the key to the blues was feel, not developing ever-increasing technique, as the basis of expressive power. Watch the Woodstock footage to see how much he listened to they band and responded in his playing compared with other guitarists who simply “blew”over the top. He has secured a loyal fan base despite dying 50 years ago as a result.

It took me about 51 years to find out about Blind Owl but I bought his biography and I have most of Canned Heats CDs now which I play over and over. I wish Alan could have lived longer he had soooooooooooooooooooooo much more to play.

I really liked the way he played Slide Guitar in “Rollin and Tumblin”! It was my favorite version of the song!

Alan's brilliant slide riff on "Let's Work Together" is a timeless gem. Thank you for your most moving and informative tribute.

C. Heat was playing the Forum, with Little Richard as opening act. I looked beside me and there stood Alan W. intently watching Richard's. I loved Canned Heat and wish I would have gone over to him and told him so.

I go back to the orange album (1967) with Canned Heat. Played the grooves off of it. In 1968 I went to my high school class's graduation party in a place called Mike Malkan's in the lower East Side of Manhattan. After getting pretty drunk, a few of us began wandering around, and I happened to see an advertisement for Canned Heat at the Cafe Au Go Go. I told my classmates we had to go, and chartered a cab for us. That was the only time I ever saw the classic lineup-- Wilson, Vestine, Taylor, Hite and de la Parra. Wilson was wearing a battered old flier's helmet. I never talked to the guys about what they thought of the show, but no matter, it was the best live show I'd ever seen. In a little more than a year I was in Vietnam, having failed in my first try at college. I came back and began to live the working man's life to which I was destined. I did make a record, in 1973, but the oil embargo hit like a coronavirus on my musical hopes. I never made another record for 27 years, though I did make a few demos. In 1974 I was working masonry supply west of Boston. Every day, in addition to my other hard labor, I would service masons who would come in for supplies. One of those masons was Al Wilson's father, who lived in Belmont. He was still taking his son's death very hard, as at that point it was thought to have been suicide. I pretty much kept the conversation to how much I had admired Al (as I was also a harp player, slide guitarist and singer) and Canned Heat. 11 years later I was living in Eugene, Oregon, having finally gotten serious about college. I was earning a Bachelor's degree in Journalism and History at Duck U, the University of Oregon, having already spent considerable time learning about investigation. I was a veteran leftist radical environmentalist. I was also woodshedding in the blues, getting to play with better and better musicians in Eugene. Sometime in 1985 Henry Vestine, "The Sunflower" of Canned Heat, its lead guitarist, came to town. Henry did not always play with Canned Heat by that time. During his time there James T (James Thornberry), of Eugene I think, was the slide and harp player with Canned Heat at least some of that time. Henry and I got along famously, of course. I wrote a good profile on him for the Eugene Daily Emerald, the student newspaper. Real trivia: there is a comet named after Henry Vestine's father, an astronomer. Henry was not drugging by that point, but he drank a lot. He was my roommate for 3 months or so in 1985, and he would start every day with a G.I.Q. (40 ounces, a Giant Imperial Quart) of Old English 800, or Colt 45, or Mickey's. Malt liquors. Ugh, but to each his own. Sunday nights, when he was in town, he would play in my group, which I called Church of the Blues, at the legendary Old Taylor's. 34 years later I called my 2019 CD release Church of the Blues, after that long ago meeting with another Canned Heat musician. There was to be one more encounter. By 2006, I had quit my last truck driving job and had become a touring musician, on the strength of my Handy Award nomination for 2004. "Best Emerging Artist," they call it. I was already 55 years old. My band, The Workers, and I were booked to play a small blues festival in Springfield, Nebraska. Up we drove from Oklahoma, and quite quickly the weather turned bad, and then worse, heavy rain mixed with sleet. When we got to the Soaring Wings Winery, which was holding the festival, it was a puddle and getting deeper. There may have been a hundred fans huddled in the winery (it's a lovely hillside site with good wine. Next time we played there there were more than 1000 people). We were very excited, because we were listed as co-headliners along with-- yep, Canned Heat! Naturally, I was most excited of all. At that time bassist Larry "the Mole" Taylor was still alive and active, but the drummer, Fito de la Parra, was the only original member left, and the leader, of Canned Heat. We played our set, and then Canned Heat took the stage. 49 years since I first heard their music, I sat in with Canned Heat! I bought Fito's book about Canned Heat, and I would sure like to have another copy, as that one disappeared somewhere. The next day he even gave me a joint! Honorable smoking, that. Happy birthday, Blind Owl. I know we woulda been friends, if you'd just had a little more time, and maybe, as one or two suggest here, better medical help. I knew the real story well at one point; it was a cerebral hemhorrage, probably from an auto accident Wilson had. Don't forget to Boogie. I am Watermelon Slim

An authentic "forgotten fretmaster". Painfully forgotten I should say.

I'm so glad you've uploaded this. I'm a die hard Alan Wilson fan. He always makes me cry. Long live The Blind Owl!

Our band played with Canned Heat when I was in high school. They were super nice guys and Bob Hite gave us a lot good info. However Allen was shy and didn’t communicate at all, but what a great show they played that night. RIP

I saw Canned Heat open for B.B. King at roller skating rink in Alexandria VA in the late 60s. Wow!

When you look at how much Alan Wilson and Canned Heat influenced music in such a short period of time, ya gotta wonder what they would have accomplished to this day, if Alan had been still been alive...no doubt..true genius 👏

Al ‘Blind Owl’ Wilson was an amazingly gifted musician & vocalist… someone who once you’d heard his superb guitar playing you could never forget! It was really so sad that he passed away as a young man, the world lost a wonderfully talented musician & a beautiful, gentle soul the day Al died.

As the father of an autistic young man, I find Alan Wilson's story even more heartbreaking than before since it's always been my understanding that he suffered from insomnia and used reds to get sleep. I too always thought he died from accidental overdose. Your assessment of him of possibly being autistic and suffering from the normal social anxieties that are a part of the condition brings a whole new perspective on his life and death. RIP Alan Wilson and Bob Hite. Canned Heat will always be in my musical memory.

Alan Wilson was definitely on the spectrum. His facial expressions, speaking voice, body movements, etc. People on the high functioning end of the spectrum are drawn to nature. Think of Greta Thunberg. They need a lot of alone time away from the pressures of social life - it exhausts them. What a talent he was. We lost so many. Anyway, thanks for bringing attention to high functioning autism and such a great talent.

I have been listening to Allen Wilson and CANNED HEAT SINCE 1968. What an Awesome voice and Guitar player!!! The World lost One of the BEST. Rest In Peace BROTHER. ❤❤🎉🎉🎉😅😢😅😢

I listen to Going up the Country over and over I throughly loved this band and “blind owl”

John Lee Hooker referring to Blind Owl as the greatest harp player is an example of as solidly said praise as you could hope to recieve. R.I.P. Blind Owl and John Lee Hooker!;

It’s wild that I missed the connection with Alan because I am a collector of leaves ,twigs , driftwood anything natural, spending time in nature I find peace .I love so deeply many varieties of music ,canned heat being one of my favorite powerfully intense compositions .ThankYou so much for this story it helps fill in my place in the human saga.Peace Love and Understanding…..

Exceptionally presented. Knowing what we know now there's a good chance he would still be with us today.

~ I know almost exactly what Alan was going through. Fortunately I am getting help with my struggles. R.I.P. Alan. 😞🙏❤🇨🇦

I was an early Canned Heat fan and knew immediately how special Alan Wilson was. I loved every song he sang.

Alan was a great man

Alan had that touch of genius that you can hear in all of his music.

Alan had a real unique voice. You can really tell that he loved that nature when you watch some of his live performances. You can see it in his eyes 🎸😎🌄 Thank you for this video RIP ALAN WILSON

Alan was THE ultimate Nerd guitarist. Nobody and I mean nobody can sound like him, especially when he played slide on his P90 Les Paul. The dude was not only very smart but he played with a soul that you would never expect to come out of the man. He, like others were extremely artistic and could be easily lead by some manipulators. The Artists who died young could not handle the fame. They had nobody close to them who could give them good guidance and keep them grounded.

I was 5. I couldn't understand a word, we spoke French at home. But the sound of it all on the 60's/70's radio, and Wilson's odd falsetto voice and Heat certainly found their place on the good side of history.

Here I am once again. Excuse me for my english, I usually speak french. Ich saw CH live in 1974 in Lausanne, Vaud County, Switzerland. Montreux is in this county, too. After the show, I jumped on the stage and went to the " loges" . ( the small backstage rooms ). Had a handshake with Bob Hite, Harvey Mandel, Henry Vestine, Fito de la Parra and Richard Hite. They gave me autographs too.... In my first message, one error.... my elder brother BOUGHT ( and not " buyed") the single. It was " On the road again" . Hope you' ll enjoy the story. Hello from the Old World...

Thank you sir. Saw them several times in the 60's. I hope Al's hanging happy with the Ancestors all these years. Bless his good soul.

Always said this was a vastly underrated band, & I’m a big fan of Wilson’s voice. I particularly love high energy acts & the ability to merge the energy with outstanding talent. Canned heat had that ability in spades. RIP Alan Wilson.

Excellent choice. Thanks.

I loved him then in the 60s and still do. But this makes me cry because the rest of us are all dropping like flies now. Reminiscent of modern day tragedies like Ian Curtis, I wished I could’ve reached out and mothered them. We had things in common. 76 now, I never saw canned heat live but a lot of other bands like the doors, the seeds, Jefferson airplane, country Joe, blind faith, etc, Thank you for this tragic overdue doc! Even though it makes me cry…

Nobody has forgotten this man he was great and big influence on me and my brother.

Love Canned Heat! This is a great episode, Alan was such an amazing musician

Hello! I’m a close friend and personal assistant for Fito de la Parra, if you’d ever like to interview Fito he would 100% love to share his amazing stories about the band and his life.

Larry T was my hero, I even stayed at his A framed house in Laurel Canyon. Got to play a early Gibson that had a screw in leg that he kept in his closet. RIP Larry.

I didn't know Alan all that well. I worked for his father's construction company and was friends with his sister Sharon who married a friend of mine. I did get to jam with him when I was about 15, around 1960. He was an amazing guitarist even in his teenage years.

boogie with canned heat is a must have in any record collection and living the blues is right up there too!

I love the heat They are most definitely not forgotten Long as I’m around playing my guitar

Excellent work. Thanks from the UK.

I was friends with Bob Hite’s brother, Richard. I went to their house and saw their record collection. Bob had one of the best / biggest record collection I’ve ever seen. They had mint condition Robert Johnson Vocalian 78s still in the dust sleeve. He had thousands of old 78s of obscure artists from the 1920-30s. Richard and Bob traveled the Deep South in the early 60s buying records from juke box companies and citizens’ attics, etc. And they had 10s of thousands of 33 1/3 albums of blues. They had the GOLD Woodstock album and Going Up The Country on the wall too! I agree about the Hooker N Heat album. I bought it when I was 17 or 18. Richard also shared with me about the time he found his brother, Bob, dead OD’ed in their mom’s backyard. Anyway, they did have the most extensive blues record collection I’ve ever seen. And I helped Jim O’Neal load and unload his when he moved to Mississippi. I also worked at The Blues Archives at Ole Miss for a year. BB King donated his record collection to them.

That's sad in the 70S I took a lot of barbiturits and ludes and placydils I guess I was just lucky RIP Alan

Still played and loved in my house, and will be as long as I draw breath.

Blind Owl captured my ears the forst time I heard him play harp..then he played his guitar and sang and wrote..He will be missed forever.

I often think of the success of ZZ Top and how they are widely held as the coolest Blues band ever, however, I have always felt that Canned Heat was truly the absolute coolest of them all, and never had intentions of being cool,, they just were, they couldn't help it.

Great video about a great musician. This was my era. The world was upside down back then, just as it is today, all over again. I pray the youth of today stick with normal/traditional beliefs, and reject the perversions forced on them by too many upside down adults in their lives.

Alan Wilson; one of my very first blues influences. A great talent. Thanks for assembling this video.

51 years ago today he passed rip love you!!

He was a fantastic blues harp player. His Unique style was not emulated by others that I know of.

Delivered with great empathy and understanding for the mentaly affected. Thanks!

incredible Alan Wilson .. magic singer , harp player , slide guitar... CANNED HEAT whooooooww ( Fito Parra , henry vestine , harvey mandel , bob hite , larry talor .........) GREAT BAND AND MUSICIANS

Alan lad. Take your place in the history of rock music. I will for one never forget you and the legendary Canned

I’m late on this sadly didn’t know until a few months ago that Alan blind owl Wilson , and the bear were both dead, I made a move in 1973 were I lost my love of music 🎶 I stopped listening and going to concerts can’t explain. Canned heat used to listen to them probably 1968 ish , but they were not everyone’s cup of tea like a lot of the music I like, thanks for the info even though it brings a tear to my heart and a low slow in take of breath I, I’m going to try to find every single live music 🎶 that shows Alan’s sweetness, his voice guitar style and the Bear bouncing around the stage, Why can’t we just stop in a time we love 68-73 was my favourite 15-20 years old now 70 not so good

Alan “Blind Owl” Wilson authentic blues man!

Thank you for keeping Al alive. I hope many learn about him.

I am thrilled black music which I never thought was black music, simply and emphatically brought you peace and thrills somebody somehow knew how " YOU " felt inside. And gave you hope. What Wilson did for me is as poor he captured poor life.

I never met Alan Wilson, but I was good friend of Bob Hite-The Bear of Canned Heat. They played as a house band at the Topanga Corral nightclub in Topanga Canyon Topanga CA, I and my boyfriend Don Massey were hired by Sandy Freeman and Sidney Fish, Owners of Topanga Corral Nightclub to operate food concessions and we prepared delicious meals for patrons and entertainers. I also baked fresh homemade pies and Bob loved my Orange Custard Pies and I always made one for him to take home each weekend they played.

So glad I found this. RIP blind owl. I'm going to jam some tonight. What a band. This is great. Thanks

Favorite band growing up. Saw them in 1970 in 9th grade.

A truly terrible loss of a unique talent. Without knowing him, he seemed to be a gentle soul, ignited by the blues. On a brighter note, I love the nod to Be Bop Deluxe on your wall. Thank you for recognizing them.

Thankyou for getting such a comprehensive string of facts together!

God bless Alan "Blind Owl" Wilson! A great student and artist of the blues!

Don't forget a badass harp player. Blind Owl was a hell of a slide player. Love this band still spin my vinyl Canned Heat

I was privileged to have seen canned heat in oxford England. As a 23 old in my Afghan coat loon trousers cheese cloth shirt and clogs O Happy Days.

Former west of Boston,Mass. resident. Mom was born in and had relatives living in Arlington,Mass. Wow! I haven't seen anything honoring him there. I used to drive through Arlington on my way to Somerville.Thanks for this piece. Another homeboy to brag about.

I've been doing a deep dive into Jimmy Page. In his interviews he often mentions Canned Heat as being an inspiration for a group doing up country blues authentically. I'd forgotten about Alan Wilson, but will always love his iconic voice and slide guitar. Thank u.

If I had a time machine, I would cheer Alan up. I didn`t know that about him

I had a radio gig when I was in high school, I played blues and jazz during my show. I used to go down to Chess Records to get samples and one day when I was there, I got to meet Son House.

Thank you for an excellent , in-depth and thoughtful conversation on Alan Wilson and Canned Heat. You’re an excellent teacher!

Stunningly told. You are a fantastic story teller and narrator

I liked Canned Heat when I was a kid but never knew this. WOW! He had a special voice. Excellent guitar player for sure.

Great video about a beautiful person and great musician. Thanks.

So glad to hear Blind Owl getting the attention he deserves. Loved this band since I was a kid. The first 2 CDs I ever owned were "In Utero" and Canned Heat's greatest hits. R.I.P. Alan Wilson.

I saw a biography on Amazon. it was strange when I finally heard how normal his speaking voice was and he was very focused when he cared about something.

What a fantastic and beautifully presented biography of Alan. The details and structure of your narration are very well written and lucidly realized. Nice work.

Never forgotten......

One of my favorites since I was a kid in the 60,'s. I rented a room in Nh from a gal that went to Chelmsford highschool with him. I quized her a bit anour him. She was not a big blues or music fan and didn't know what I did. God rest his soul.