Hot Tuna - Uncle Sam Blues (1971) 

I was at this show! Did my first hit of acid

I saw Hot Tuna back in the mis 80s in a small club outside Washington DC. The warm up band was a local group with lots of fans, lots. As the band left the stage bout 90% of the sheeple left.... Me and about 20 others got a live up front unplugged concert from the Tuna. Idiots all left the good show and followed the young turks and missed out one one of the best shows I've ever seen....

I saw this remarkable band for 3 straight nights in 1971, live at the Chateau Liberte (a club favored by the band in the redwoods) near Santa Cruz, California. We had the table in front of the stage and had Papa John joined us (we kept the Heinekens coming). This is where the first album was recorded. Magical!!!

Ashamed to say that i havent listened to Tuna and Papa John in many years. Thanks for the wakeup! Very nice!!

i met papa john in raleigh nc eating breakfast at the hilton hotel. this was around 1977. a very gracious man. he signed a napkin for me. he referred to midnight sun,his backing band, as "my boys". his playing is so soul soulful and expressive. we'll never hear the likes of him and vassar clements again.

I saw TUNA back in the late 70s several times at the Commack Arena in NY. They used to play for HOURS!! LONG LIVE HOT FUCKIN TUNA!!!!

papa john creach..that man could play!!

I loved this band when I was a kid.What I remember about that time was how deeply we felt about the music which this audience demonstrates by their excitement.Back before all the distractions of computers and blackberries and cellphones and 10 thousand TV channels.

I too was born in '57 and my sister who was 6 years older went to all the major events in and around SF, we lived nearby in Napa, and my Dad drove her and the rest of the family to them. So I saw Haight and Ashbury, the Summer of Love, the free Concerts in Golden Gate Park (the Dead), she saw Jimi Hendrix in SF just after Monterey Pop Festival (missed it but got to the earlier Magic Mtn festival), and brought home home albums of every one. It was Great.

de grands musiciens que j'ai aimé dans ma jeunesse et que j'écoute toujours avec autant de bonheur michel ( valence fr )

I had the 3 LP sountrack to this film a long time ago on vinyl. Lots of great stuff on it, mostly SF Psychedlic Rock Bands from the 60's

Saw them last night on LI- the best show i've seen in years... fantastic

“On bass, a devil, devil, devil of a man, Mr. Jack Casady. On lead guitar, the sex symbol of Scandanavia, Mr. Jorma Kaukonen.” 😂

this is the best band in the world...no matter what, they put a smile on my face, even on the greyest of days.

They were together before J Airplane, and still together... what, like 50 years of playing together. They are magic = I never miss a show when they're in my area. And like Kathy noted below, the subtle differences between performances are amazing. Top musicians!

Awesome video never seen this one before kicks ass

I remember watching this on PBS, who broadcasted part of the closing of the Fillmore. I, too, was born in '57, and was 14. thinking, "This place is closing now,just when I'm coming of age. Shit!!" I knew I was headed for a psychadelic waterfall..., and glad to catch the 70's, great music, shows, (drugs), and memories.

Rocking, Stomping,...Jumping Blues...Best of the Best :-)

Saw these guys a cold winter night in northern wisconsin in 72ish. It took me 30 years to recover from the boogie they instilled in me. For the record, still recovering, a bit slower but visceral, just the same....

Very nice! Electric Tuna. Classic. #Papa John

the electric years were good i saw them at knebworth 75 they were stupendous so was the dope!!

Got my questionnaire baby You know I'm headed off for war I got my questionnaire baby You know I'm headed off for war Well, now I'm gonna do some fightin' Well, no one knows what for Well, Uncle Sam ain't no woman You know he sure can take your man Said Uncle Sam ain't no woman You know he sure can take your man Well, there's 40,000 guys in the service list Doin' somethin' somewhere they just don't understand Well, I'm gonna do some fightin' Of that I can be sure Said I'm gonna do some fightin' Of that I can be sure Well, now I want to kill somebody Won't have to break no kind of law I got my questionnaire baby You know I'm headed off for war I got my questionnaire baby You know I'm headed off for war Well, I want to kill somebody Won't have to break no kind of law

December 1970, Fillmore East. Jefferson Airplane. Grace Slick was something like 8 months pregnant. Periodically she would go rest and what would become Hot Tuna would play.

Great!

I was lucky enough to see them at the Fillmore west in early '71 and still have the handbill they gave out.

Hot Tuna oh man those were the days at Bill Grahams Filmore !!

Super!

@lloyger I saw them at the Beacon in NY in 2010 for Jormas 70th birthday and my friend that entire show was pure ooomf!

Fantastic performance. W Papa John!

@lloyger stylistically IMHO Jack and Jorma have become masters of stealth and the understatement, i.e. the "ooomf" is there if one knows where to look. It may take you more than one show, and if you are lucky enough to catch them acoustic, well... miracles can happen. Jes sayin' :)

"on bass, devil, devil, devil, devil of a man, Jack Casady" :) WOW!!!

great piece bro !!! thanks..

These Airplanepeople can really play !!

If you get a chance, go see these guys play! HOT FUCKING TUNA!!

FUCK YEAH!!!! That's how it's done boys and girls

quel formidable groupe... Jorma est vraiment un fabuleux guitariste, à écouter sans modération.

i really want to see them. They sound awesome

vintage Tuna!!!

Now that's what I call music!

hey, i was at asbury park sunday night. they rocked

I was at the Filmore East watching Jefferson Airplane. If that were not great enough at break out come a branch group called Hot Tuna. A good concert became a great concert.

Saw them in the Winter of 72 at Eau Claire Arena. Took me 30 years to finish college after that concert. The Diathlyamide Resistance didn't die, it evolves like sourdough, more in touch with the Cosmos than standard fare, if you know what I mean. Visceral Chords Forever....Humbug Guitarist

I don't know who you are~But~DAMN man~sure miss the daze~Thank you for sharing~

When you listen to HOT TUNA, you listen for the subtlety of the music. You dont listen for a "lot more ooomf". AND, you'll be damned lucky if you are allowed to live as long as these "old farts". Just a little pup.

I recently saw them too, in between snowstorms! :)

Hot!!!!

wow...

@nebnis81 of all of the legendary characters that emerged from this era, bill graham was undoubtedly one of the most important. where do you think a little band called the warlocks, later called the grateful dead, got their start before anyone knew who they were? who gave a 16 year old kid named carlos santana play as an opener for butterfield blues band until everyone in the world knew his name? who took some canadian cats who called themselves the band and presented them to the world?

Que belleza 🎸🔥....🎻🔥....obra de arte ...que músicos ...que época , tanto talento ...🙏desde Argentina 🇦🇷✌️

@aurora1957A -nice to hear from a fellow traveler.Good stuff.

thanks!

No shit Sherlock ...twice that year for me at Cowtown Palace K.C. Missouri ...the munchkins are still walking through fields of accordians in my head...scary good stuff!

i was born in 57 and i could have been the skinny long haired blonde chick if she were dancing a little less acid induces and not on someones shoulders!!I saw them a few weeks ago in New York and I was so attracted to their groove still!Although I miss Papa John Dearly and wish at shows they'd bring aboard a cool electric violin player. thanks for this enjoyable clip!

The original name of the band was Hot Shit, but that was nixed by the record company, so they went with Hot Tuna, not sure where the Tune part came from. Hot Tuna was also a splinter group from the Jerfferson Airplane, so that Jack and Jorma could experiment with a more blues sound.

9994 wiews for the magnificent hot tuna !

ICE!!!

@bluesborn I'm getting a flashback!!!!!!!!!

lol.. Bill something or other.. you got some good tunes in your favorites!

PAPA JOHN CREECH, JACK CASSIDY(JEFFERSON AIRPLANE).. FROM THE BEGINNING TO THE END......... END SO QUIETLY.......................

Jack & Jorma are! See the "more info" link.

@egits I'm glad the guys are in good form, I've got tix for a show next week! :)

@conman556 No. I wasn't alive yet. Born in 78. I meant the best show overall that I've seen. It felt like what a concert should feel like. Hot Tuna has the attitude and the audience felt it. Great vibe!

@lloyger Hard to reconcile "lack of oomph" with "best rock band," as going to see the Rolling Stones or The Who tends to be a lesson in bands that deliver every time. "Best Ever" lists aren't really what artistic expression is really supposed to be all about, anyway.

That's the real Burning Hot Tuna!

these were the daze... young,dumb and fulla come..now i'm just old.. were did the damn time go HFT~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bill Graham is his name.

papa john creach!

Wasn't the first album recorded at The New Orleans House in Berkeley in Sept of '69? I could have missed something,so I'm just asking. Whatever the case,I never got to the Chateau - you're one lucky person to have heard them there. Love Santa Cruz and those redwood hills around it - many memories. Heartfelt thanks for your story.

@Akindone53 How the Beatles couldn't be mentioned on any video is beyond me. If it wasn't for the Beatles, Jorma and Jack would've probably just stayed as folky coffee house guys and never got into a rock and roll band at all.

@nebnis81 ha, sorry bro. didn't mean to. chalk it up to having a soft spot for the guy, eh? btw, we forgot to put the great moby grape (and i'm sure countless others) in our list of great acts he supported, if not broke. is there an emoticon in the form of a peace sign?

I wish! :)

I prefere woodstook version, but this is very good too

@bluesborn Yeah me too, Burgers was the second lp I ever bought, back then it seemed like the music was part of something bigger and listening to it was like gaining membership to that thing... now days everything is fragmented & you have to look so hard to find the right stuff... My two cents worth anyway... I still think HFT is the bomb, and will catch Jack and/or Jorma live whenever I can, with age they have become true masters of their art. Can't wait til the new studio CD comes out! :) :)

Bro - I'm 44 and I think HOT TUNA may just be the best Rock N Roll band...Jorma Kaukonen is American music - from his Piedmont blues ''purism'' to the fuzzed out haunting notes of Somebody To Love with Jefferson Airplane... Enjoy being a whippersnapper - You'll blink and be 40. My advice is don't drink and visit a dentist at least 3 times a year.

I seem to remember a point in this or Hesitation Blues when the sound of breaking glass was audible in the audience. Anybody help me out?

Will having been to Clovis close enough?

Fillmore: The Last Days, otherwise known as Fillmore (1972), hasn't been released on DVD, there are some old VHS copies floating around, pretty hard to find, the CD is available on Amazon but doesn't have "Uncle Sam Blues" on it (but it does have a smokin' Keep Your Lamps Trimmed and Burnin). Good luck! Let me know how you make out! :)

@nebnis81 no..... not yet at least. bloomfield's is just one of those catalogs i've yet to sink my teeth into. but, i would dare say he was very much a grahamite. bbb played the shit out of the original fillmore. where do you suggest i start with bloomfield?

would like to know where I can get this "final days of the fillmore" film......I have the three record set.........this is really good.

the fuck are you talking about? this IS the splinter grp!

actually, it is not a rumour, jorma told me the story himself

johnny winters at 3:22

@nebnis81 i understand what you're saying, but; as a man of the same profession as as mr. graham i can tell you that one has quite often got to be 'the bad guy.' (i'd assume it's not terribly different from many, if not most, positions of particular influence.) and, let me tell you from experience that bands are extraordinarily difficult entities with which to deal. i respect the man and his indelible contributions to the world too much not to stand up and declare, "BILL GRAHAM WAS NOT A PENIS!"

@frederickus I was stoned.

:)

You sure don't hear of lead fiddles but if anybody could do it, it was Papa John.

@nebnis81 of all of the legendary characters that emerged from this era, bill graham was undoubtedly one of the most important. where do you think a little band called the warlocks, later called the grateful dead, got their start before anyone knew who they were? who a 16 year old kid named carlos santana play as an opener for butterfield blues band until everyone in the world knew his name? who took some canadian cats who called themselves the band and presented them to the world? blasphemer.

2:27 God!!!!

@lloyger - Keep in mind these guys are pushing 70, they can't do all the crazy drugs and stay up all night like they did way back when.

Help you out? How?

LSDAZE...

@mpjrdldn This year? Yer sleepin' or you were just born!

LOL :)

I'm gonna get shelled here, but was never a fan of what Papa John brought to the mix, but that's just me. Huge fan of Jorma and Jack and see 'em many times.

@MultiCandor *symbol

@keaton1895 Didn't mean to step on your Beatle Boots ,but you go from., " Every band since 1964 have been influenced by The Beatles and even today." to "but the Beatles is why a lot of people decided to go into music." That is a big Big difference,plus the first statement is an insult to many original musicians, the second is a assumption based on no evidence, and your opinion. How the Beatles got mentioned here on a video about Hot Tuna is like that zombie kid declaring "I LIKE TURTLES"

Sex Symbol Of Scandinavia:)

thats that jewish guy who did all the concerts back in the day.whats his name again...anyway hes famous

@keaton1895 Every Band? Bullshit!! More like there were many bands before and during the Beatles that influenced the Beatles. How could you even allude Hot Tuna and the Beatles together is a contortion of reality .

the woodstock version is way better