Canned Heat Harmonica Secret Revealed.
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 7 ก.ย. 2023
- The Canned Heat version of blues song ‘On The Road Again,’ was their first major hit record. It’s insistent rhythm, psychedelic introduction and Al Wilson’s eerie high pitched vocals really captured the spirit of the times. Add to this some brilliant harmonica work and you have one of the best blues rock songs ever.
In the harmonica solo Al Wilson plays a note that isn’t there on a standard richter tuned diatonic harmonica. How did he do this? The secret is revealed in this video. - เพลง
![[ไฮไลต์] ฟุตบอลชาย ญี่ปุ่น vs ปารากวัย รอบแบ่งกลุ่ม | โอลิมปิก 2024](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/X_BeGaAv1oM/mqdefault.jpg)
Thanks for that. Alan Wilson was pure genius. Why did we have to lose him at such a young age? RIP, Blind Owl😢
Yes. Such a shame. Here’s a link to a really interesting interview with Canned Heat’s drummer. He talks a lot about the early days.
podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/mark-hummels-harmonica-party/id1570061845?i=1000614227856
I definitely agree with you!! What a great band and bunch of guys!! I'm up there in age and I was lucky to see a lot of them live and will never forget it and the times we all had back then. I'd go back in a heartbeat!!!! I'm glad to see people talking about the band and AL. He was amazing!!
@@mikes9759 Really envy you. I never saw them. But Alan was incredible in so many ways. Pure musical genius. Bob and the other guys were among the very best bands ever.
@@ScottSwess Thanks for responding. I think it was a great time! I have great memories. I always love Canned Heat and turned a lot of people on to them and said they were way overlooked by people!! I don't want to bum you out, but the ticket prices were unbelievable back then. I think the highest price tickets I ever got were for Zeppelin in 77 and I had 3rd row center for 9.50 a piece. DAMN that's the old saying the good old days!!
@@mikes9759 Really wish I could’ve seen the Heat. Saw others, Stones, CSN&Y, Dylan…can’t remember ticket costs but probably similar to those you mentioned ☺️
Brilliant playing, great vibrato, excellent explanation/demonstration of the tweaking under the covers Ricky.
Thanks Al. 👍
Your playing is superb!
Thank you. Much appreciated 👍
A Damn good band back in the day.
May all Canned Heat Members that are no longer with us R.I.P.
I think only the Mole, MR. Larry Taylor(bass) is still with us.
@@Dstrbrdgrnd The Mole died in 2019 at the age of 77.
the remastered version of this song is absolutely incredible, and the singer’s voice matching the harmonica always gave me chills
Just been having a listen to it. You’re right its great. 👍
@@rickycool100 have you ever heard of tash sultana?
truly incredible musician, would love to see you translate any of her work into harmonica, give her a listen some time.
a wonderful place to start is her appearance on “like a version,” covering mgmt’s ‘electric feel.’
anyway, thanks for listening ☺️
@@strikerwoman Hi. No I haven’t. I’ve made a note and will listen. Thanks, Ricky 👍
DAMN! I got goose bumps when you played that classic riff from one of my all-time favorites!! Thank you for the rush!
Brilliant! As a child of the 60's, I love that song, but never fully appreciated the magic of the harp solo -- thank you!
Thank you for taking the time to show respect and say the name Alan Wilson. 40yr bass player saying that he is my #1 favorite musician of all time. Thanks
THAT WAS GREAT! I've always liked the canned heat version of on the broad again. I also found it startling that they had this huge hairy guy playing flute.
Yes. Bob Hite was a gentle giant by all accounts. 👍
Bob Hite only mimed the flute for playback, it was Jim Horn on the studio recording.
You made me want to listen to Canned Heat again. I forgot what a great group that was
Great playing - impressive how you are able to reproduce Al Wilson's distinctive tone.
Thank you! Took up the harp back in the Sixties while living in Santa Cruz, Ca. Good times.
VERY cool story! Thank you for that! I have always loved that song, every little bit of it, all the things, the sitar in the beginning. I have an alternate take of the song they did where it isn’t there, and it’s a little different but I just get amazed at how they got that sound. Perfect tremolo on guitar, perfect sitar opening, and I never knew that about the wonderful harmonica solos…makes me like it even more, so now when I hear it, I’m gonna realize he modded his harp! Love listening to it blasting in my car.
Thanks. What a lovely comment. It is a great song.
I have been playing the harp for many, many years…and never figured out how Wilson hit that note. I thought it might have been done with an overdub after the recording session using a second harp. Thanks for a very interesting video…and for revealing the secret! 😊
Great, have gone over 50 yrs thinking I was completely musically illiterate. Thank you.
I love canned heat and I used to sing looking for my rainbow when I walked down through the barges at work for 15 years and once in a while like find somebody else that would sing it in rounds with me with an echo and in those big empty steel barges. I can't hear good enough to catch things like this without someone pointing it out to me thank you for doing that
Thanks. That’s a lovely story. 👍
@@rickycool100 I like the elections over song. Maybe you could do something with that.
How in the world would someone so young figure out how to do that back in the '60s? He must have had a mentor.
I think you’re probably right. Both him and Bob Hite were so steeped in the blues they probably knew some of the old masters and may have had some harmonica tampering tricks explained.
Don't underestimate real natural talents.
You nailed Al Wilson. Thanks
I was in college (in New England to boot) when Woodstock took place; in fact, some of my college friends went, and they invited me to come along for the experience but lacking funds and not really being into chemistry of those days, I did not go. The music that played included that of Canned Heat, and as I now reflect, it seemed like the popular music of the time would be simple enough to play, but now being a guitar player and singer of sorts, I have come to realize that there was great talent and brilliance being displayed by the various artists then.
Your explanation of these harmonica riffs helps to illustrate my view, and of course, there is also a very nostalgic quality added to the listening experience. Thank you most sincerely.
Thank you for sharing your story. I do find the whole history of that time really interesting. You are right. There was great opportunity back then for musicians to really develop their talent and imagination and audiences were ready and willing to embrace what they were doing. Best wishes, Ricky
That was cool. Thank you for the breakdown and having the Hohner taken apart to see the inner workings.
This just proves to me that TH-cam is a wonderful thing. This very likely would have been lost if Ricky hadn't explained and demonstrated his talents as well as Al Wilson's. Al Wilson blew outa here early but Ricky has revitalized that era by letting us know. Thanks!
That’s a lovely comment. Thank you. 👍
I played for years and was never able to get that Alan Wilson sound. Now I know why, alone with lots of other techniques he mastered. What a freakin' genius he was. He was the transition from southern blues to modern ears. Pissed he didn't get to do more.
Really great to learn that about this outstanding Al Wilson solo !!
I get a happy feeling hearing "On the Rode Again". I`m 74 and remember hearing it on the ol` AM car radio during my younger days. Great music.
I know what you mean. It’s such an iconic song and triggers memories for lots of us. Particularly those of us it impacted when it first was released. 👍
now I got that song stuck in my head!!
😆😆 Took me a while to shake it off after I did the video. 👍
That took me back a little over half a century.
Not bad!
Thanks, man.
Thank you. 👍
Dirty tricks!.......from back in the day!. Love it.
Beautifully explained. Bless Ricky
The first band I ever saw as a 16 yr old kid in 1970. Fairmont Park, Riverside Ca. The hippie thing was so alive and the band was so good. Alan had that cool falsetto but it was Bob Hite that I was fascinated with. He was emotional…soulful.
That’s a great memory. Thanks 👍
Alan was my late wife Tracey’s first cousin. I married Tracey about nine years after Alan died. (Tracey and I met while attending the same college in California.) I was a Canned Heat fan from the time I’d moved from Memphis to the West Coast in 1968. I was crushed when it was announced on the radio that Alan had died in 1970. I still remember being floored when Tracey excitedly told me, “That’s my cousin!!” when “On the Road Again” came on the radio shortly after I’s met her in 1977. At first, I didn’t believe her. We corresponded with Alan’s sister, Darrell, a number of times until her death from cancer about 13 years ago. Darrell was a lovely person. She loved Alan and told me that it still felt like he was just out touring for years after his death. Tracey and I moved to Baltimore in 1979. Sometime during that year, Alan’s Mom, Shirley, and his youngest sister, Heidi (a half-sister as I recall) stopped by Tracey’s parents’ house for a visit. That was the only time I ever met Alan’s Mom.
Wow. Thank you for sharing your story. I really appreciate you taking the time. I heard a great podcast interview with Canned Heat’s drummer Fido de la Para. He talked a lot about Al Wilson as you can imagine. You can find the episode on Mark Hummel’s Harmonica Party either via a podcast app or on TH-cam. Best wishes, Ricky
@@rickycool100 I’ll definitely have to check out that podcast and thanks for the info about it.
I’ve always wanted to meet Fito but have no idea how to do so. I really wanted to do that with my late wife, Tracey. I have family photos of Alan when he was younger and one of him and Tracey together taken probably in the mid-50’s, most likely either at Tracey’s parents’ house or at her Aunt Shirley’s (Alan’s Mom) place in Boston. Tracey’s Mom, Montie Lou and Alan’s Mom Shirley were sisters, of course. If you saw a photo of Tracey when she was in her 20’s onward and then looked at a good photo of Alan’s face when he was that age, the resemblance in some areas (eyes, brows and lips) are uncanny. Fito would likely have noticed that had he met Tracey, since he knew Alan pretty well starting around 1967.
I was always wondering how Alan hit that “mystery note” as he and you did on the “On the Road Again” riff. I play harmonica (just a bit these days) and know how to tune harps but considering what a Marine Band costs these days…I wouldn’t dare try retuning one for the sole purpose of hitting one note! I’d only try that on one of those inexpensive Chinese harps that show up in thrift store bins😊 (and none come close to the sound of a genuine Marine Band).
Cheers!
I'm from Detroit (blow the reveille)!
Thank you for this *Value-Added* musical moment!
*ROX ON!*
- Dave B.
There's a live version of this song from their Woodstock concert where Bob Hite plays the harmonica, I believe.
Yes that’s right. On live performances Bob Hite would play the harmonica on the song. Al Wilson did it on the recording because they were able to overdub the harmonica part. They were lucky to have two great players in the Band. 👍
Great stuff man. That proves the masters of an instrument are the ones who create new limits beyond it's natural design.
Like Keith Richard leaving off the low E string and tuning the rest to an open G.
@@thomasmcfeely8869 Not good compare 😄 .
@davidfox5942 wasn't a comparison, it was my taste.
If Al Wilson had been the first person to retune a harmonica, you might have a point. Al Wilson was just great because he was just great !"£$%^&*()_++_)(*&^%$£"!
Wow! Thank you so much! Very informative AND great playing.
Thank you John. 👍
"Blind Owell" was a clever cat and you are a generous and clever Cat for sussing it out and sharing ...gonna watch "Beat-club" now.
😊😊
I didnt know i needed to know this, but, here we are
Absolutely brilliant.
I first heard this when I was 12 and it blew my mind.
It was a riff from Mars, different from anything else.
As a kid from Manchester, England I didn't know it was something called blues..all I knew, 'i wanted more'
I know that feeling. 👍
How can a kid have the blues in him when it was generally not on the radio, no influencing adults or peers and he's not even in the right country!
It's always puzzled me.
I loved the Stones at around 7 yrs old but... On the road again! The riff, the voice, the haunting sound.
What bit of my brain was tweaked that wasn't tweaked in many others?
I'll never know🤔
Thank you for blowing my mind as canned heat did everytime I listened to them..and you have Blind Owl down to a T God love ya for keeping it going!
Very interesting. Also liked the walk down memory lane. Those were the days of the best music.
Very happy that TH-cam brought me here. I really enjoyed this.
Thank you. I’m glad you found my video. 👍
Dude! That was an AWESOME video! The history and the technique! Love your playing!!!
Thank you 👍
Thanks for doing this man. I'm actually working on this right now. Just awesome
No problem. Thanks for your lovely comment. 👍
I am going to file this under a large file called "things I didn't know about harmonica, but now am fully across." ;)
I still have the Canned Heat Cookbook album from 1969, got it for $1 at a grocery store in ‘69. Anyway, I used to see them all the time at a place called Thee Image on Miami Beach, admission was $1 also. I play the album all the time, you’d think it would be played out but it is still as
good as the first time!
Well I ain’t goin’ down that
Looong lonesome road
All by myself….
Priceless album👍👍👍
Fabulous story. Thanks for sharing. Best wishes, Ricky
Absolutely fascinating on so many levels! You should be a teacher!
A amazing revelation clearly explained.
Thank you, Mr. Swess !
On a side note , I am privy to some obscure trivia from a roadie with Canned Heat at the start of their career.
Traveling by bus and living on the bus with the band had its own challenges.
Primarily because the band members refused to bathe .
For weeks, if not months .
Needless to say, the odiferous confines was a burden my roadie friend delt with , apparently without complaint 😊.
Gosh. The every day realities of working on the road with a band. 😆😆 Good job they were all young and excited. 👍
You mean they smelled like humans? How dare they do something that is normal to our nature!!
@@thevoiceharmonic
Oh , calm down.
Lol. Great video! One of my first 45's. Still have!
I am the missing link in a long line of musicians. I didnt realise a harmonica was so interesting! Thank you
Canned Heat's "On the road again" is a bit more uptempo than Floyd Jones' 1953 version.
Floyd also wrote "Canned Heat Blues"
(singing of drinking cooking fuel)
That probably gave the band it's name.
Check out Henry Thomas' 1928
"Goin' up the Country"
(coustic gitr n' panpipes)
i love thatn'
"
First person I've seen do a full explanation on Alan Wilson's technique for this song, Could you do "I'm Her Man" next, I'm not sure how to do the tremolo effect he does and it sounds really cool,
Hi. I've just listened to the track. He's playing a C harmonica in 3rd position, putting him in Dm. That in itself is interesting given when it was recorded. It shows he was a serious harmonica player who really knew his instrument. Up there with Paul Butterfield and Charlie Musselwhite etc. The effect you mention. Do you mean in the harmonica solo towards the end. There is one point when he's on the 5 hole draw and seems to do a warble between the 5 hole and 4 hole, rather than any effect he's producing just on one hole. I hope that helps. If not, let me know at which point in the recording you mean and I'll try again. Best wishes, Ricky
Nearly 60 years playing the blues harp and I've only recently discovered that Al Wilson "doctored" his harp for this solo. Thanks for describing exactly what I need to do now. BTW, the Blind Owl is my favourite non-African-American harp player. Little Walter being my all-time fave.
@@jimmeltonbradley1497 Thanks for your comment. I’m pleased the video was useful. I agree with you. Al Wilson is a great player and of course Little Walter is fabulous. He took harmonica playing tova whole new level. Best wishes, Ricky
Excellent.
Now I have to buy another harp JUST to file one reed down, because I've never hit that note anytime I've tried, playing it from memory 😂
Great stuff, does anyone have the tab to the entire solo?
Thank you. Follow this link for the full TAB.
www.harpsurgery.com/canned-heat-on-the-road-again/
@@rickycool100 thanks so much Ricky. You're a great inspiration and I love how you spread your knowledge around. The young-ish (31 now 🤔) generation appreciates it.
@@JagoKosolosky Thanks Jago. 👍
Excellent my new friend, love that vibrator !
My husband loves the song and your fantastic playing, great video man!!!
I wore that album out,use to come home from school and put this album on to meditate,fried hockey boogie, took me to inner space many times, those were the days,loved that band.
Thanks.
Love that group; love that song.
Orémus Y'all.
Great little video. Awesome harmonica playing. 👏🏿👏🏿👏🏿
Thanks for explaining it. It's been one of my favorite songs since I was a kid.
Can't play, wish I could. Really enjoyed hearing this. Thank you.
Always loved this song, because of the harmonica.
Wow... you play it exactly as the recording. Interesting pitch trivia. Loved it. Thank you. Tucson, Arizona
Thank you.
Thanks, one of my favorites since about 1968 or 9, when I first heard it! The song's ending is very special too, with the loose sounding guitar strumming sounds that are unique. Thanks again!
absolutely loved that!!! Thanks!!!
Thank you mate! That was nice, yes, I love Al Wilson!
I was just listening to Canned Heat, On the road again.
Absolutely brilliant, thank you for that.
How wonderful is our world!
Man, that was really cool! That was a gem, thank you✌🏾
That was great mate. Thanks. 🎉
Great job man, thanks for the video!
Wonderful! Thank you!
Thanks for sharing that gem!
Greatly enjoyed. Thank you.
That was great. Thanks.
Loved it !
Thank you for this, Ricky! Its fun to have this nuanced understanding of part of the soundtrack from my boyhood.
Thank you for educating me!
Cool. Thank you for the info and upload.
Fabulous!
Absolutely Loved It! Cheers ❤
I did thoroughly enjoy that. Thanks.
Finally, someone to show the world what a blues harp player sees. Tanks Rick
.. absolutely terrific stuff! Fabulous! Thank you for sharing this!!🎉
Fantastic!
I loved it! Thank you, sir! A great song, indeed!
Wow! Thanks for showing us that. I never knew of such a thing!
Excellent!!
love that song!!!! Great explanation!
Excellent! Love this song
Absolutely loved me some Canned Heat. Thanks for the memories
Wonderful, thank you!
👍👍
Thank you Mr Rogers you taught me woodwork at Stourport high school and your teaching me again on TH-cam, thank you for all you do, best wishes Joe
Well I never!! Good to hear from you Joe. I hope those woodwork lessons have served you well and you continue to enjoy the harmonica videos. 👍
@rickycool100 well I have my own business in metal fabrication in Stourport, I owe a great big thank you to yourself for the basics you taught me,it put me on the path I'm on, still wish we had finished making that guitar though 😊
@@josephfrancis8046 That’s great. I can’t remember the guitar construction project but yes it’s a shame it didn’t get finished. Best wishes, Ricky
Fantastic demo. Thanks.
My love of that piece and your joy at playing it made me subscribe ❤
Awesome.... love it, great tune for sure
Wow...that's fabulous Ricky...🤗🤗
Wow, great stuff!! Thanks Ricky!
That was really cool, Ricky!
That was awesome harping.
Allan and the Heat in my opinion were a badass blues group!!
Thank you. Yes you’re right. They were the real deal. 👍