Book Review:
"Living the Blues-
Canned Heat's Story of
Music, Drugs, Death, Sex and Survival"
by Mark Guerrero
"Living the Blues- Canned Heat's Story of Music, Drugs,
Death, Sex and Survival," like Canned Heat itself, doesn't
hold back or pull any punches. Canned Heat drummer Fito
de la Parra, with co-writers T.W. and Marlane McGarry, tells
the whole story of his over three decades with the band.
The book's subtitle aptly describes the story, which goes from
the depths of rock & roll debauchery to the heights of
success and the making of transcendental blues music.
At their peak they headlined over artists such as Santana,
Three Dog Night, the Allman Brothers, B.B. King and Fats Domino.
They hit the Billboard charts between 1968 and '70 with major
hits including "On the Road Again," "Going
Up the Country," and " Let's Work Together."
This book is extremely well-written and hard to put down.
What makes this book of relevance to this website is that
Fito de la Parra was born and raised in Mexico. The
book tells of his upbringing and his part in the early rock
& roll history of Mexico. He was a member of popular bands such as Sparks, Los Holligans, Los Sinners,
and Javier Batiz and the Finks. Fito has also made a
great documentary, not yet issued, on the history of rock &
roll in Mexico, "Rock 'n' Roll Made in Mexico-
From Evolution to Revolution." Fito followed his
dream by bringing his band to the United States in the early
60s pulling right up to the Sunset Strip at the beginning
of its heyday. They wound up playing major venues such
as P.J.s and were making their mark in "the land of the
gods" as he called it. That is until the band was deported when
caught at a Greyhound bus station in Indio, California in
1965. This didn't stop Fito and his dream. He
was soon back in the U.S. and by 1968 was a member of the
pre-eminent white blues band in the world. By 1970,
Fito's former Mexican bandmate, Tony de la Barreda became
bassist for Canned Heat. So for a few years you had
two Mexicans in one of the biggest American bands in the world.
Who knew?
Three founding members died along the way, Alan "Blind
Own" Wilson in an apparent suicide in 1970 (age 27),
Bob "Bear" Hite of a heart attack brought on by
a drug overdose in 1981 (age 36), and Henry Vestine due to
heart failure due to a lifetime of substance abuse in 1997
(age 52). Fito, who is a survivor and very bright, now
is owner of the name Canned Heat and is custodian of their
present and future blues. "Living
the Blues" is available at book stores and at amazon.com.
Mark Guerrero & Fito
de la Parra of Canned Heat (2012)
"Living the Blues- Canned Heat's Story of Music, Drugs,
Death, Sex and Survival," like Canned Heat itself, doesn't
hold back or pull any punches. Canned Heat drummer Fito
de la Parra, with co-writers T.W. and Marlane McGarry, tells
the whole story of his over three decades with the band.
The book's subtitle aptly describes the story, which goes from
the depths of rock & roll debauchery to the heights of
success and the making of transcendental blues music.
At their peak they headlined over artists such as Santana,
Three Dog Night, the Allman Brothers, B.B. King and Fats Domino.
They hit the Billboard charts between 1968 and '70 with major
hits including "On the Road Again," "Going
Up the Country," and " Let's Work Together."
This book is extremely well-written and hard to put down.
