Woodstock Day 12: Janis

At 2 am on Sunday, August 17th, Janis Joplin and the Kozmic Blues took the stage. Having made her name at the Monterey International Pop Festival in 1967 with her previous band Big Brother & The Holding Company, Joplin went solo in 1968. So obviously Joplin was up onstage at Woodstock with a full ensemble at her disposal. With the performance being so late, the set lacked Joplin's usual power and improv from her back-up band. Even with this, Joplin's performance was still a highlight of Woodstock.

Joplin's psychedelic Porsche.

The set consisted mostly of material from Joplin's first album I Got Dem Ol' Kozmic Blues Again Mama! (1969), the most popular of which is "Kosmic Blues." Of the set, her last two songs were the highlights: "Piece of My Heart" and "Ball and Chain." "Piece of My Heart" was a regular of Big Brother and The Holding Company and "Ball and Chain" was a Big Mama Thorton cover. "Can't Turn You Loose" was the only song that Joplin's ensemble sang.

Her set was included on At Woodstock (1993) and in the film Woodstock (1970) as they were recorded straight from the soundboard. Due to Joplin's insistence, her friend and ensemble member Peggy Caserta's vocals were not included in either recording due to an argument (Joplin blamed Caserta for allowing Joplin to shoot heroin before her set).

Joplin at Woodstock.

On October 4, 1970, Joplin died of a heroin overdose at the age of 27. Another member of the "27 Club"? We may never know. But Joplin made a huge impact on the music scene in the late 60s and her possible contributions could have continued to change the music world.

Woodstock Day 8: Canned Heat

Canned Heat played on August 16th at about 7:30 pm and they barely made it to the gig. Two days before the Festival, their guitarist Henry Vestine left the band after he had an argument with bassist Larry Taylor at Fillmore East. Vestine was then replaced by Harry Mandel. Also, drummer Adolpho de la Parra complained about how they had no time to practice before the gig and left the band the same day, but not for long. Manager Skip Taylor gained access to de la Parra's locked room and helicoptered the band to Woodstock just in time.

Canned Heat while playing "A Change is Gonna Come/Leave This Town" at Woodstock

At the time of their gig, the line up consisted of Alan "Blind Owl" Wilson on guitar and harmonica, Bob "The Bear" Hite on vocals, Harvey "The Snake" Mandel (his third performance with the band) on guitar, Larry "The Mole" Taylor on bass, and Adolpho "Fito" de la Parra on drums. During jams Hite often refers to his bandmates by their nicknames (as heard in the song "Woodstock Boogie," a 30 minute jam from the Festival that was extended from a 6 and a half minute song called "Fried Hockey Boogie" off their album Boogie with Canned Heat [1968]).

They played their big hits at the time: "Going Up The Country" (which became the title track of the movie Woodstock, even though their performance was not shown) and "On the Road Again." While they were playing "A Change is Gonna Come," a man climbed up on stage. Instead of kicking him off, Hite shared a cigarette with him.

Canned Heat's line-up today: The Mole, Fito, The Snake, and Dale Spalding

By 1969, Canned Heat had already added a psychedelic element to their blues-rock band and their Boogie rock kept everyone dancing. But in 1970, Mandel and Taylor parted ways for a new band and started to the tear the group apart. In 1972, Canned Heat became shattered when Wilson committed suicide at age 27, just weeks before the deaths of Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin (we'll investigate the "27 Club" later). Since then, Canned Heat has had a rotating door of members and yet is still active since their inception in 1965. Be sure to listen to their music, it's an excellent mix of blues-rock and psychedelic. They have so many excellent songs despite the nearly constant changes to the line-up.

For news and tour dates: www.cannedheatmusic.com