Canned Heat

Conceived as a blues revivalist group specializing in excavating pre-war gems, Canned Heat anchored their authentic inclinations with a heavy boogie that suited the hippie era. Their ear for blues classics and facility for droning blues jams made them ideal choices for the bills at both Monterey Pop and Woodstock. Their appearance at the latter festival arrived a year after the band had two surprise hit singles with "On the Road Again" and "Going Up the Country" -- two country-blues numbers the Heat modernized thanks in part to Alan "Blind Owl" Wilson's idiosyncratic phrasing. Wilson died just as the band settled into a groove, leaving fellow lead singer Bob "The Bear" Hite to shepherd Canned Heat through the '70s. After Hite's death in 1981, drummer Adolfo "Fito" de la Parra anchored Canned Heat through a revolving lineup that stretched into the 2020s, when they released the farewell Finyl Vinyl.