Viva Puluba: Bob 'The Bear' Hite

Hoy se cumplen 64 años desde que naciera Bob "the bear" Hite, cantante de Canned Heat hasta 1981, año en que falleció de un ataque al corazón.

Yo recuerdo el disco Memphis Heat, junto a Memphis Slim. Una pasada.

Los amigos de Soy del Montón tienen un repaso a su historia y a un par de discos, que recomiendo fervientemente.

As a young man he acquired a job in a record and musical instrument store called Rancho Music on Westwood Blvd., just north of Pico. He amassed a huge collection of old Blues records, which were his inspiration for becoming a musician.

The store primarily sold sheet music and instruments, but had a small Top 40 record section. Bob wore the same thing to work everyday...a white shirt (not always the freshest), black slacks and a thin black tie (not always tied well). His hair was greasy and long for the time (early 60s). He looked remarkably like John Belushi's Blues Bros. character.

Each day he would bring a portable 45 record player with him and plug in behind the counter. He would bring a different selection of blues 45s each day and play them on his little player. The store was very quiet...every once in awhile a customer would wander in, but it was dead. High school kids who loved music would drop by and Bob would tell them "You gotta hear this!" and then play a Jimmy Reed or Lightnin Hopkins or John Lee Hooker record for them. When he quit work, he'd pack up his records and player, put on his shades and leave, frequently with his tough looking girlfriend. The kids who would drop by thought he was the coolest guy around.

Así que vamos a celebrar que Bob estuvo con nosotros con estos sonidos y estas imágenes. Enjoy!

Let's Work Together. Mágico.