Psychedelic Blues Rock of the 60s
Contents
The psychedelic blues rock sound of the 60s was a revolutionary time in music. Hear how this style of music developed and the bands that made it famous.
The Electric Flag
The Electric Flag was an American psychedelic blues rock band formed in 1967. The band was led by guitarist-vocalist Mike Bloomfield and also featured singer-songwriter-keyboardist Barry Goldberg, bassist Harvey Brooks, drummer Nick Gravenites, and conga player Marcus Doubleday. The band’s music incorporated elements of blues, soul, and jazz, with a strong emphasis on improvisation.
Formed in 1967
The Electric Flag was an American psychedelic blues rock band formed in 1967 by guitarist Mike Bloomfield and harmonicist-singer Buddy Miles. The band was signed to Columbia Records and released their debut album, A Long Time Comin’, in 1968. The band’s sound was a combination of Bloomfield’s blues guitar playing with the horns and soul vocals of Miles, plus the addition of a second guitarist, Barry Goldberg.keyboards, bass and drums, resulting in a cross between electric blues and R&B.
Members
The Electric Flag was an American psychedelic blues rock band formed in West Orange, New Jersey, in 1967 by singer-songwriter Nick Gravenites and guitarist Mike Bloomfield. The group recorded two studio albums and released several singles before disbanding in 1968.
The band’s lineup varied throughout its history, but its core members included Gravenites on vocals, Bloomfield on guitar, Harvey Brooks on bass, Buddy Miles on drums, Marcus Doubleday on trumpet and Chris Jagger (Mick Jagger’s brother) on harmonica. Additional musicians who performed with the group included keyboardists Barry Goldberg and Mark Naftalin, saxophonist Herbie Rich and singer Donna Godchaux.
Notable Songs
The Electric Flag was an American psychedelic blues rock band, formed in 1967 by singer-songwriter Nick Gravenites and guitarist Mike Bloomfield. The band’s sound was a hybrid of soul, blues, and rock, with a heavy dose of psychedelia. They were one of the first bands to combine elements of all three genres.
The Electric Flag released two studio albums, “A Long Time Comin'” (1968) and “The Trip” (1968). They also released a live album, “Live at the Fillmore West” (1968), which was recorded at the Fillmore West in San Francisco.
Notable songs by The Electric Flag include “Soul Searchin'”, “Killing Floor”, ” groovin’ Is Easy”, and “She’s Alright”.
The Butterfield Blues Band
The Butterfield Blues Band was an electric blues band formed in Chicago, Illinois, in 1963. The band’s sound was a combination of blues and psychedelic rock. Their first album, The Butterfield Blues Band, was released in 1965. The band was known for their live performances and their ability to improvise.
Formed in 1963
The Butterfield Blues Band was an American blues rock band led by harmonica player Paul Butterfield. Formed in Chicago in 1963, the group originally included guitarist and singer-songwriter Mike Bloomfield, keyboardist Mark Naftalin and drummer Elvin Bishop. Bassist Jerome Arnold and saxophonist Anderson CAD also joined the band later.
The band was one of the first to fuse electric blues with psychedelic rock, giving rise to what became known as psychedelic blues rock. They were contemporary with and similar to The Jimi Hendrix Experience, but unlike Hendrix’s band, managed to stay together for several years despite internal tensions. The first three of their five studio albums were released within a year of each other and all achieved critical and commercial success.
After Bloomfield’s departure in 1967, the band released three more studio albums before disbanding in 1971.
Members
The Butterfield Blues Band was an American blues rock band formed in Chicago, Illinois in 1965. The band originally comprised Paul Butterfield (harmonica, vocals), Elvin Bishop (guitar, vocals), Michael Bloomfield (guitar), Jerome Arnold (bass) and Sam Lay (drums).
In 1966, the band was augmented by harpist/singer Mark Naftalin and keyboardist/singer Al Kooper. Keyboardist/singer Barry Goldberg later replaced Kooper.
Bishop left the band in May 1967 prior to the recording of their second album, East-West. He was replaced by guitarist Bud Harper.
Harper experimented with slide guitar on several tracks but elected not to join the band full-time, leaving shortly after East-West was released in August 1966. His replacement was Billy Davenport.
Davenport only played on one album with the band, The Resurrection of Pigboy Crabshaw, released in January 1967. Drummer Lay also left during this time; he was briefly replaced by Texans Keith Johnson and Shawn Lane before permanent replacement Gabe Graham joined in May 1967. Keyboard player Gabe Katona joined the band in March 1968 following the departure of Goldberg and Naftalin.
Bloomfield abruptly quit the group during recording sessions for their fourth album In My Own Dream in early 1968 after disagreements with Butterfield over the direction of the band’s music. He was not replaced; instead,Katona switched from keyboards to guitar and Arnold played all bass parts on the album until session musician Red Holloway was brought in to play bass on several tracks.
Notable Songs
The Butterfield Blues Band was an American electric blues band, formed in Chicago, Illinois in October 1965. The band originally consisted of lead vocalist and harmonica player Paul Butterfield, guitarists Elvin Bishop and Mike Bloomfield, bassist Jerome Arnold, drummer Sam Lay (replaced in 1966 by Billy Davenport), and keyboardist Mark Naftalin.
The band was known for its innovative approach to the blues, fusing elements of rock and roll, jazz, country, and gospel into a hybrid that came to be known as psychedelic blues rock. They were background musicians on several Bob Dylan tracks, including “Like a Rolling Stone” and “Tombstone Blues”, recorded in 1965 and released on Highway 61 Revisited. They also collaborated with him on his hits “Rainy Day Women #12 & 35”, recorded in 1966 and released on Blonde on Blonde; “I Want You”, recorded in 1966 and released on Blonde on Blonde; as well as 1969’s “Lay Lady Lay”.
The Butterfield Blues Band had a hit single with their cover of “Born Under a Bad Sign” (1967), which was written by Booker T. Jones and William Bell. The song reached number 15 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Other notable songs include: “East-West” (1966), “All Along the Watchtower” (1968), “Love March” (1969), “Exciting” (1969).
Canned Heat
Canned Heat is a psychedelic blues rock band that formed in Los Angeles in 1965. The band is best known for their hits “Going Up the Country” and “On the Road Again”. They were one of the first bands to incorporate elements of blues and rock into their music. Canned Heat was a major force in the development of psychedelic blues rock.
Formed in 1965
Canned Heat was formed in Los Angeles in 1965 by drummer Frank Cook, slide guitar specialist Alan Wilson, harmonica player and vocalist Bob Hite, and bassist and guitarist Henry Vestine. All of the band members were blues fans and collectors, and after jamming together they decided to form a band. They took their name from a 1928 recording by Tommy Johnson called “Canned Heat Blues”. The first lineup of the band also included guitarist Leo Lyons and bassist Larry Taylor, who were both members of John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers.
Members
Canned Heat was started in 1966 by Alan Wilson and Bob Hite. The pair met while both working at the Ash Grove, a club in Los Angeles that featured folk music. Bob Hite had recently seen a band called The Blues Project and was impressed by their set, which included a cover of Muddy Waters’ “Spoonful.” He and Wilson decided to start their own blues band, with Wilson on guitar and Hite on vocals.
They recruited Henry Vestine as their lead guitarist, who had recently played with The Triumphs (later known as the Electric Prunes). Bassist Harvey Mandel rounded out the lineup. The band’s name came from a song by Tommy Johnson called “Canned Heat Blues,” which they often covered in their sets.
The band quickly began playing gigs around Los Angeles, including a residency at the Whisky a Go Go. They caught the attention of direction-seeker Alan Block, who signed them to his Liberty Records label. Their first album, 1967’s Canned Heat, was recorded live at the Whisky and featured covers of classic blues songs like “Spoonful” and “Rollin’ and Tumblin’.” It also included their first original song, “On the Road Again,” which would become one of their most popular tunes.
Notable Songs
Canned Heat is perhaps most famous for their version of “I’m Her Man”. The song is a twelve-bar blues originally written and recorded by Blind Lemon Jefferson in 1926. It was first recorded by Canned Heat in 1967 and released on their self-titled debut album. The song features Alan “Blind Owl” Wilson on lead vocals and slide guitar.
Other well-known Canned Heat songs include “Going Up the Country” and “On the Road Again”. “Going Up the Country” was used in the film Easy Rider and became a Top 40 hit in 1968. “On the Road Again” was also used in Easy Rider and became a Number One hit in Britain in 1968.
Canned Heat’s music is a blend of blues, rock, boogie, and R&B. They are sometimes considered to be a part of the psychedelic blues or psychedelic rock genres. The band was formed in Los Angeles, California in 1965 by Alan Wilson and Bob Hite.
Creedence Clearwater Revival
Creedence Clearwater Revival was an American rock band active in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The band consisted of lead vocalist, lead guitarist, and primary songwriter John Fogerty, his rhythm guitarist Tom Fogerty, bassist Stu Cook, and drummer Doug Clifford. Their musical style encompassed swamp rock, rhythm and blues, and folk rock.
Formed in 1967
Creedence Clearwater Revival, often referred to as CCR, was an American rock band formed in 1967 in El Cerrito, California. The band consisted of lead vocalist, lead guitarist, and primary songwriter John Fogerty, rhythm guitarist Tom Fogerty, bassist Stu Cook, and drummer Doug Clifford. Their musical style encompassed roots rock, swamp rock, and blues rock. They achieved commercial success with their 1968 debut album, Creedence Clearwater Revival , which peaked at number 2 on the Billboard 200 chart.
The group’s second album, Bayou Country , was released in early 1969 and reached number 1 on the Billboard 200. It included the hit singles “Proud Mary” and “Bad Moon Rising”. Green River , their third album, was released later that year and reached number 2 on the Billboard 200. It contained the hits “Green River” and “Down on the Corner”. Willy and the Poor Boys , their fourth album, was released in late 1969 and reached number 3 on the Billboard 200. It included the hit single “Fortunate Son”.
Creedence Clearwater Revival’s fifth studio album Cosmo’s Factory was released in 1970. The album peaked at number 2 on the Billboard 200 chart and contained the hits “Lookin’ Out My Back Door”, “Travelin’ Band”, “Up Around the Bend”, and “Run Through the Jungle”. Their sixth studio album Pendulum was released in late 1970 after Tom Fogerty had left the group due to creative differences with his brother John Fogerty. The album peaked at number 2 on both the Billboard 200 chart and UK Albums Chart. It features three hit singles: “Have You Ever Seen the Rain?”, “Hey Tonight”, and “Sweet Hitch-Hiker”.
The band’s last studio album Mardi Gras was released in 1972. Tom Fogerty had returned to CCR by this time but left again after its release due to creative tensions within the group. The album peaked at number 8 on both the Billboard 200 chart and UK Albums Chart despite mixed reviews from critics. It includes two hit singles: “Someday Never Comes” and “Looking for a Reason”.
CCR disbanded acrimoniously after Doug Clifford and Stu Cook filed a lawsuit against John Fogerty over royalty payments in January 1971; all told they would remain estranged from him until his induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame some 21 years later.
Members
John Fogerty – lead vocals, lead guitar (1966–1972, 1995–1997, 2005–present)
Tom Fogerty – rhythm guitar (1966-1971; his death)
Doug Clifford – drums (1966-1971; inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1993)
Stu Cook – bass (1966-1971; inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1993)
Creedence Clearwater Revival, often referred to as Creedence and CCR, was an American rock band active in the late 1960s and early 1970s which consisted of lead vocalist, lead guitarist, and primary songwriter John Fogerty, his brother rhythm guitarist Tom Fogerty, bassist Stu Cook, and drummer Doug Clifford. The band initially had a swampy roots rock sound and later developed a harder, more psychedelic sound compared with their previous recordings.
Notable Songs
Creedence Clearwater Revival is widely considered one of the greatest rock bands of all time. They were active from 1968 to 1972 and produced a string of hits that defined the sound of psychedelic blues rock in the late 1960s. Some of their most notable songs include:
-“Proud Mary”
-“Bad Moon Rising”
-“Green River”
-“Fortunate Son”
-“Looking Out My Back Door”
-“Have You Ever Seen the Rain?”
