O Curso de Geologia de 85/90 da Universidade de Coimbra escolheu o nome de Geopedrados quando participou na Queima das Fitas.
Ficou a designação, ficaram muitas pessoas com e sobre a capa intemporal deste nome, agora com oportunidade de partilhar as suas ideias, informações e materiais sobre Geologia, Paleontologia, Mineralogia, Vulcanologia/Sismologia, Ambiente, Energia, Biologia, Astronomia, Ensino, Fotografia, Humor, Música, Cultura, Coimbra e AAC, para fins de ensino e educação.
McKernan grew up heavily influenced by African-American music, particularly the blues, and enjoyed listening to his father's collection of records and taught himself how to play harmonica and piano. He began socializing around the San Francisco Bay Area, becoming friends with Jerry Garcia.
After the pair had played in various folk and jug bands, McKernan
suggested they form an electric group, which became the Grateful Dead.
He was the band's original frontman as well as playing harmonica and electric organ, but Garcia and bassist Phil Lesh's influences on the band became increasingly stronger as they embraced psychedelic rock. McKernan struggled to keep up, causing the group to hire keyboardist Tom Constanten,
with McKernan's contributions essentially limited to vocals, harmonica
and percussion from November 1968 to January 1970. He continued to be a
frontman in concert for some numbers, including covers of Bobby Bland's "Turn On Your Love Light" and the Rascals' "Good Lovin'".
Unlike the other members of the Grateful Dead, McKernan avoided psychedelic drugs, preferring to drink alcohol (namely whiskey and flavored fortified wine). By 1971, his health had been affected by alcoholism and liver damage
and doctors advised him to stop touring. Following a four-month
hiatus, he resumed touring with the group in December 1971 but was
forced to retire from touring altogether in June 1972. McKernan was
found dead of a gastrointestinal hemorrhage on March 8, 1973, aged 27, and is buried at Alta Mesa Memorial Park in Palo Alto.
Filho de um engenheiro da marinha inglesa, Lewis Jones, com uma dona de
casa, Brian era conhecido pela sua versatilidade musical, tocando
vários instrumentos diferentes, ainda que se tenha notabilizado como
guitarrista da banda. Músico de origem clássica (Brian aprendeu a tocar
com a sua mãe, que dava aulas de piano numa igreja próxima) era
inicialmente o único músico da banda capaz de ler e escrever partituras.
Durante o seu período nos Rolling Stones ele manteve uma imaginação que gerou o Rolling Stones Rock'n Roll Circus, entre outros. Costumava usar roupas extravagantes, além de um estilo de vida baseado no "sexo, drogas e rock'n roll".
Apesar da fama e fortuna originada pelo sucesso da banda, Brian acabou por ceder ao uso desregrado de drogas, o que lhe valeu a saída do grupo, a 8 de junho de 1969. Menos de um mês depois, no dia 3 de julho, Brian foi encontrado afogado na piscina da sua casa, Cotchford Farm, em Sussex, antiga casa do escritor A. A. Milne, criador do Ursinho Pooh, que o músico adorava. Desde a sua morte, tida oficialmente como acidental, muitas dúvidas e livros encheram os media, alimentando muitas teorias da conspiração.
Apesar dos poucos anos de vida é considerado um dos mentores do estilo
adotado pela banda. Deixou um grande número de fãs que prestam culto à
sua imagem e contribuição musical até aos dias de hoje.
Em conjunto com Alex Chilton, liderou a banda de power popBig Star durante os anos 70. Bell deixou o grupo depois de seu primeiro disco, #1 Record, de 1972, mas contribuiu com algumas músicas para o segundo álbum, Radio City de 1974.
Ele seguiu uma carreira a solo, mas as suas canções (entre elas "I Am
The Cosmos", "I Got Kinda Lost" e "You and You Sister" - esta um dueto
com Chilton) permaneceriam inéditas até o lançamento em 1992 do álbum I Am The Cosmos.
Chris Bell morreu a 27 de dezembro de 1978, num acidente de automóvel, em Memphis.
Em conjunto com Alex Chilton, liderou a banda de power popBig Star durante os anos 70. Bell deixou o grupo depois de seu primeiro disco, #1 Record, de 1972, mas contribuiu com algumas músicas para o segundo álbum, Radio City de 1974.
Ele seguiu uma carreira a solo, mas as suas canções (entre elas "I Am
The Cosmos", "I Got Kinda Lost" e "You and You Sister" - esta um dueto
com Chilton) permaneceriam inéditas até o lançamento em 1992 do álbum I Am The Cosmos.
Chris Bell morreu a 27 de dezembro de 1978, num acidente de automóvel, em Memphis.
Ganhou popularidade primeiro como um grafiteiro na cidade onde nasceu e depois como neo-expressionista. As pinturas de Basquiat ainda são uma influência para muitos artistas e
muitas vezes alcançam preços altos em leilões de arte. Em 2017 a sua
pintura Untitled (1982) foi vendida por US$
110,5 milhões, tornando-se uma das pinturas mais caras já compradas.
Também estabeleceu um novo recorde para um artista americano em leilão.
Início da vida: 1960-1977
Basquiat nasceu em 22 de dezembro de 1960, em Park Slope, Brooklyn, Nova York, filho de Matilde Basquiat e Gérard Basquiat. O seu pai nasceu em Port-au-Prince, Haiti, e sua mãe nasceu no Brooklyn de pais de ascendência porto-riquenha.
Desde cedo mostrou uma aptidão incomum para a arte e foi influenciado
pela mãe, Matilde, a desenhar, pintar e a participar de atividades
relacionadas com o mundo artístico. Depois que os seus pais se separaram,
Basquiat e suas duas irmãs mais novas foram criadas pelo pai. A sua mãe foi internada num hospital psiquiátrico quando ele tinha dez
anos e depois passou a vida dentro e fora de instituições. Aos onze
anos, Basquiat era fluente em francês, espanhol e inglês, e um ávido
leitor das três línguas.
Arte de rua e Gray: 1978-1980
Em 1978, aos 17 anos, Basquiat e um amigo, Al Diaz, começaram a escrever grafites em prédios em Manhattan.
Eles usaram o pseudónimo SAMO, que significa "mesma velha merda". Isso
gerou curiosidade nas pessoas, principalmente pelo conteúdo das
mensagens grafitadas. Em dezembro de 1978, o veículo Village Voice publicou um artigo sobre as escrituras.
Em 1978, Basquiat abandonou a escola e saiu de casa, apenas um
ano antes de se formar. Mudou-se para a cidade e foi morar com amigos,
sobrevivendo vendendo camisetas e cartões postais na rua. Um ano depois,
em 1979, no entanto, Basquiat ganhou status de celebridade na cena
artística do East Village de Manhattan por suas aparições regulares no programa de televisão de Glenn O'brien, TV Party. Em 1979, Basquiat formou uma banda chamada Gray. Um dos membros da banda era o então desconhecido músico e ator Vincent Gallo. Com o conjunto, tocaram em clubes como Max's Kansas City, CBGB, Hurrahs e o Mudd Club.
Ascensão à fama e sucesso: 1980-1986
O projeto "SAMO" terminou com o epitáfio "SAMO IS DEAD" escrito nas paredes dos prédios do SoHo em Nova York no início de 1980. Em junho de 1980, Basquiat participou do The Times Square Show, uma exposição multiartista patrocinada pela Collaborative Projects Incorporated
(Colab) e Fashion Moda. Ele foi notado por vários críticos e curadores,
incluindo Jeffrey Deitch, que o mencionou em um artigo na edição de
setembro de 1980 da Art in America. Mais tarde naquele ano, Basquiat filmou um filme chamado Downtown 81 (também conhecido como New York Beat). Basquiat vendeu sua primeira pintura, Cadillac Moon (1981), para Debbie Harry por US$ 200 depois de terem filmado o filme. Ele também apareceu como disc jockey no videoclipe de Blondie de 1981 "Rapture", um papel originalmente destinado a Grandmaster Flash.
Em fevereiro de 1981, Basquiat participou da exposição New York/New Wave no P.S.1 de Nova York. O artista italiano Sandro Chia
recomendou o trabalho de Basquiat ao negociante italiano Emilio
Mazzoli, que imediatamente comprou 10 pinturas para Basquiat fazer uma
exposição individual na sua galeria em Modena, Itália, em maio de 1981. Em dezembro de 1981, o crítico de arte Rene Ricard publicou "The Radiant Child" na revista Artforum, o primeiro artigo extenso sobre Basquiat. Nesse período, Basquiat pintou muitas peças em objetos que encontrou nas ruas, como portas descartadas. Na época, Basquiat morava com sua namorada, Suzanne Mallouk, que o sustentava financeiramente como garçonete.
Em setembro de 1981, a marchand Annina Nosei convidou Basquiat
para se juntar à sua galeria. Logo depois, ele participou de seu show
coletivo Public Address. Nosei forneceu a ele materiais e um espaço para
trabalhar no porão de sua galeria. Em 1982, Nosei conseguiu que ele se mudasse para um loft que também servia como estúdio no bairro do SoHo, em Nova York. Basquiat teve a sua primeira exposição individual americana na Galeria Annina Nosei em março de 1982.
Ele também pintou em Modena para a sua segunda exposição italiana em
março de 1982. Sentindo-se explorado, a exposição foi cancelada porque
ele deveria fazer oito pinturas numa semana.
No verão de 1982, Basquiat deixou a Galeria Annina Nosei e o galerista
Bruno Bischofberger tornou-se seu negociante de arte mundial. Em junho
de 1982, aos 21 anos, Basquiat se tornou o artista mais jovem a
participar da documenta em Kassel, na Alemanha. Seus trabalhos foram exibidos ao lado de Joseph Beuys, Anselm Kiefer, Gerhard Richter, Cy Twombly e Andy Warhol. Bischofberger deu a Basquiat uma exposição individual em sua galeria de Zurique em setembro de 1982 e arranjou para ele encontrar Warhol para almoçar em 4 de outubro de 1982.
No entanto, eles se conheceram alguns anos antes num restaurante no
SoHo, quando Basquiat vendeu a Warhol um cartão postal que ele havia
feito com a artista Jennifer Stein. Imediatamente após o encontro em 1982, Basquiat foi para casa e pintou Dos Cabezas (1982), que acendeu uma amizade entre eles. Warhol lembrou: "Eu tirei uma Polaroid e ele foi para casa e dentro de duas horas uma pintura estava de volta, ainda molhada, dele e eu juntos".
Em novembro de 1982, a exposição individual de Basquiat abriu na Fun
Gallery no East Village. Em dezembro de 1982, Basquiat começou a
trabalhar no estúdio que o negociante de arte Larry Gagosian construiu
abaixo de sua casa em Venice, Califórnia. Lá ele criou uma série de pinturas para sua segunda exposição na Galeria Gagosian em West Hollywood em março de 1983. Basquiat estava acompanhado de sua namorada, a então desconhecida cantora Madonna. Ele disse a Gagosian que "ela será a maior estrela pop do mundo".
Em março de 1983, aos 22 anos, Basquiat se tornou o artista mais
jovem a participar da exposição Whitney Biennial de arte contemporânea. Em agosto de 1983, Basquiat mudou-se para um loft de propriedade de Warhol em 57 Great Jones Street em NoHo,
que também servia como estúdio. Basquiat foi profundamente afetado pela
morte de Michael Stewart, um aspirante a artista negro na cena do clube
do centro da cidade que foi morto pela polícia de trânsito em setembro
de 1983. Basquiat pintou Defacement (The Death of Michael Stewart) (1983) em resposta ao incidente. Tendo se juntado à galeria SoHo de Mary Boone em 1983, Basquiat teve uma exposição lá em maio de 1984.
Entre 1984 e 1985, ele trabalhou em estreita colaboração com Warhol na
Factory. Sua exposição conjunta na Galeria Tony Shafrazi causou uma
ruptura em sua amizade depois que foi criticada pelos críticos e
Basquiat foi chamado de mascote de Warhol.
Basquiat costumava pintar em ternos Armani caros e aparecia em público com as mesmas roupas respingadas de tinta. Ele adorava ir à boate Area em Nova York e às vezes tocava discos como disc jockey.
Ele também pintou murais para a boate Palladium em Nova York. A rápida
ascensão de Basquiat à fama foi coberta pelos media. Ele apareceu na capa
da edição de 10 de fevereiro de 1985 da The New York Times Magazine em um recurso intitulado "New Art, New Money: The Marketing of an American Artist". O seu trabalho apareceu na GQ e Esquire, e ele foi entrevistado para o segmento "Art Break" da MTV.
Em meados dos anos 1989, Basquiat ganhava U$1.4 milhão por ano e recebia quantias de U$40,000 de negociantes de arte.
Apesar do sucesso, sua instabilidade emocional ainda o assombrava.
"Quanto mais dinheiro Basquiat fazia, mais paranoico e envolvido com
drogas ele ficava," escreveu o jornalista Michael Shnayerson.
Muitos de seus colegas especularam que seu uso de drogas era um meio de
lidar com as demandas de sua fama recém-descoberta, a natureza
exploradora da indústria da arte e as pressões de ser um homem negro no
mundo da arte dominado por brancos.
Basquiat continuou a ter exposições individuais internacionalmente em 1986. Em outubro de 1986, Basquiat voou para a Costa do Marfim com a sua namorada Jennifer Goode para uma exposição de seu trabalho no Instituto Cultural Francês em Abidjan.
Em novembro de 1986, aos 25 anos, Basquiat tornou-se o artista mais
jovem a receber uma exposição individual na Kestner-Gesellschaft em
Hannover. Ele desfilou para Rei Kawakubo no show Comme des Garçons Homme Plus em Paris.
Últimos anos e morte: 1986-1988
Durante o relacionamento, Goode começou a cheirar heroína com Basquiat, pois as drogas estavam à sua disposição. "Ele não me empurrou, mas ele estava lá e eu era tão ingénua", disse ela.
No final de 1986, ela os matriculou em um programa de metadona em
Manhattan, mas Basquiat desistiu depois de três semanas. De acordo com
Goode, Basquiat não começou a injetar heroína até depois que ela
terminou o relacionamento. Nos últimos 18 meses de sua vida, Basquiat tornou-se um recluso.
Acredita-se que o seu uso continuado de drogas tenha sido uma maneira de
lidar com a morte de seu amigo Andy Warhol em fevereiro de 1987.
Em 1987, Basquiat expôs na Galerie Daniel Templon em Paris, na
Galeria Akira Ikeda em Tóquio e na Galeria Tony Shafrazi em Nova York.
Ele projetou uma roda gigante para o Luna Luna de André Heller, um parque de diversões temporário em Hamburgo de junho a agosto de 1987 com brinquedos projetados por renomados artistas contemporâneos.
Em janeiro de 1988, Basquiat viajou para Paris para sua exposição na
Galerie Yvon Lambert e para Düsseldorf para uma exposição na Galerie
Hans Mayer. Enquanto em Paris, ele fez amizade com o artista marfinense
Ouattara Watts. Eles fizeram planos para o verão para viajar juntos para
o local de nascimento de Watts, Korhogo. Após sua exposição na Galeria
Vrej Baghoomian em Nova York em abril de 1988, Basquiat viajou para Maui em junho de 1988. Quando voltou, seu amigo Keith Haring relatou ter se encontrado com Basquiat, que ficou feliz em lhe dizer que não era mais viciado em drogas. Apesar das tentativas de sobriedade, Basquiat morreu aos 27 anos de overdose de heroína na sua casa na Great Jones Street, em Manhattan, em 12 de agosto de 1988.
Ele foi encontrado inconsciente no seu quarto pela sua namorada, Kelle
Inman, e foi levado para o Centro Médico Cabrini, onde foi declarado
morto na chegada.
Gary Mervin Thain (Christchurch, May 15, 1948 – Norwood Green, London, December 8, 1975) was a New Zealand bassist, best known for his work with British rock band Uriah Heep.
Thain was born in Christchurch. He had two older brothers, Colin and Arthur. He recorded in Christchurch in the band The Strangers (not to be confused with the Australian band of the same name). He moved to Australia at the age of 17. It was there he became a member of the band The Secrets, which eventually dissolved in 1966. Later, Thain was part of the rock trio The New Nadir, and with the drummerPeter Dawkins, he traveled from New Zealand to London, and once jammed with Jimi Hendrix before the trio split in 1969.
Thain, amongst musicians of his time, was considered an excellent
bass player. His style of playing was melodic and progressively played
compared to other bass players of his time. He rarely played along with
the root of the measures, but preferred playing his own jazz, funk, or
progressive bass line. Many typical professional rock bass players never
attained his ability to break up a song's direction.
Thain primarily used a 1962 Fender Jazz Bass during his stint in Uriah Heep, though he also used a Gibson Thunderbird bass and a modified Fender Precision Bass. Thain's overdriven bass tone was often created using an Acoustic 360 bass amp from Acoustic Control Corporation. Thain also chose to play finger style rather than using a pick.
James "Jim" Douglas Morrison (Melbourne, 8 de dezembro de 1943 - Paris, 3 de julho de 1971) foi um cantor, compositor e poetanorte-americano, mais conhecido como o vocalista da banda de rockThe Doors. Foi o autor da maior parte das letras da banda. Após o aumento explosivo da fama dos The Doors
em 1967, Morrison desenvolveu uma grave dependência de álcool que,
juntamente com o consumo de drogas, culminou na sua morte, com 27 anos
de idade, em Paris. Alguns dizem que veio a falecer devido a uma overdose de heroína, mas, como não foi realizada autópsia, a causa exata da sua morte ainda é contestada.
Jimi Hendrix morreu em Londres nas primeiras horas do dia 18 de setembro de 1970,
em circunstâncias que nunca foram completamente explicadas. Jimi havia
passado parte da noite anterior numa festa, de onde seguiu, juntamente
com a sua namorada, Monika Dannemann, para o Hotel Samarkand, em Notting Hill. Estimativas indicam que ele teria morrido pouco tempo depois.
Dannemann alegou no seu depoimento original que Hendrix teria tomado,
sem que ela soubesse, na noite anterior, nove comprimidos de um remédio
para dormir que ela utilizava. De acordo com o médico que o atendeu
inicialmente, Hendrix tinha-se asfixiado (literalmente afogado) no seu próprio vómito, composto principalmente de vinho tinto. Por anos Dannemann alegou publicamente que Hendrix ainda estava vivo quando o colocaram na ambulância;
os seus comentários sobre aquela manhã, no entanto, foram
frequentemente contraditórios, e variaram de entrevista para
entrevista. Declarações de policiais e paramédicos revelam que não havia
ninguém além de Hendrix no apartamento, e que não apenas ele estava
morto quando chegaram à cena, mas também estava totalmente vestido, e
já estava morto há algum tempo.
Jimi Hendrix morreu em Londres nas primeiras horas do dia 18 de setembro de 1970,
em circunstâncias que nunca foram completamente explicadas. Jimi havia
passado parte da noite anterior numa festa, de onde seguiu, juntamente
com a sua namorada, Monika Dannemann, para o Hotel Samarkand, em Notting Hill. Estimativas indicam que ele teria morrido pouco tempo depois.
Dannemann alegou no seu depoimento original que Hendrix teria tomado,
sem que ela soubesse, na noite anterior, nove comprimidos de um remédio
para dormir que ela utilizava. De acordo com o médico que o atendeu
inicialmente, Hendrix tinha-se asfixiado (literalmente afogado) no seu próprio vómito, composto principalmente de vinho tinto. Por anos Dannemann alegou publicamente que Hendrix ainda estava vivo quando o colocaram na ambulância;
os seus comentários sobre aquela manhã, no entanto, foram
frequentemente contraditórios, e variaram de entrevista para
entrevista. Declarações dos polícias e paramédicos revelam que não havia
ninguém além de Hendrix no apartamento, e que não apenas ele estava
morto quando chegaram à cena, mas também estava totalmente vestido, e
já estava morto há algum tempo.
Amy Jade Winehouse (Londres, 14 de setembro de 1983 - Londres, 23 de julho de 2011) foi uma cantora e compositorabritânica conhecida por seu poderoso e profundo contralto vocal e sua mistura eclética de géneros musicais, incluindo soul, jazz e R&B. Ingressou na carreira musical ainda na adolescência, apresentando-se em pequenos clubes de jazz em Londres. No fim de 1999, assinou o seu primeiro contrato com uma editora discográfica, a EMI Music, mas, após ter sido descoberta por Darcus Breeze, em 2001, assinou contrato com a Island Records.
A sua primeira aparição no cenário musical britânico foi em 2003, com o seu álbum de estreia, Frank.
O disco foi bem recebido pela crítica especialista, mas,
inicialmente, não obteve sucesso comercial apesar de ter produzido
quatro singles, todos sem êxito. Foi em 2006, com o lançamento do seu segundo álbum de estúdio, Back to Black,
que Amy Winehouse ganhou proeminência como uma artista. Esse obteve
sucesso crítico e comercial e alcançou as posições mais elevadas no ranking internacional, tendo atingido o número um em dezoito países, incluindo Reino Unido, Áustria, Alemanha, Dinamarca e Irlanda, enquanto nos Estados Unidos chegou à sua posição máxima como número dois.
Desse trabalho, foram retirados seis singles, sendo "Rehab" o mais bem-sucedido. Back to Black
vendeu seis milhões de cópias e foi o disco mais vendido de 2007. No
ano seguinte, o álbum foi nomeado para seis categorias nas 50.ª edição dos Grammy Awards, das quais venceu cinco, o que fez de Winehouse a artista feminina britânica mais premiada em apenas uma edição.
Considerada a desencadeadora da nova invasão britânica, Amy Winehouse é referida como a revolucionadora da música soul pela crítica especialista. Ela é citada como influência musical por várias cantoras, incluindo Adele, Duffy, Rumer e Lady Gaga, e foi a intérprete que mais vendeu em nível digital no Reino Unido, em 2007, sendo posicionada no número dez na Lista dos Ricos do jornal inglês Sunday Times, com lucros totais de dez milhões de libras. Foi, ainda, eleita a segunda maior heroína dos britânicos pelo canal de televisão Sky News, com base em uma pesquisa realizada entre pessoas com menos de 25 anos de idade, em 2008, atrás apenas da princesa Diana, e na lista elaborada pela revista Veja,
em 2009, das cantoras internacionais que mais venderam em solo
brasileiro, ficou na primeira posição com mais de 500 mil álbuns
vendidos, o que fez dela uma das recordistas de vendas no país.
Ao longo de sua carreira, Winehouse vendeu um número estimado de
trinta milhões de CDs e DVDs em todo o mundo, tornando-se uma das artistas que mais venderam a nível global. As suas conquistas incluem três prémios Ivor Novello Awards e um total de seis Grammy Awards.
No entanto, apesar de bem-sucedida, a sua carreira foi muitas vezes
ofuscada por seus problemas pessoais, principalmente pelo seu casamento
conturbado com o ex-assistente de vídeo Blake Fielder-Civil, uma vez
que as disputas do casal foram diariamente comentadas pela imprensa.
Além disso, o seu envolvimento com álcool e drogas e a sua luta para superá-lo também prejudicou a sua imagem pública.
Amy Winehouse foi encontrada morta em sua casa em Londres, em 23 de julho de 2011. A causa da morte foi intoxicação por álcool. Após o falecimento da cantora, Back to Black tornou-se o disco mais vendido do século XXI no Reino Unido. Posteriormente, foi lançada a compilação póstuma Lioness: Hidden Treasures,
que recebeu análises positivas dos media especializados e teve um
desempenho comercial favorável. Nesse mesmo ano, o jornal sueco Metro International concedeu à cantora o título de Celebridade do Ano, enquanto o canal VH1 colocou-a na 26.ª posição em sua lista das 100 Grandes Mulheres na Música, em 2012, e o periódico i Online denominou-a como a melhor cantora do século, em 2013.
Alan Christie Wilson (Arlington, Massachusetts, July 4, 1943 – Topanga, California, September 3, 1970), nicknamed "Blind Owl", was an American musician, best known as the co-founder, leader, co-lead singer, and primary composer of the blues band Canned Heat.
He sang and played harmonica and guitar with the group live and on
recordings. Wilson was the lead singer for the group's two biggest U.S.
hit singles: "On the Road Again" and "Going Up the Country".
Early years
Alan
Christie Wilson was born to John (Jack) Wilson (1914–2000), a
bricklayer, and Shirley Bingham (1922–2011), an artist on July 4, 1943,
and grew up in the Boston suburb of Arlington, Massachusetts.
He had an older sister Darrell and was of English, Scottish, and German
descent. His parents divorced when he was 3 and both later remarried.
Wilson was highly intelligent, setting him apart from his peers. As a
result, he was often bullied by his schoolmates. His father Jack enjoyed
ham radio operation. Alan became involved as a child but soon turned
his interest to music after his stepmother Barbara bought him a jazz
record. Some of Wilson's first efforts at performing music publicly came
during his teen years when he learned trombone, teaching himself the
instrumental parts from the aforementioned jazz record. Later he formed a
jazz ensemble with other musically oriented friends from school called
Crescent City Hot Five.
Wilson was into traditional New Orleans
music, and later, classical European and Indian music. He was also on
the high school tennis team. Eventually, Wilson quit trombone. Around
the same time Wilson developed a fascination with blues music after a
friend played a Muddy Waters record for him, The Best of Muddy Waters. Inspired by Little Walter, he took up harmonica, and soon after the acoustic guitar after hearing a John Lee Hooker record. Some of Wilson's other major influences included Skip James, Robert Johnson, Son House, Charley Patton, Tommy Johnson, John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters, and Bukka White. After graduating from Arlington High School in 1961, he majored in music at Boston University.
His academics earned him a National Merit Scholarship and the F.E.
Thompson Scholarship Fund from the Town of Arlington. Wilson developed
into a dedicated student of early blues, writing a number of articles
for the Broadside of Boston newspaper and the folk-revival magazine Little Sandy Review, including a piece on bluesman Robert Pete Williams.
Anxious to play music rather than study it, Wilson quit school after
only a year and a half. To make ends meet, Wilson worked with his father
as a bricklayer, and occasionally gave harmonica and guitar lessons.
Career
In 1962, Wilson met Harvard student and fellow blues enthusiast David Evans in a record store, and the two began playing as a team around the Cambridge
coffeehouse folk-blues circuit, with Evans on vocals and guitar, Wilson
on harmonica and occasionally second guitar. The two played a
repertoire of mostly classic-era blues covers. Heavily influenced by Skip James,
eventually Wilson began singing in a way similar way to James' high
pitch. In high school, Wilson studied James' 1931 recordings with great
ardor. Some of his first singing attempts took place behind a closed
bedroom door; and when a family member overheard him, he was
embarrassed. Wilson eventually perfected the high tenor for which he
would become known.
The early 1960s saw a "rediscovery" of pre-war blues artists by
young, white blues enthusiasts, including Mississippi John Hurt, Booker
White, Skip James
and Son House. In 1964, blues enthusiast Tom Hoskins located John Hurt,
who at the time had been working on a local farm in his native
Mississippi. Hoskins persuaded Hurt to come north to Cambridge for a
gig. Wilson was invited to accompany Hurt on harmonica. Said Hoskins,
"He was brilliant."
Son House, considered by Wilson to be one of the most impressive harmonica players in blues history, was located in Rochester,
NY in 1964, but it was evident that House had forgotten his songs due
to his long absence from music. Wilson played House's old recordings
from 1930 and 1943 for him. and demonstrated them on guitar to revive
House's memory. House recorded Father of Folk Blues for Columbia Records in 1965. Two of the selections on the set featured Wilson on harmonica and guitar. In a letter to Jazz Journal published in the September 1965 issue, Son House's manager Dick Waterman remarked the following about the project, and Wilson:
It is a solo album, except for backing on two cuts by a
21-year-old White boy from Cambridge by the name of Al Wilson. Al plays
second guitar on "Empire State Express" and harp on "Levee Camp Moan."
Al never recorded before, but he has backed John Hurt, Skip James,
Sleepy John Estes, Bukka White and many others. He is good, and the
record will prove it.
Al Wilson taught Son House how to play Son House. I can tell you,
flatly, that without Al invigorating and revitalizing Son, there would
have been no Son House rediscovery. All of Son’s successful concert
appearances, recordings and him being remembered as having a great
second career — all that was because of Al rejuvenating his music.
Canned Heat
During his time performing in Cambridge, Wilson met American guitarist John Fahey,
the "Father of American Primitive Guitar." With Fahey's encouragement,
Wilson moved with Fahey to Los Angeles in 1965 with the aim of having
Wilson assist with his UCLA master's thesis on Charley Patton.
Because Wilson forgot his glasses during the trip, Fahey gave him the
nickname "Blind Owl" owing to his extreme nearsightedness, roundish
facial features and scholarly nature.
In one instance when he was playing at a wedding, he laid his guitar on
the wedding cake because he did not see it. As Canned Heat's drummer
Fito de la Parra wrote in his book: "Without the glasses, Alan literally
could not recognize the people he played with at two feet, that's how
blind the 'Blind Owl' was."
Once in Los Angeles, Fahey released The Transfiguration of Blind Joe Death.
Wilson provided the liner notes under the pseudonym Charles Holloway,
Esq. In 1966, Wilson recorded a series of traditional Indian ragas on
Fahey's Takoma label but was never issued. Four of Wilson's ragas later
appeared as the nine-part soundscape "Pathenogenesis" on Canned Heat's
third album, Living the Blues. A portion of "Raga Kafi" is performed on the chromatic harmonica. Fahey's 1992 album Old Girlfriends and Other Horrible Memories features more of "Raga Kafi" in "Fear & Loathing at 4th & Butternut," although Wilson was not credited.[11]
In Los Angeles Wilson met fellow blues enthusiast and record collector, Bob "The Bear" Hite at a record store. Together they founded Canned Heat
in 1965. The band's name was taken from Tommy Johnson's 1928 song
"Canned Heat Blues," about an alcoholic who turned to drinking the
cooking fuel Sterno. Originally beginning as a jug band, Canned Heat
initially consisted of Hite on vocals, Wilson on bottleneck guitar,
Mike Perlowin on lead guitar, Stu Brotman on bass and Keith Sawyer on
drums. The group landed gigs at the Ash Grove in Hollywood, and after Perlowin dropped out, Hite invited his friend Henry "The Sunflower" Vestine, from Frank Zappa's Mothers of Invention
to join on guitar.
Johnny Otis produced the group's first full-length album in 1966. It
featured Hite, Wilson, Vestine, Brotman, and new drummer Frank Cook in
his studio just off Vine Street in Los Angeles. The record was not
released until 1970; and Vintage,
as it was titled, has since become the most re-packaged and bootlegged
record in Canned Heat's discography. Over a Summer hiatus, Brotman left Canned Heat and was replaced by Larry "The Mole" Taylor, an experienced session musician who played with Jerry Lee Lewis and The Monkees.
Canned Heat's first year was marked by infrequent gigs and public
indifference. Wilson later told Melody Maker, “The first year we were
together, we worked for three weeks. We’d get a gig, play three days and
get fired … because we refused to be a human jukebox.”
After a particularly disastrous engagement the group disbanded in
August 1966. During this period, Wilson and Vestine moved on to join the
Electric Beavers, an ensemble featuring a full horn section. The band
lasted for a short time on a rehearsal basis only. Eventually, Canned
Heat re-formed in November 1966. During a gig at the Ash Grove, Canned
Heat earned the attention of singer/songwriter Jackie DeShannon, who was married to the head of A&R at Liberty Records, Bud Dain.
The band released their first album, Canned Heat, featuring reworkings of older blues songs for Liberty Records in July 1967. Their first big live performance was at the Monterey Pop Festival
on June 17, 1967, where they performed renditions of "Rollin and
Tumblin," "Bullfrog Blues," and "Dust My Broom." Downbeat Magazine
praised the band's performance: “Technically, Vestine and Wilson are
quite possibly the best two-guitar team in the world and Wilson has
certainly become our finest white blues harmonica man."
Wilson wrote and sang the band's break out hit "On the Road Again," an
updated version of a 1950s composition by Floyd Jones, on the band's second release, Boogie with Canned Heat.
In an interview with Downbeat Magazine he remarked, "...on 'On the Road
Again' I appear in six different capacities – three tamboura parts,
harmonica, vocal, and guitar, all recorded at different times." "On the
Road Again" peaked at number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100, and at number 8
on the Uk singles charts earning the band immense popularity in Europe. Drummer Frank Cook
left the band in December 1967 and was replaced by Adolfo "Fito" de la
Parra.
Canned Heat's third album included the band's best-known song, also sung
by Wilson, "Going Up the Country." The song, an incarnation of Henry
Thomas' "Bull-Doze Blues" was rewritten by Wilson and caught the "back
to nature" attitude of the late 1960s. The tune was a hit in numerous
countries around the world, peaking at number 11 in the US. The "rural
hippie anthem" became the unofficial theme song for the Woodstock Festival where Canned Heat
performed at sunset on August 16, 1969. Although Canned Heat's live
performance was cut from the original theatrical release of the
Woodstock film, they were featured in the 25th anniversary "Director's
Cut."
The studio version of "Going Up the Country" was featured in the
Woodstock film; and in recent years has been heard in television
commercials for Geico Insurance, Subaru, and Pepsi.
Around this time, Wilson became disillusioned with Canned Heat
and considered quitting on several occasions. Upset over Vestine's
departure and becoming more averse to touring, Wilson expressed the
possibility of still recording but not touring with the band. Wilson
arranged to join Vestine's new band Sunn, and Frank Cook's group Pacific Gas and Electric, however both options fell through. Eventually Wilson ended up quitting Canned Heat
for about 2 weeks in late 1969, and again shortly before his death in
1970. But each time, he felt guilty and decided to go on tour again. His
increasing isolation became obvious, as footage of the band at this
time showed Wilson standing apart from his bandmates, and often hiding
behind rows of amps.[16]
Canned Heat's fifth album, Future Blues was released in August 1970 and featured the Wilbert Harrison
cover of "Let's Work Together." It became their biggest hit in the UK,
reaching number 2 on the Singles Chart for 15 weeks. The cover features
the band dressed as astronauts on the Moon, mocking the flag raising at Iwo Jima.
The upside-down American flag was Wilson's idea in response to the
country's social distress at the time, and his concern over the Moon
landing a year before. However, retailers like Sears and K-Mart found
the cover offensive and refused to stock the album.
In May 1970, Canned Heat teamed up with John Lee Hooker,
fulfilling a dream for Wilson of recording with one of his musical
idols. It would be his last recording. The resulting double album Hooker 'N' Heat
was the first in Hooker's career to make the charts. On the album,
Hooker is heard wondering how Wilson was capable of following his guitar
playing so well. Hooker was known to be a difficult performer to
accompany, partly because of his disregard of song form, yet Wilson
seemed to have no trouble at all following him on this album. Hooker
states that "you [Wilson] musta been listenin' to my records all your
life" and also stated that Wilson was the "greatest harmonica player
ever." Released after Wilson's death, the album cover features a framed
photo of Wilson on the wall behind the rest of Canned Heat.
On a night off in Britain on June 30, 1970, Wilson went to see his old friend Son House, who was performing at the 100 Club in London.
He sat in for “Between Midnight and Day” and “I Want to Go Home on the
Morning Train." The show was recorded and originally released as John The Revelator
on Liberty in 1970. The session was a concept album with House
narrating through his last European performance in a biblical format. It
was reissued in 1995 with extensive liner notes by David Evans as Delta Blues and Spirituals on Capitol Records and was posthumously dedicated to Wilson.
The last live footage of Wilson was taken at Canned Heat's
performance at the Kralingen Music Festival, Rotterdam, Netherlands on
June 26, 1970.
Wilson appeared with Canned Heat performing "One Kind Favor" during a party scene in the drama The Naked Zoo released in 1971.
Personal life
Wilson
suffered from anxiety and depression, rooted in his personal issues and
in his despair over the environment. According to some, he had a couple
of suicide attempts. Some sources say he never actually said he tried
to commit suicide and these were simply assumptions some who knew him
made after his death. As a child, Wilson experienced sleep paralysis, but later suffered from insomnia as an adult. To resolve his insomnia, Wilson started using the barbiturates Secobarbital,
or "reds" as they were known on the street. He had a nervous habit of
pulling and twisting his hair. In the summer of 1969, Wilson was
hospitalized for depression. During this time, he wrote the song "Poor
Moon," expressing his concern for pollution from the Moon landing that same year. In order to be released, however, Wilson was placed under Bob Hite's care in a legal custody agreement. Wilson was hospitalized again in the spring of 1970, as Canned Heat was scheduled to record an album with John Lee Hooker. Wilson reportedly attempted to drive his car off a freeway in Los Angeles, sustaining an injury to the top of his head.
There are conflicting stories of this as some say it was an accident
due to his poor eyesight and lack of driving experience. Wilson was
permitted to attend recording sessions, but would return to the hospital
at the conclusion of each session. His song "Human Condition," reflects
an encounter with his psychiatrist at one of his hospital stays.
Because Wilson was highly sensitive, introverted and struggled with
social situations, some believe he was on the autism spectrum.
With his talent and intellect, most dismissed him as brilliant but a
little odd, as autism was not well understood at the time. There are no
actual diagnoses indicating he was autistic. Others who knew him
disagree that he was autistic. Some who knew him also say that he was
not introverted but introspective. Despite his success, he was not very
successful with women, failing to relate to them or maintain long-term
relationships. However, he did have some girlfriends over the years,
though these relationships did not last long.
Due to his poor vision, Wilson did not learn how to drive until 1969, when Bob Hite gave him a camper van which doubled as a home. He had no interest in purchasing a home, and whenever Canned Heat was not on tour, Wilson would go camping to Yosemite or Sequoia National Park in his van at every opportunity.
Death
On
September 2, 1970, Canned Heat was scheduled to leave for Germany to
begin a European tour. Partly due to the inconveniences preventing him
from spending time outdoors, Wilson despised touring and travelling by
plane. He often missed flights and the band would fly without him while
he caught a later flight. When he missed his September 2 flight, this did not raise any alarms, and Bob Hite
assumed he was doing laundry to prepare for the tour. On September 3,
1970, Wilson was found dead in his sleeping bag on the hillside behind
Hite's Topanga Canyon home where he often slept. He was 27 years old. An autopsy identified his manner and cause of death as accidental acute barbiturate intoxication.
Although his death is sometimes reported as a suicide, this is not
clearly established as he left no note, and there were four pills left
in his pants found next to his body.
Wilson's death came fourteen months after the death of Brian Jones, just two weeks before the death of Jimi Hendrix, four weeks before the death of Janis Joplin, and ten months before the death of Jim Morrison, four artists who also died at the same age.
Wilson was cremated, and on September 13, 1970, a memorial service was
held at Menotomy Rocks Park in his hometown of Arlington. The service
was led by Reverend Wilbur Canaday who said, "We are using the sky as a
roof, and the ground as a floor, because he himself used nature’s great
wonders as his home.” Wilson's ashes were later scattered in Sequoia National Park amongst the redwoods he deeply loved.
Conservationism
Wilson was a passionate conservationist who loved reading books on botany and ecology.
He often slept outdoors to be closer to nature, and amassed a large
collection of pinecones. Wilson communicated with trees and plants
better than he did with people. He believed that trees were sentient
beings that could experience pain. In 1969, he wrote and recorded a song, "Poor Moon", which expressed concern over potential pollution of the Moon.
His clothes were often dirty and disheveled from collecting leaf and
soil samples outdoors. For this reason, Wilson avoided arrest in a drug
sting in 1967, when authorities raided Canned Heat's hotel room.
In 1970 Wilson established a conservation fund called Music Mountain
Foundation in the Skunk Cabbage Creek area of California to purchase a
grove to be added to Redwood National Park. The purpose of this organization was to raise money for the preservation of the coastal redwood, which Wilson saw increasingly endangered by pollution, and urban sprawl. Canned Heat
along with their manager agreed to donate proceeds from major concerts
after Wilson's death, however the donations were later misappropriated.
He wrote an essay called 'Grim Harvest', expressing his concern for the
logging of redwoods, which was printed as the liner notes to Future Blues.
It begins, "The redwoods of California are the tallest living things on
Earth, nearly the oldest, and among the most beautiful to boot." It
ends with a plea to "prevent Future Blues" by making a donation to his
organization.
Wilson briefly worked as an ecological consultant for the United States Forest Service
in 1969. He was appointed to perform a study on how rising levels of
pollution would affect plant life on Earth, and then to determine which
species could survive if pollution levels continued to rise at the rates
at the time. During his studies, Wilson was even credited as
discovering two new species of trees in the Pacific Northwest. When Wilson finished the study, he concluded that nothing could survive.
In order to support his dream, Wilson's family purchased a "grove
naming" in his memory through the Save the Redwoods League of
California. The money donated to create this memorial would be used by
the League to support redwood reforestation, research, education, and
land acquisition of both new and old growth redwoods.
Legacy
Wilson is
widely remembered as a pioneer of blues-rock during its crucial
development period of the 1960s who also promoted the revival of early Delta Blues.
Wilson was considered by many of his musical peers to be an expert on
the blues musicians who came before him; many considered him as
possessing an exceptional ability for connecting musically with the
elder bluesmen.
He was a gifted slide guitarist, harmonica player, songwriter and
vocalist. His recording career spanned only three years. Despite this,
he left behind a rich legacy of inspiration to fellow artists, music
scholars, and listeners alike. Mike Bloomfield of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band introduced him to Charlie Musselwhite as “the best goddamn harp player there is. He can do things that you’ve never heard before.”
Wilson's friend John Fahey has said that he was "among the most
significant influences on my musicianship," and that his work "must be
appreciated for its immortal, spellbinding beauty." Wilson is also
noteworthy for being one of the first environmentalists during the rise
of the 1960s "New Environmentalism" Movement and was highly dedicated to
protecting and preserving the California redwoods.
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