- Bob Hite
:"For the former anchorman for
WFLA-TV inTampa, Florida , seeBob Hite (anchorman) .":"For the radio and television announcer, seeBob Hite (announcer) ."Bob "The Bear" Hite (
February 26 ,1945 (social security records list 1943) -April 5 ,1981 ) was the lead singer ofblues-rock bandCanned Heat from 1965 to 1981.As a young man he acquired a job in a record store and amassed a huge collection of old Blues records, which were his inspiration for becoming a musician.
He was introduced to Alan Wilson by
Henry Vestine and the two of them helped convince legendary bluespianist ,Sunnyland Slim to get back into the Studio to record. In 1965, aged 22, he formed a band with Wilson. Henry Vestine joined soon after and this trio formed the core of Canned Heat. The trio were eventually joined byLarry Taylor (bassist), and Frank Cook (drums).He produced the
John Lee Hooker /Canned Heat albumHooker 'N' Heat (1971). He died of a heart attack in 1981.Bob was known for being very kind to his fans; on being recognized in a drugstore in Tarzana, CA in 1973, he cheerfully gave his autograph without pretense. The surprised fan uttered "Bob Hite!" "The Bear" replied with a smile, "That's right!" He then bounced over and greeted the fan in a friendly fashion. His leadership of Canned Heat in concert made for some of the best live performances of the 60's and 70's; when Canned Heat took the stage, the atmosphere charged up and literally everyone got up and "boogied".
Canned Heat appeared on a November 1969 episode of
Playboy After Dark . Bob Hite was invited to talk with Hugh Hefner after the performance, along with other guestsSonny and Cher ,Vic Damone ,Dick Shawn andLarry Storch . A 20 year-oldLindsay Wagner , playing the part of one of Hef's party guests, sat on Hite's lap and played a party game. When asked by Hef what kind of animal Hite would be if he were an animal, Wagner claimed he'd be a bear. Hite told her she got it right, that people called him "the bear."External links
* [http://bobhite.net Bob Hite tribute site]
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