"Harry Hood" is a
song
A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetitio ...
that is commonly performed live by the
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
band
Phish
Phish is an American rock band formed in Burlington, Vermont, in 1983. The band is known for musical improvisation, extended jams, blending of genres, and a dedicated fan base. The band consists of guitarist Trey Anastasio, bassist Mike Gordon ...
, first released on their 1995 live album ''
A Live One
''A Live One'' is a live album by the American rock music, rock band Phish, released on June 27, 1995, by Elektra Records. The album was the band's first official live release, their first album to be certified Platinum by the Recording Industry ...
''. It is one of Phish's most frequently performed songs, featured in 391 live performances since its debut on October 30, 1985.
Background
"Harry Hood" refers to the
Hood Dairy Co., a
New England
New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...
dairy company based in
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
. While the band was living with Brian Long in
Burlington, Vermont
Burlington is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Vermont and the seat of Chittenden County. It is located south of the Canada–United States border and south of Montreal. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population was 44,743. It ...
next to a Hood milk plant, "Harry Hood" was the company mascot of the Hood Milk Co., and this character was featured in a 1970s television commercial in which people opened their refrigerator to find Harry Hood standing inside. The lyric, "Where do you go when the lights go out?" most likely refers to this advertisement, and to the automatic light in a
refrigerator
A refrigerator, colloquially fridge, is a commercial and home appliance consisting of a thermally insulated compartment and a heat pump (mechanical, electronic or chemical) that transfers heat from its inside to its external environment so th ...
. A "Mr. Miner" is also mentioned in the song, a reference to a previous tenant of the house. While living in Mr. Minor's former apartment, calls for Mr. Miner by debt collectors and such would frequently interrupt band rehearsals. For that, the band added the line "Thank You, Mr. Miner."
The music for the song was written during Trey Anastasio and Jon Fishman's 1985 travels in Europe. While on Pelekas Beach in Greece, they took LSD and decided to swim out to a raft just offshore. A violent storm came in and almost drowned Anastasio. After the near-death experience, Trey sat on the beach and wrote the music to "Harry Hood".
[Puterbaugh, Parke. "Phish: The Biography". Da Capo Press, 2009, p. 48.]
Structure
The song opens with a loose
reggae
Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...
section prominently featuring the
bass, then moves through several contrasting themes before culminating in an improvised section that begins with a I-V-IV chord progression in D major.
"Glowstick wars"
"Harry Hood" is famous among the band's fans for its association with the spontaneous emergence of "glowstick wars," a Phish-created audience and band interaction in which multicolored glowsticks were tossed from all points in the crowd, such as during the 1997 "Great Went" performance featured in the film ''
Bittersweet Motel
''Bittersweet Motel'' is a 2000 documentary about the rock band Phish. The film was directed by Todd Phillips and covers the band's summer and fall 1997 tours, plus footage from their 1998 summer tour of Europe. The documentary ends with The Grea ...
''.
"Harry Hood" was performed at Phish's supposed "farewell"
Coventry two-day gig in 2004 on the rocks in the front of the stage. The rocks were placed in an effort to help control the massive flooding that turned the Coventry event into a muddy mess. Guitarist Trey Anastasio noted that the band was much further away, and so they performed closer to the fans in order to start a conversation among fans who would presumably return to their campsites and discuss whether or not the proximity of the band to the stage affected the "flowage of the notes." At the end, the band stopped playing, allowing the audience to sing the “You can feel good, good, good about Hood” refrain.
Album appearances
Although the song has never appeared on a Phish studio album, concerts performances of the song appear on several of the band's live albums.
"Harry Hood" made its first album appearance on the 1995 release ''
A Live One
''A Live One'' is a live album by the American rock music, rock band Phish, released on June 27, 1995, by Elektra Records. The album was the band's first official live release, their first album to be certified Platinum by the Recording Industry ...
'', which includes a performance from an October 1994 concert in Gainesville, Florida. The song subsequently appeared on ''
Hampton Comes Alive
''Hampton Comes Alive'' is a six-disc live album by the American rock band Phish, released on November 23, 1999, by Elektra Records. It is the band's third live album and the first time complete live Phish concerts were released in their entiret ...
'' (1999; recorded 1998), ''
Live Phish Volume 2
''Live Phish Vol. 2'' was recorded live on July 16, 1994 and was released on September 18, 2001 as part of the Live Phish Series. The show was performed on the side of a ski slope at the Sugarbush Resort in the town of North Fayston, located in ...
'' (2001; recorded 1994), ''
Live Phish Volume 9
''Live Phish Vol. 9'' was recorded live at the Townshend Family Park in Townshend, Vermont on August 26, 1989.
When the band begin choosing concerts for the Live Phish Series, guitarist Trey Anastasio required at least one release from the 1980 ...
'' (2002; recorded 1989), ''
Live Phish Volume 17
''Live Phish Vol. 17'' was recorded live at Portland Meadows in Portland, Oregon, on July 15, 1998. It was the first of a series of four concerts picked by Mike Gordon to release. Except for Live Phish Volume 20, the releases include his journal ...
'' (2003; recorded 1998), ''
Live Phish 02.28.03'' (recorded and released 2003), ''
Live Phish 04.04.98'' (2005; recorded 1998), ''
Colorado '88
''Colorado '88'' is a 3- CD live album from the rock band Phish, recorded over several nights in summer 1988. Despite having only traveled outside Vermont occasionally, in the New England college and club circuit, Phish embarked on a tour in the w ...
'' (2006; recorded 1988), ''
Vegas 96
''Vegas 96'' is a triple live album from the American jam band Phish, recorded live at the Aladdin Theatre in Las Vegas, Nevada, on December 6, 1996. In addition to the 3-CD set, a limited edition box version also includes a DVD with archival f ...
'' (2007; recorded 1996), ''
At the Roxy
''At the Roxy'' is an 8-disc box set from the rock band Phish recorded live over the course of their three-show run at the Roxy Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia, from February 19 to February 21, 1993.
Track listing Disc one (February 19, 1993)
# "Lo ...
'' (2008; recorded 1993), ''
Hampton/Winston-Salem '97
Hampton/Winston-Salem '97 is a 7-CD live box set album from the American jam band Phish, recorded live at the Hampton Coliseum in Hampton, VA on November 21–22, 1997 and Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Winston-Salem, NC on November 23 ...
'' (2011; recorded 1997) and ''
Ventura'' (2013; recorded 1998). The song has also appeared on concert recordings released by the band through their LivePhish website and on the DVDs ''
Phish: Walnut Creek'' (released 2008; recorded 1997) and ''
The Clifford Ball'' (released 2009; recorded 1996).
References
{{Authority control
Harry Hood