Harvey Mandel (born March 11, 1945) is an American guitarist best known as a member of

Canned Heat Canned Heat is an American band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1965. The group is noted for its efforts to promote interest in blues music and its original artists and rock music. It was founded by two blues enthusiasts Alan Wilson and Bob ...

. He also played with

Charlie Musselwhite Charles Douglas Musselwhite (born January 31, 1944) is an American electric blues harmonica player and bandleader, one of the white bluesmen who came to prominence, along with Mike Bloomfield, Paul Butterfield, and Elvin Bishop, as a pivotal f ...

and

John Mayall John Mayall, OBE (born 29 November 1933) is an English blues singer, musician and songwriter, whose musical career spans over sixty years. In the 1960s, he was the founder of John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, a band that has counted among it ...

as well as maintaining a solo career.

Early life

Mandel was born in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

, and grew up in

Morton Grove, Illinois Morton Grove is a village in Cook County, Illinois. Per the 2020 census, the population was 25,297. The village is named after former United States Vice President Levi Parsons Morton, who helped finance the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railr ...

, a

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Career

His first recording was the album '' Stand Back! Here Comes Charley Musselwhite's Southside Band'' in 1966 with

. Described in ''Legends of Rock Guitar'' (1997) as a "legendary" album, it was influential in bridging the gap between blues and

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...

, with Mandel's "relentless fuzztone, feedback-edged solos, and unusual syncopated phrasing." He relocated to the

San Francisco Bay area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...

, performing often at

The Matrix ''The Matrix'' is a 1999 science fiction action film written and directed by the Wachowskis. It is the first installment in ''The Matrix'' film series, starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving, and Joe Pantolia ...

, a club where local favorites like

Jerry Garcia Jerome John Garcia (August 1, 1942 – August 9, 1995) was an American musician best known for being the principal songwriter, lead guitarist, and a vocalist with the rock band Grateful Dead, which he co-founded and which came to prominence ...

or Elvin Bishop would sit in and jam. He then met the pioneering San Francisco disc jockey and producer Abe "Voco" Kesh (Abe Keshishian), who signed Mandel to

Philips Records Philips Records is a record label founded by the Dutch electronics company Philips. It was founded as Philips Phonographische Industrie in 1950. In 1946, Philips acquired the company which pressed records for British Decca's Dutch outlet in A ...

and produced his first solo album, ''Cristo Redentor'', in 1968. Mandel recorded with

Barry Goldberg Barry Joseph Goldberg (born December 25, 1942) is an American blues and rock keyboardist, songwriter, and record producer. Goldberg has co-produced albums by Percy Sledge, Charlie Musselwhite, James Cotton, and the Textones, plus Bob Dylan's ve ...

on a

bootleg Bootleg or bootlegging most often refers to: * Bootleg recording, an audio or video recording released unofficially * Rum-running, the illegal business of transporting and trading in alcoholic beverages, hence: ** Moonshine, or illicitly made ...

from Cherry Records and recorded with

Graham Bond Graham John Clifton Bond (28 October 1937 – 8 May 1974) was an English rock/blues musician and vocalist, considered a founding father of the English rhythm and blues boom of the 1960s. Bond was an innovator, described as "an important, und ...

. He cut two more solo LPs for Philips, ''Righteous'' (1969) and ''Games Guitars Play'' (1970), followed by four more solo albums for the

independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented ...

Janus in the early 1970s, which included ''Baby Batter''. On the night that

Henry Vestine Henry Charles Vestine (December 25, 1944 – October 20, 1997) a.k.a. "The Sunflower", was an American guitar player primarily known as a member of the band Canned Heat. He was with the group from its start in 1966 to July 1969. In later years ...

quit Canned Heat, Mandel was in the band's dressing room at the

Fillmore West The Fillmore West was a historic rock and roll music venue in San Francisco, California, US which became famous under the direction of concert promoter Bill Graham from 1968 to 1971. Named after The Fillmore at the intersection of Fillmore Str ...

Mike Bloomfield Michael Bernard Bloomfield (July 28, 1943 – February 15, 1981) was an American guitarist and composer, born in Chicago, Illinois, who became one of the first popular music superstars of the 1960s to earn his reputation almost entirely on his ...

joined them for the first set, and Mandel came in for the second set. His third performance with the band was the

Woodstock Festival Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, Woodstock. ...

in 1969. During this period, with Canned Heat bandmates

Larry Taylor Samuel Lawrence Taylor (June 26, 1942 – August 19, 2019) was an American bass guitarist, best known for his work as a member of Canned Heat from 1967. Before joining Canned Heat he had been a session bassist for The Monkees and Jerry Lee Le ...

and

Fito de la Parra A unit prefix is a specifier or mnemonic that is prepended to units of measurement to indicate multiples or fractions of the units. Units of various sizes are commonly formed by the use of such prefixes. The prefixes of the metric system, such a ...

, Mandel contributed to the 'Music from Free Creek' super session project. Mandel stayed with Canned Heat for a year, touring and recording material which appeared on three albums. "

Let's Work Together "Let's Stick Together" is a blues-based rhythm and blues song written by Wilbert Harrison. In 1962, Fury Records released it as a single. Harrison further developed the song and in 1969, Sue Records issued it as a two-part single titled "Let's W ...

", a song by

Wilbert Harrison Wilbert Huntington Harrison (January 5, 1929 – October 26, 1994) was an American rhythm and blues singer, pianist, guitarist and harmonica player. Biography Born in Charlotte, North Carolina, Harrison had a Billboard #1 record in 1959 with ...

which was included in the album '' Future Blues'' became an international hit. He is also on the ''Live in Europe'' album recorded prior to the death of Alan Wilson. With Canned Heat bassist Larry Taylor, Mandel joined

's band for the next two years. He is heard playing on the two albums from that period ''

USA Union ''USA Union'' is a 1970 album by blues musician John Mayall, featuring Harvey Mandel on guitar, Larry Taylor on bass and Don "Sugarcane" Harris on violin. The album was recorded on July 27 & 28th, 1970 at Larrabee Studios in LA and released b ...

'' and ''Back to the Roots''. In 1972, he teamed up with

Don "Sugarcane" Harris Don Francis Bowman "Sugarcane" Harris (June 18, 1938 – November 30, 1999) was an American blues and rock and roll violinist and guitarist. He is considered a pioneer in the amplification of the violin. Career Harris was born and raised in P ...

Randy Resnick Randy Resnick is an American guitarist and saxophonist who has played with many prominent blues and jazz musicians, such as Don "Sugarcane" Harris, John Lee Hooker, John Mayall, Canned Heat and Freddie King. He was developing both one- and two- ...

on guitar, Victor Conte on bass, and Paul Lagos on drums to form the band

Pure Food and Drug Act The Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906, also known as Dr. Wiley's Law, was the first of a series of significant consumer protection laws which was enacted by Congress in the 20th century and led to the creation of the Food and Drug Administration. ...

, which released one album, ''Choice Cuts''. During the 1970s Mandel released the albums ''Baby Batter'' (1970), ''The Snake'' (1972), ''Feel the Sound of Harvey Mandel'' (1974) and ''Shangrenade'' (1973), in the latter employing the technique of two-handed tapping. He also released an instructional video, ''Harvey Mandel: Blues Guitar & Beyond''. When

Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...

guitarist

Mick Taylor Michael Kevin Taylor (born 17 January 1949) is an English guitarist, best known as a former member of John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, John Mayall's Bluesbreakers (1967–1969) and the Rolling Stones (1969–1974). As a member of the Stones, h ...

left the band, Mandel was given an audition as his replacement. He recorded two tracks with the Stones for their 1976 album ''

Black and Blue ''Black and Blue'' is the 13th British and 15th American studio album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released on 23 April 1976 by Rolling Stones Records. This album was the first recorded after former guitarist Mick Taylor quit ...

'': " Hot Stuff" (providing the lead guitar solo throughout) and " Memory Motel". Mandel acted in the film ''Chalk'', which was directed by

Rob Nilsson Rob Nilsson is a filmmaker, poet, and painter, best known for his feature film '' Northern Lights'', co-directed with John Hanson and winner of the Camera d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival (1979). He also is known for directing and playing the l ...

. In 2009, Mandel and Larry Taylor reunited with

and the rest of the current Canned Heat lineup to perform certain shows on the Canned Heat tour. Taylor, Mandel and de la Parra had all been part of the 1969

lineup. Mandel rejoined Canned Heat permanently in 2010. ''Harvey Mandel and the Snake Crew'' was released in 2006. Notable guest performers included Elvin Bishop,

Norton Buffalo Phillip Jackson (September 28, 1951 – October 30, 2009), best known as Norton Buffalo, was an American singer-songwriter, country and blues harmonica player, record producer, bandleader and recording artist who was a versatile proponent of ...

Marcy Levy Marcella Levy (born June 21, 1952), known professionally as Marcy Levy and (later in her career) Marcella Detroit, is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. She co-wrote the 1977 Eric Clapton hit "Lay Down Sally" and released her debut a ...

, and

Nick Gravenites Nicholas George Gravenites (; born October 2, 1938) is an American blues, rock and folk singer, songwriter, and guitarist, best known for his work with Electric Flag (as their lead singer), Janis Joplin, Mike Bloomfield and several influentia ...

, plus

Freddie Roulette Frederick Martin Roulette (May 3, 1939 – December 24, 2022) was an American electric blues lap steel guitarist and singer. He was best known as an exponent of the lap steel guitar. He was a member of the band Daphne Blue and collaborated with ...

Pete Sears Peter Roy Sears (born 27 May 1948) is an English rock musician. In a career spanning more than six decades, he has been a member of many bands and has moved through a variety of musical genres, from early R&B, psychedelic improvisational rock o ...

, Peter Albin,

Mic Gillette Mic Gillette (May 7, 1951 – January 17, 2016) was an American brass player, born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area's East Bay. He is best known for being a member of the bands; Tower of Power, Cold Blood, and The Sons of Champlin. He pl ...

and

Howard Wales Howard Wales (February 8, 1943 – December 7, 2020) was an American keyboardist who worked in a wide variety of styles. He was a collaborator with Jerry Garcia in the early 1970s. Wales was a session player for many musical acts, including Ron ...

. ''Live at Biscuits & Blues'' followed in 2009. In 2014, Harvey collaborated with the herbalist Ron Teeguarden on an album titled ''Dragons at Play'', which consisted of nine tracks. In 2015, Cleopatra Records issued a six-disc retrospective of Harvey's career featuring the first five of Harvey's solo albums, and a sixth disc containing a live performance from the Matrix Club in San Francisco, on December 24, 1968. The performance included Jerry Garcia, and Elvin Bishop. In 2016, Harvey, along with

Ryley Walker Ryley Walker (born July 21, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist from Rockford, Illinois. Biography Walker, and critics, have cited the band Genesis and singer-songwriter Nick Drake as early influences. Walker began his career ...

's backing band, entered the recording studios at Fantasy Records, Berkeley, for two days of live studio recording, which resulted in the eight self-composed tracks which made up the album ''Snake Pit''. In 2017, Harvey released the 10 track album ''Snake Attack''. According to Harvey, "I wrote all the songs, performed all the instruments and mixed and mastered all the songs myself. Working in my own home studio allowed me to do all sorts of great guitar overdubs that I'd never have been able to do in a regular studio."

Solo discography

*1968 '' Cristo Redentor'' (LP,

Philips Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), commonly shortened to Philips, is a Dutch multinational conglomerate corporation that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, it has been mostly headquartered in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarters i ...

PHS 600-281) *1969 ''Righteous'' (LP, Philips PHS 600-306) *1970 ''Games Guitars Play'' (LP, Philips PHS 600-325) *1971 ''Baby Batter'' (LP,

Janus In ancient Roman religion and myth, Janus ( ; la, Ianvs ) is the god of beginnings, gates, transitions, time, duality, doorways, passages, frames, and endings. He is usually depicted as having two faces. The month of January is named for Janu ...

JLS-3017), also released as ''Electronic Progress'' (

Bellaphon Bellaphon Records is an independent German record label of Bellaphon records GmbH. The label produces its own artists and distributes those of other labels. Recording artists * Johnny Cash * The Flippers * Ganymed * Geordie * Joan Jett & th ...

, Germany) *1972 ''The Snake'' (LP, Janus JLS-3037), with Don "Sugarcane" Harris *1972 ''Get Off in Chicago'' (LP,

Ovation The ovation ( la, ovatio from ''ovare'': to rejoice) was a form of the Roman triumph. Ovations were granted when war was not declared between enemies on the level of nations or states; when an enemy was considered basely inferior (e.g., slaves, p ...

OV/1415) *1973 ''Shangrenade'' (LP, Janus JLS-3047), with Don "Sugarcane" Harris *1974 ''Feel the Sound of Harvey Mandel'' (LP, Janus JLS-3067) *1975 ''The Best of Harvey Mandel'' (LP, Janus 7014) *1993 ''Twist City'' (CD, Western Front WFE 10022) *1995 ''Snakes & Stripes'' (CD, Clarity Recordings CCD-1013) *1995 ''Harvey Mandel: The Mercury Years'' (Includes first 3 solo albums) (CD, PolyGram Records 314 528275-2) *1997 ''Planetary Warrior'' (CD, ESP/Lightyear/WEA, 54215-2) *1997 ''Emerald Triangle'' (CD, Electric Snake Productions ESP-9701) *1999 ''Snake Live'' (CD, MP3.com) *2000 ''West Coast Killers'' (Includes tracks missing from 'West Coast Killaz') (CD, MP3.com) *2000 ''Lick This'' (CD, Electric Snake Productions) *2003 ''West Coast Killaz'' (CD, Electric Snake Productions) *2003 ''NightFire featuring Harvey Mandel/Freddie Roulette'' (CD, Electric Snake Productions NF1470) *2006 ''Harvey Mandel and the Snake Crew'' (CD, Electric Snake Productions) *2009 ''Live at Biscuits & Blues'' (CD, Electric Snake Productions) *2014 ''Dragons at Play '' (CD, Electric Snake Productions) *2015 ''Snake Box '' (Included first five solo albums plus ''Live at the Matrix'' from 1968) (CD, Cleopatra CLP-CD-2100) *2016 ''Snake Pit '' (CD,

Tompkins Square Tompkins Square Park is a public park in the Alphabet City portion of East Village, Manhattan, New York City. The square-shaped park, bounded on the north by East 10th Street, on the east by Avenue B, on the south by East 7th Street, and on ...

TSQ 5296) *2017 ''Snake Attack'' (CD, RockBeat Records ROC-3357) *2018 ''Live at Broadway Studios, San Francisco'' (CD, RockBeat Records ROC-3366) *2022 ''Who’s Calling'' (CD, Tompkins Square TSQ 5920)

References

Bibliography

*''Fito De La Parra, Living the Blues'' (2000),

External links

Official Harvey Mandel siteWide Hive Records Harvey Mandel PageWide Hive Players II Guitar Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mandel, Harvey 1945 births Living people American blues guitarists American male guitarists American rock guitarists John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers members Canned Heat members People from Morton Grove, Illinois Ovation Records artists Musicians from the San Francisco Bay Area Guitarists from Detroit 20th-century American guitarists