Robert Ernest Hite (February 26, 1943 – April 5, 1981) was an American musician who was the co-lead vocalist of the

blues rock Blues rock is a fusion music genre, genre and form of rock music, rock and blues music that relies on the chords/scales and instrumental improvisation of blues. It is mostly an electric ensemble-style music with instrumentation similar to electri ...

band

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

from 1965 to his death in 1981. His nickname was "The Bear".

Canned Heat

Hite was introduced to Alan Wilson by Henry Vestine and the two of them helped convince blues pianist Sunnyland Slim (1906–1995) to get back into the recording studio to record. In 1965, Hite formed a band with Wilson and Vestine. This trio formed the core of

. They were eventually joined by

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 the blues rock band Canned Heat. Before joining Canned Heat, he had been a session musician, session bassist for T ...

(bass) and Frank Cook (drums). Hite performed with Canned Heat at

Monterey Monterey ( ; ) is a city situated on the southern edge of Monterey Bay, on the Central Coast of California. Located in Monterey County, the city occupies a land area of and recorded a population of 30,218 in the 2020 census. The city was fou ...

in June 1967 and

Woodstock The Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held from August 15 to 18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, Woodstock. Billed as "a ...

in August 1969. The performances were not included in the original (1970) film ''

'', but are in the 1994 director's cut version. Canned Heat appeared on a November 1969 episode of '' Playboy After Dark''. Hite was an avid record collector, and on the episode, informed

Hugh Hefner Hugh Marston Hefner (April 9, 1926 – September 27, 2017) was an American magazine publisher. He was the founder and editor-in-chief of ''Playboy'' magazine, a publication with revealing photographs and articles. Hefner extended the ''Playboy ...

that he had over 15,000

78s A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English) or a vinyl record (for later varieties only) is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The gro ...

. He produced the

John Lee Hooker John Lee Hooker (August 22, 1912 or 1917 – June 21, 2001) was an American blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist. The son of a sharecropper, he rose to prominence performing an electric guitar-style adaptation of Delta blues that he develo ...

and Canned Heat album '' Hooker 'N Heat'' (1971).

Death

On April 5, 1981, during a break between sets at The Palomino Club in North Hollywood, Hite was handed a vial of

heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a morphinan opioid substance synthesized from the Opium, dried latex of the Papaver somniferum, opium poppy; it is mainly used as a recreational drug for its eupho ...

by a fan. He snorted it and fell into a coma, after which others unsuccessfully attempted to revive him with a large dose of

cocaine Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant, derived primarily from the leaves of two South American coca plants, ''Erythroxylum coca'' and ''Erythroxylum novogranatense, E. novogranatense'', which are cultivated a ...

. A group of roadies put Hite in a van and drove him to bandmate Fito de la Parra's home, where he died.

References

American blues harmonica players American blues singers American blues guitarists American male guitarists Canned Heat members 1943 births 1981 deaths Musicians from Los Angeles County, California Songwriters from California Deaths by heroin overdose in California Entertainers from Topanga, California People from Torrance, California 20th-century American singers 20th-century American guitarists Guitarists from California 20th-century American male singers American male songwriters 20th-century American songwriters {{US-rock-singer-stub