1968 Road Trip Anthem, Inspired by a Blues Classic, Became the Unofficial Woodstock Theme Song
While the iconic Joni Mitchellsong "Woodstock" (later covered by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young) was, obviously, written about Woodstock, it wasn't performed there. In fact, Mitchell wasn't even able to attend the legendary festival due to a scheduled TV appearance. Another song that actually was played live at Woodstock, however, perfectly summed up the spirit of the moment...even though it was already a hit beforehand.
Originally released on their 1968 album Living the Blues, "Going Up the Country" was one of Canned Heat's biggest hits, peaking at #11 on the Billboard Hot 100 in early 1969. Written and sung by Alan Wilson, the song was based on a somewhat obscure '20s blues song called "Bull Doze Blues" by Henry Thomas. Some things about the song were changed quite a bit, according to American Songwriter, like the lyrics.
While "Bull Doze Blues" was about leaving a woman, Wilson's lyrics for "Going Up the Country" reflected his love of nature and almost seemed as if they were written about Woodstock before it even happened:
I'm going up the country
Baby, don't you wanna go?
I'm going up the country
Baby, don't you wanna go?
We gonna go somewhere
Where I've never been before
I'm going, I'm going
Where the water tastes like wine
I'm going
Where the water tastes like wine
So we can jump in the water
Stay drunk all the time
"Alan was far more interested in birds and flowers than women," Canned Heat manager Skip Taylor told Classic Rock. "He was extremely well-read and always had a pile of books with him. When everyone else was getting laid on tour, he'd be in a museum."
Naturally, the band was a perfect fit for Woodstock...even though they weren't particularly prepared. For one thing, they were exhausted from touring.
"We were sleeping in the cargo area of the airplane hangar," drummer Fito de la Parra recalled, adding, "I told Skip to leave me alone because I didn't want to go to Woodstock."
As it turned out, Canned Heat almost never made it to Max Yasgur's New York farm. The helicopter that was supposed to transport the band to the festival never showed, which led to vocalist and harmonica player Bob Hite "commandeering" a chopper full of journalists.
"F-k you, we're going to make the news!" he said at the time. "We are the Canned Heat! It is more important that we get there than you so we're taking this helicopter!"
A few years later, in a 1974 interview with Sounds, Hite admitted that Canned Heat wasn't exactly in top form at Woodstock.
"We've always just fallen into something within a couple of days and then just gone out on the road and played," he said, per Songfacts. "Sometimes it's shown it and sometimes it's been incredible. The Woodstock performance which although there were a couple of tunes which weren't too good, 'Going Up the Country' was one of them."
Nevertheless, "Going Up the Country" was included on Woodstock's triple-LP soundtrack recording, and even though Canned Heat's live performance was cut from the Woodstock movie because of a dispute over royalties, the studio version played over a montage in the film (Canned Heat's Woodstock appearance was, however, included in the director's cut).
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