books featuring the blind owl:

Alan Wilson is still absent from many history books. Please e-mail the webmaster if you know of a book that gives Alan significant mention; we will post new volumes as we become aware of them.            -blindowl.net

Living The Blues: Canned Heat’s Story of Music, Drugs, Death, Sex & Survival.  By: Fito de la Parra, with T.W. & Marlene McGarry

Drummer/Producer “Fito” de la Parra’s autobiographical account of Canned Heat’s tumultuous career. Features an entire chapter, “The Blind Owl” devoted to Alan, and his unique contributions from an inside-out perspective. Fito gives an excellent account of Alan’s musicianship and personality, exploring his eccentricities and obsession with early blues music. Essential reading for all, Living The Blues shows the Canned Heat raw and uncensored; For the best viewing possible. This answers the questions about the bands mammoth crossover explosion in the Summer Of Love, initial fade from the charts in the 1970’s, and underground presence with the Hell’s Angels biker club.  Get it directly from the band at:
 www.cannedheatmusic.com/merche.htm

Boogie Man: The Adventures Of John Lee Hooker in the American Twentieth Century. By: Charles Shaar Murray

A dozen or so pages touching on Wilson’s contributions to John Lee Hooker’s career and sound. Murray has some creative insight, good descriptions of Wilson’s technique and unparalleled accompaniment, and describes his nuances accurately in the few pages that he is included in. It is quite obvious that Mr. Shaar Murray (as well as Wilson) is a devout fan of Hookers early work, and yearns for that authenticity and originality. In the March, 1974 issue of New Musical Express, he expresses his criticisms for Canned Heat, but states his appreciation for their efforts. In “Boogie Man,” he also acknowledges the fact that the double-record “Hooker ‘N Heat” was the start of a new era in Hooker’s career, and set the tone for all of his subsequent projects.