Harvey Mandel
Encyclopedia
Harvey Mandel is an American
guitarist
known for his innovative approach to electric guitar
playing. A professional at twenty, he played with Charlie Musselwhite
, Canned Heat
, The Rolling Stones
, and John Mayall
before starting a solo
career. Mandel is one of the first rock guitarists to use two-handed fretboard tapping
.
, Michigan
but grew up in Morton Grove
, Illinois
, a suburb
of Chicago
and his first record was the album Stand Back! Here Comes Charley Musselwhite's Southside Band
in 1966 with Charlie Musselwhite
. Described in 1997's Legends of Rock Guitar as a "legendary" album, it was influential in bridging the gap between blues and rock and roll
, with Mandel's "relentless fuzztone, feedback-edged solos, and unusual syncopated phrasing." He relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area
, performing often at a club called The Matrix
, where local favorites like Jerry Garcia
or Elvin Bishop
would sit in and jam. He then met up with pioneering San Francisco disc jockey and producer Abe 'Voco' Kesh (Abe Keshishian), who signed Mandel to Philips Records
and produced
his first solo album, Cristo Redentor in 1968. In retrospect , Cristo Redentor bears some resemblance to cuts and songs that were on Wes Montgomery's albums. Mandel recorded with Barry Goldberg
on a bootleg
from Cherry Records and recorded with Graham Bond
. He cut two more solo LPs for Philips, Righteous (1969) and Games Guitars Play (1970), followed by three more solo albums for independent label Janus in the early '70s which include Baby Batter.
On the night that Henry Vestine
quit Canned Heat, Mandel was in their dressing room at the Fillmore West
. Mike Bloomfield
joined them for the first set, and Mandel came in for the second set. His third performance with the band was the Woodstock Festival
in 1969. During this same period, with Canned Heat bandmates Larry Taylor
and Fito de la Parra, 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
, a song by Wilbert Harrison
which was included in the album Future Blues
which became an international hit. He is also on the Live in Europe album prior to Alan Wilson
's death.
With Canned Heat bassist Larry Taylor, Mandel joined John Mayall
's band for the next two years. He is heard playing on the two albums of that period USA Union
and Back to the Roots. Freddie Roulette
played with Mayall on Jazz Blues Fusion. In 1972, he teamed up with Don "Sugarcane" Harris (who had played violin
for Mayall), Randy Resnick
on guitar, Victor Conte on bass
, and Paul Lagos on drums (who also played with Howard Wales, famous for a Wales and Garcia album) and formed the band Pure Food and Drug Act
, which released one album, Choice Cuts.
When The Rolling Stones
guitarist Mick Taylor
(also a former Mayall sideman) left the band, Harvey Mandel was auditioned as his replacement and he recorded two tracks with the Stones for their 1976 album Black and Blue
, "Hot Stuff" and "Memory Motel
". During the 1970s Mandel released the albums Baby Batter, The Snake and Shangrenade, in the latter employing the technique of two-handed tapping. He has also released an instructional video titled Harvey Mandel: Blues Guitar & Beyond.
Mandel's nickname, "The Snake," was given to him by keyboardist
Barry Goldberg
and referred to his cracked leather jacket.
Mandel acted in the film Chalk
, directed by Rob Nilsson
, and contributed some original music.
Mandel has two daughters, Camille and Lola who currently live in France.
In 2007 and Larry Taylor
reunited with Fito de la Parra
and the rest of the current Canned Heat line-up to perform certain shows on the Canned Heat tour. Larry Taylor, Mandel and de la Parra were all part of the original 1969 Woodstock Festival
line-up including the Woodstock Boogie now available on DVD
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
known for his innovative approach to electric guitar
Electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
playing. A professional at twenty, he played with Charlie Musselwhite
Charlie Musselwhite
Charlie Musselwhite is an American electric blues harmonica player and bandleader, one of the non-black bluesmen who came to prominence in the early 1960s, along with Mike Bloomfield and Paul Butterfield. Though he has often been identified as a "white bluesman", he claims Native American heritage...
, Canned Heat
Canned Heat
Canned Heat is a blues-rock/boogie rock band that formed in Los Angeles, California in 1965. The group has been noted for its own interpretations of blues material as well as for efforts to promote the interest in this type of music and its original artists...
, The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
, and John Mayall
John Mayall
John Mayall, OBE is an English blues singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, whose musical career spans over fifty years...
before starting a solo
Solo (music)
In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer...
career. Mandel is one of the first rock guitarists to use two-handed fretboard tapping
Tapping
Tapping is a guitar playing technique, where a string is fretted and set into vibration as part of a single motion of being pushed onto the fretboard, as opposed to the standard technique being fretted with one hand and picked with the other...
.
Career
Mandel was born in DetroitDetroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
but grew up in Morton Grove
Morton Grove, Illinois
Morton Grove is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 22,451 at the 2000 census.The Village President of Morton Grove since April 27, 2009, is Daniel J...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, a suburb
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
of Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
and his first record was the album Stand Back! Here Comes Charley Musselwhite's Southside Band
Stand Back! Here Comes Charley Musselwhite's Southside Band
Stand Back! Here Comes Charley Musselwhite's Southside Band is the 1966 or 1967 debut album of American blues-harp musician Charlie Musselwhite, leading Charlie Musselwhite's Southside Band. The Vanguard Records release brought Musselwhite to notability among blues musicians and also helped bridge...
in 1966 with Charlie Musselwhite
Charlie Musselwhite
Charlie Musselwhite is an American electric blues harmonica player and bandleader, one of the non-black bluesmen who came to prominence in the early 1960s, along with Mike Bloomfield and Paul Butterfield. Though he has often been identified as a "white bluesman", he claims Native American heritage...
. Described in 1997's Legends of Rock Guitar as a "legendary" album, it was influential in bridging the gap between blues and rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
, with Mandel's "relentless fuzztone, feedback-edged solos, and unusual syncopated phrasing." He relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
, performing often at a club called The Matrix
The Matrix (club)
The Matrix, a renovated former pizza shop, was a nightclub in San Francisco from 1965 to 1972 and was one of the keys to what eventually became known as the "San Francisco Sound" in rock music...
, where local favorites like Jerry Garcia
Jerry Garcia
Jerome John "Jerry" Garcia was an American musician best known for his lead guitar work, singing and songwriting with the band the Grateful Dead...
or Elvin Bishop
Elvin Bishop
Elvin Bishop is an American blues and rock and roll musician and guitarist.-Career:Bishop was born in Glendale, California, and grew up on a farm near Elliott, Iowa. His family moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma, when he was ten years old...
would sit in and jam. He then met up with pioneering San Francisco disc jockey and producer Abe 'Voco' Kesh (Abe Keshishian), who signed Mandel to Philips Records
Philips Records
Philips Records is a record label that was founded by Dutch electronics company Philips. It was started by "Philips Phonographische Industrie" in 1950. Recordings were made with popular artists of various nationalities and also with classical artists from Germany, France and Holland. Philips also...
and produced
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
his first solo album, Cristo Redentor in 1968. In retrospect , Cristo Redentor bears some resemblance to cuts and songs that were on Wes Montgomery's albums. Mandel recorded with Barry Goldberg
Barry Goldberg
Barry Goldberg is a blues and rock keyboardist, songwriter and record producer.-Career:As a teenager in Chicago, Goldberg sat in with Muddy Waters, Otis Rush, and Howlin' Wolf. He played keyboards in the band supporting Bob Dylan during his 1965 'electrified' appearance at the Newport Folk Festival...
on a bootleg
Bootleg recording
A bootleg recording is an audio or video recording of a performance that was not officially released by the artist or under other legal authority. The process of making and distributing such recordings is known as bootlegging...
from Cherry Records and recorded with Graham Bond
Graham Bond
Graham John Clifton Bond was an English musician, considered a founding father of the English rhythm and blues boom of the 1960s....
. He cut two more solo LPs for Philips, Righteous (1969) and Games Guitars Play (1970), followed by three more solo albums for independent label Janus in the early '70s which include Baby Batter.
On the night that Henry Vestine
Henry Vestine
Henry Charles Vestine a.k.a. "The Sunflower", was an American guitar player known mainly as a member of the band Canned Heat. He was with the group from its start in 1966 to July 1969...
quit Canned Heat, Mandel was in their dressing room at the Fillmore West
Fillmore West
The Fillmore West was an historic music venue in San Francisco, California made famous by concert promoter Bill Graham. Named after Graham's original "Fillmore" location at the intersection of Fillmore Street and Geary Boulevard, it stood at Market Street and South Van Ness Avenue and was formerly...
. Mike Bloomfield
Mike Bloomfield
Michael Bernard "Mike" Bloomfield was an American musician, 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 instrumental prowess, since he rarely sang before 1969–70...
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 Festival
Woodstock Music & Art Fair was a music festival, billed as "An Aquarian Exposition: 3 Days of Peace & Music". It was held at Max Yasgur's 600-acre dairy farm in the Catskills near the hamlet of White Lake in the town of Bethel, New York, from August 15 to August 18, 1969...
in 1969. During this same period, with Canned Heat bandmates Larry Taylor
Larry Taylor
Larry Taylor is 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 Lewis...
and Fito de la Parra, 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 Work Together
"Let's Stick Together" or "Let's Work Together" as it was subsequently titled, is a blues song written by Wilbert Harrison, which was released in 1962...
, a song by Wilbert Harrison
Wilbert Harrison
Wilbert Harrison was an American rhythm and blues singer, pianist, guitarist and harmonica player.Born in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States, Harrison had a Billboard #1 record in 1959 with the song "Kansas City". The song was written in 1952 and was one of the first credited collaborations...
which was included in the album Future Blues
Future Blues (Canned Heat album)
Future Blues is the fifth album by Canned Heat, released in 1970. It was the last to feature original member and songwriter Alan Wilson. Their cover of "Let's Work Together" by Wilbert Harrison became a hit. "London Blues" features Dr. John...
which became an international hit. He is also on the Live in Europe album prior to Alan Wilson
Alan Wilson (musician)
Alan "Blind Owl" Christie Wilson was the leader, singer, and primary composer in the American blues band Canned Heat. He played guitar and harmonica, and wrote most of the songs for the band.-Early years:...
's death.
With Canned Heat bassist Larry Taylor, Mandel joined John Mayall
John Mayall
John Mayall, OBE is an English blues singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, whose musical career spans over fifty years...
's band for the next two years. He is heard playing on the two albums of that period USA Union
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...
and Back to the Roots. Freddie Roulette
Freddie Roulette
Frederick Martin "Freddie" Roulette is an American Chicago blues and electric blues guitarist and singer. He is best known as an exponent of the lap steel guitar. In a lengthy career, he has collaborated with Earl Hooker, Charlie Musselwhite, Henry Kaiser, and Harvey Mandel, and released several...
played with Mayall on Jazz Blues Fusion. In 1972, he teamed up with Don "Sugarcane" Harris (who had played violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
for Mayall), Randy Resnick
Randy Resnick
Randy Resnick , is a guitarist who has played with many blues and jazz luminaries, such as Don "Sugarcane" Harris, John Lee Hooker, John Klemmer, John Mayall and Freddie King. He published a CD of his own music in 1995.-Career:...
on guitar, Victor Conte on bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, and Paul Lagos on drums (who also played with Howard Wales, famous for a Wales and Garcia album) and formed the band Pure Food and Drug Act
Pure Food and Drug Act (band)
Pure Food and Drug Act was a band that was formed in the early 1970s by Don "Sugarcane" Harris. The band began with Paul Lagos on drums, Larry Taylor on bass and Randy Resnick on guitar...
, which released one album, Choice Cuts.
When The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
guitarist Mick Taylor
Mick Taylor
Michael Kevin "Mick" Taylor is an English musician, best known as a former member of John Mayall's Bluesbreakers and The Rolling Stones...
(also a former Mayall sideman) left the band, Harvey Mandel was auditioned as his replacement and he recorded two tracks with the Stones for their 1976 album Black and Blue
Black and Blue
Black and Blue is the 13th British and 15th American studio album by The Rolling Stones, released in 1976. It was the band's first studio album released with Ronnie Wood as the replacement for Mick Taylor...
, "Hot Stuff" and "Memory Motel
Memory Motel
"Memory Motel" is a song from rock and roll band The Rolling Stones' 1976 album Black and Blue.A ballad, the song is credited to singer Mick Jagger and guitarist Keith Richards . It is a significant song as it is one of the few which feature both Jagger and Richards sharing lead vocals...
". During the 1970s Mandel released the albums Baby Batter, The Snake and Shangrenade, in the latter employing the technique of two-handed tapping. He has also released an instructional video titled Harvey Mandel: Blues Guitar & Beyond.
Mandel's nickname, "The Snake," was given to him by keyboardist
Keyboardist
A keyboardist is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instruments with keyboards have come into common usage, requiring a more...
Barry Goldberg
Barry Goldberg
Barry Goldberg is a blues and rock keyboardist, songwriter and record producer.-Career:As a teenager in Chicago, Goldberg sat in with Muddy Waters, Otis Rush, and Howlin' Wolf. He played keyboards in the band supporting Bob Dylan during his 1965 'electrified' appearance at the Newport Folk Festival...
and referred to his cracked leather jacket.
Mandel acted in the film Chalk
Chalk (film)
Chalk is a 2006 comedy mockumentary about teaching focusing on the lives of three teachers and one assistant principal. It stars Chris Mass as Mr. Stroope and Troy Schremmer as Mr. Lowrey. It is directed by Mike Akel. The movie is based on both Akel's and Mass' real life experiences in the...
, directed by Rob Nilsson
Rob Nilsson
Rob Nilsson is an American independent film director, writer, and sometimes actor. He has won the Caméra d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival and the Sundance Grand Jury Prize.-Early life and education:...
, and contributed some original music.
Mandel has two daughters, Camille and Lola who currently live in France.
In 2007 and Larry Taylor
Larry Taylor
Larry Taylor is 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 Lewis...
reunited with Fito de la Parra
Adolfo de la Parra
Adolfo "Fito" de la Parra is a Mexican drummer, best known as a longtime member of Canned Heat.-Biography:...
and the rest of the current Canned Heat line-up to perform certain shows on the Canned Heat tour. Larry Taylor, Mandel and de la Parra were all part of the original 1969 Woodstock Festival
Woodstock Festival
Woodstock Music & Art Fair was a music festival, billed as "An Aquarian Exposition: 3 Days of Peace & Music". It was held at Max Yasgur's 600-acre dairy farm in the Catskills near the hamlet of White Lake in the town of Bethel, New York, from August 15 to August 18, 1969...
line-up including the Woodstock Boogie now available on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
.
Solo discography
- 1968 Cristo Redentor, (Philips RecordsPhilips RecordsPhilips Records is a record label that was founded by Dutch electronics company Philips. It was started by "Philips Phonographische Industrie" in 1950. Recordings were made with popular artists of various nationalities and also with classical artists from Germany, France and Holland. Philips also...
PHS 600-281) LP - 1969 Righteous (Philips PHS 600-306) LP
- 1970 Games Guitars Play (Philips PHS 600-325) LP
- 1971 Baby Batter (Janus RecordsJanus RecordsJanus Records was a record label owned by GRT Records, also known as General Recorded Tape. Artists who had hits on Janus included Mungo Jerry, The Whispers, Cymande, Charlie, Al Stewart, Ian Thomas, and Ray Stevens. Chess Records was administered as a division of Janus in the early 1970s...
JLS-3017) LP - also released as Electronic Progress on Bellaphon RecordsBellaphon RecordsBellaphon Records is an independent German record label. Their artists have included Geordie, Limahl, Johnny Cash, Nektar, and Ganymed.Bellaphon were founded in 1961 by Branco Zivanovic. They are headquartered in Frankfurt. The company runs the labels Bellaphon, Bacillus and L&R. Bellaphon has...
, Germany - 1972 Get Off in Chicago (Ovation Records) LP
- 1972 The Snake (Janus JLS-3037) LP - with Don Sugarcane" Harris
- 1973 Shangrenade, (Janus JLS-3047) LP - with Don Sugarcane" Harris
- 1974 Feel the Sound of Harvey Mandel (Janus, JLS-3067) LP
- 1975 The Best of Harvey Mandel (Janus, 7014) LP
- 1994 Twist City (Western Front WFE 10022)
- 1995 Snakes & Stripes (Clarity Recordings CCD-1013) CD
- 1995 Harvey Mandel: The Mercury Years (PolyGram, 314 528 275-2) 2-CD anthology
- 1997 Planetary Warrior (ESP/Lightyear/WEA, 54215-2) CD
- 2000 Emerald Triangle (Electric Snake Productions, Inc., ESP-9701) CD
- 2000 Lick This (Electric Snake)
- 2003 West Coast Killaz (Electric Snake)