Iron Butterfly and Canned Heat at Galt Airport

McHenry's Galt Airport hosted a psychedelic concert a couple weeks ago with two of the better-known 60s bands: Iron Butterfly and Canned Heat. I didn't go, but would have liked to. It was billed as a Celebration of the 1967 Summer of Love. They had posters out that looked like those you would have seen out at Haight-Asbury back in that year. They were psychedelic.

There was a bit of a proble leading up to it as the airport owner did not want to hire off-duty McHenry County sheriffs and police at the rate of $50 an hour. Hey, I would sure work for that!!!

I was able to get a poster at the Woodstock Chamber of Commerce a few days after the event.

Of course, Iron Butterfly is sometimes referred to as the first heavy metal band. Their biggest hit was 1968's 17 minute-long "In-a-Gadda-da-Vida" which is supposedly an alcohol-slurred version of "In the Garden of Eden." Then, there's the seven-minute drum solo. They were supposed to be at the Woodstock Festival, but got stuck at an airport.

I have an original album by them. but it is somewhat worn. I couldn't get enough of that song. Just hearing it takes me right back to that period of my life.

Bryan Wawzenek had an interview with bassist Lee Dorman in the Northwest Herald. He said the group had never played the short version of the song, which was made by a deejay in Detroit. They had other songs, but "In-a-Gadda-da-Vida definitely overshadowed all the rest of their efforts. He didn't join the band until the fall of 1967 after a tour of duty in Vietnam.

Canned Heat formed in Los Angeles in 1965 is is considered a blues-rock-boogie band. Bob "the Bear" Hite was the lead singer and harmonica-player. They were at the 1967 Monterrey Pop Festival and Woodstock where I always thought Hite wasn't too with it on the song that was chosen for the soundtrack. They had two great ROAD SONGS: "Going Up the Country" and "On the Road Again."

Take Me Back to the Sixties. --RoadDog