Richard Hite

[Twist Turner]

I got word on my answering machine a couple days ago that bassist and
brother of Bob Hite, Richard Hite comitted suicide earlier in the week.
Apparently he had been diagnosed with cancer, taken a couple of
treatments of chemotheropy before he took his own life. He was fairly
young, probably right around 50. I don't have exact details only what
has left on my answering machine. I would have posted this earlier but
I was sure someone else would have had more accurate info.

Richard was a former member of Canned Heat and performed in Europe at
Blues Estafette with Little Arthur Duncan a couple years ago, followed
by a short stint with Studebaker Johns band in the last year or so. He
had been living in Chicago for a very short period of time, but I heard
that he had moved back down south recently.

Twist Turner
http://members.tripod.com/~Twist_Turner/index.html

[Steve Hoffman]

Sad news. It sure seems that Canned Heat has had a very high death rate
over the years. Was Richard the one also known for being a world-class
collector of blues 78s, music memorabilia, etc?
Steve Hoffman

[Silkc...@aol.com]

In a message dated 9/21/2001 8:29:29 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
st...@goodnote.com writes:

<< Was Richard the one also known for being a world-class
collector of blues 78s, music memorabilia, etc? >>

I believe elder brother Bob Hite, original lead singer for Cannned Heat, was
the collector/historical student of the Blues... It was that avocation that
introduced him to Alan "Blind Owl" Wilson who had previously done some
similar time as a Blues historian, collecting and performing on a couple of
cuts with Son House (on Columbia) following Son's re-discovery... Perhaps the
ever eloquent Mr. Waterman can add something here, as I believe he was
associated with Mr. House around that same era...

Andy Allu
The Silk City Recording Company
<A HREF="http://www.silkcitycd.com/">www.silkcitycd.com</A>

[Jinx...@aol.com]

In a message dated 9/21/01 7:37:54 PM, Silkc...@aol.com writes:

>I believe elder brother Bob Hite, original lead singer for Cannned Heat, was
>the collector/historical student of the Blues... It was that avocation that
>introduced him to Alan "Blind Owl" Wilson who had previously done some
>similar time as a Blues historian, collecting and performing on a couple of
>cuts with Son House (on Columbia) following Son's re-discovery... Perhaps the
>ever eloquent Mr. Waterman can add something here, as I believe he was
>associated with Mr. House around that same era...

I believe that Richard Hite lived in Memphis but I never met him. And, yes,
he is the one with the vast collection of blues 45s and obscure LPs. I
believe that he had his own collection and then got his brother's collection
when Bob died.

Al Wilson was living in Cambridge, MA, at the time (1965) that he recorded
with Son House. He moved to California shortly after that and was a founding
member of Canned Heat. He died in 1970.

Dick Waterman
Oxford, MS

[R. L. Eagle]

Richard never recovered from the early death of his brother - he was also
badly affected by the death of a prominent New York collector (James McCune?
- can't remember, right now) in 1997 or 1998, which triggered a lapse into a
depressive illness which eventually led to him splitting up with his caring
wife (and childhood sweetheart) Marty.

As Dick says, he had a great collection - he was a very discerning collector
of blues, gospel, jazz, swing, hillbilly, personality - you name it (mainly
on 78).

I remember two particular anecdotes he told.

He toured Australia as a member of Canned Heat, and enjoyed it so much he
was always saying how much he wanted to go back - it introduced him to
Australian ditties such as "The Pub With No Beer", and he became a collector
of bush songs.

The other was his remembrance of Rube Lacey. When Rube was rediscovered, he
was a preacher in some God-forsaken southern Californian desert town
(Ridgecrest). Members of Canned Heat, including Bob Hite, went out to see
Rube. At the time, Richard was just a kid, but he was heavily under the
influence of Bob's interest in old-time blues. Of course, Rube refused to
play that Devil's music any more. Except . . . when the older guys went out
(to get some booze, or whatever) they left Richard to babysit Rube, who
promptly sang and played a set of blues to amuse "the kid". (Pause, while I
recover from my spasm of jealousy).

Richard, R.I.P., my friend.

Bob

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[B.B. Bean]

On 21 Sep 2001 20:28:37 -0700, Jinx...@aol.com wrote:

>I believe that Richard Hite lived in Memphis but I never met him. And, yes,
>he is the one with the vast collection of blues 45s and obscure LPs. I
>believe that he had his own collection and then got his brother's collection
>when Bob died.

Richard was in Memphis during the late 1980s and early 1990s - I lost
track with him around 1993 or so. He was a WEVL volunteer, working
both on and off the air (he may have been on the board during the 10
watt days), helped set up the Memphis Blues Museum, and was widely
known in collector circles for his broad collection and depth of
knowledge. Although Richard could be opinionated and abrasive, he fell
well within the bounds of "one of the good guys".

I'm sorry to hear of his demise.
-
B.B. Bean - Have horn, will travel bbb...@beancotton.com
Peach Orchard, MO http://www.beancotton.com/bbbean.shtml

[Bluesagent]

This breaks my heart. I recently returned to Memphis and wondered if Richard
was still living here and if so, what he was up to.

His record collection was beyond belief.
He was more than a world class collector- I'd call him a Jedi !

He also had some antique recording gear and one of the very first record
players ever made. And he told some great stories about playing in Canned Heat.
Nice guy.
My heart goes out to Richard, he must've been feeling pretty hopeless about his
diagnosis. And my thoughts are with his family and friends.

If anyone knows the details of Richards final arrangments, please email me
privately. I'd like to pay my repects.
And if I find out anything,I'll pass it on to whoever's interested.

Thanks
Rita McHann