Adolfo de la Parra

Adolfo "Fito" de la Parra (born 8 February 1946) is a musician mexican who is best known for his work as the drummer of the American blues rock band Canned Heat, which he joined in 1967.

Life and career
Parra was born in Mexico City, and as played in bands such as Los Sinners and Los Hooligans. When he moved to the United States, he joined The Sotweed Factor, and then left them to join Bluesberry Jam. Members of this band were later in Pacific Gas & Electric.

When Parra was with Bluesberry Jam in 1967, he was discovered by the members in Canned Heat. He was invited into the band and made the classic member lineup. Parra replaced Frank Cook as drummer for Canned Heat, and Cook replaced Parra as drummer for Bluesberry Jam, which was described by them as a “simple switch over”. He joined shortly before they recorded their first worldwide hit song On the Road Again. His first gig was on December 1, 1967.

Parra has been a member of Canned Heat since he joined in 1967. He played on all of their biggest hits from the 1960s, such as Going Up the Country and Let's Work Together. He also played with the band at Woodstock in 1969 (Parra and Canned Heat appear in the 1970 documentary film Woodstock, as well as featuring on the original soundtrack recording). The members of the band were given nicknames, and Adolfo was given “Fito”, which was also the only non-animal related nickname. Since the death of Larry Taylor (The Mole) in 2019, Parra is the only principal member of the 1960s who is still alive.

In his career, Parra has also played with blues musicians such as The Coasters, T-Bone Walker, Ben E. King, Mary Wells, Etta James, and The Platters. He produced and appears in the 2007 film Rock 'n Roll Made in Mexico: from Evolution to Revolution, and also wrote the 2010 book Living The Blues.