Don Sugarcane Harris

Don "Sugarcane" Harris was an American rock & roll / blues violinist and guitarist born on June 19, 1938. Don and Dewey with his childhood friend Dewey Terry in the mid 1950s. Harris was given the nickname "Sugarcane" by LA bandleader Johnny Otis and it was to remain with him throughout his life. In the 1960s Harris moved over to the electric violin after separating with Dewey. He was to reappear as a sideman with John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers and Frank Zappa, most recognized for his appearances on Zappa's Hot Rats album, with Captain Beefheart and Shuggie Otis, and with the Mothers of Invention on the albums Burnt Weeny Sandwich, The Lost Episodes and Weasels Ripped My Flesh. Harris's struggles with substance abuse were to lead to his becoming erratic, not so much as a performer while on stage, but as a person whom it became increasing difficult to get on stage. During the early 1970s, Sugarcane fronted the Pure Food and Drug Act which included drummer Paul Lagos, guitarists Harvey Mandel and Randy Resnick, and bassist Victor Conte, who was the founder of the Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative (BALCO). In the 1980s, Sugarcane was a member of the Los Angeles-based experimental rock band Tupelo Chain Sex. Don Sugarcane Harris died on November 30, 1999. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.