Mandel was born in Detroit, Michigan, and grew up in Morton Grove, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. His sister, Rose Mandel, lives in Chicago and is Director of Mandel Productions Events & Entertainment.\n', '

His first record was the album Stand Back! Here Comes Charley Musselwhite\'s Southside Band in 1966 with Charlie Musselwhite. Described in Legends of Rock Guitar (1997) 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 The Matrix, a club where local favorites like Jerry Garcia or Elvin Bishop would sit in and jam. He then met the 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. 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 four more solo albums for the independent record label Janus in the early 1970s, which included Baby Batter.\n', '

On the night that Henry Vestine quit Canned Heat, Mandel was in the band\'s 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 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 became an international hit. He is also on the Live in Europe album prior to the death of Alan Wilson.\n', '

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