Jimi Hendrix Reinvented the Electric Guitar and Rock N’ Roll
"You can call it… anything you want to. It's nothing but a band of gypsys"
~ Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix is considered a great guitarist. He played the instrument in ways never heard before, using sound pedals, high volume, distortion, and vibrato, but he carefully chose his notes. The young artist influenced just about every rock, blues, and jazz guitarist that came after him. His technical skill was excellent, but his creativity and style were off the chart.
Hendrix's sound is unique, and anyone who hears his music knows it is him, but most of his songs stand on their own. Whether chewing gum while playing "Wild Thing" at the Monterey Pop festival in 1967 or playing the National Anthem at Woodstock, Jimi Hendrix could say anything he wanted with his guitar.
On September 18, 1970, James Marshall Hendrix died at 27 years old, ending a career that took him to stratospheric heights. The fact that he could not read music and played the guitar like no one else makes it remarkable that Jimi Hendrix's meteoric rise in music occurred. But why?
Guitar Style
Hendrix used a right-handed Fender Stratocaster strung backward for left-handed playing, resulting in a reversal of the high/low string arrangement. He came from a modest background, so maybe this setup came out of necessity. The slanted pickup causes darker highs and brighter lows. Hendrix used a piano-style chordal technique by covering the 6th string with his thumb, leaving the other fingers free for harmony and lead parts, which is revolutionary compared to most musicians' standard barre chord method.
It was Hendrix's soloing that blew his audiences away. He played solid Blues with Rock'n'Roll, R&B, Jazz, Soul, American folk, and British Rock influences, pushing the boundaries of psychedelic rock that no one had come close to touching. He would tease audiences by finger-fretting a Beatle song in the middle of a solo.
Pete Townsend provides a spot-on analysis; "He managed to build this bridge between true blues guitar...and modern sounds...He brought the two together brilliantly". However, Neil Young probably said it best: "That guy wasn't just on another level; he was in a whole other building from the rest of us."
Over Driven Amplifiers
While most bands in the 1960s did everything to avoid feedback, Hendrix embraced it. He set his Marshall equipment controls to the maximum, known as "the Hendrix setting." The wildly overdriven amplifiers provided the trademark Hendrix tone. Almost all reviews of his 1969 German tour performance comment on the loudness of the concerts.
Hendrix pioneered the use of pedals for sound effects. The Octavia and Fuzz Face pedals were two regular features of Hendrix's stage and studio setup. The brand new Vox Wah-Wah became Hendrix's signature effect, providing that legendary introduction to "Voodoo Chile."
Meteoric Rise
It was a chance meeting with Linda Keith in 1966, the girlfriend of Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards, that started Jimmy Hendrix's journey to becoming a superstar. Keith introduced him to Chas Chandler, who was leaving the Animals to become a promoter and manager. Hendrix hired Chandler and his partner Michael Jeffery to become his managers. They traveled together to London, where Chandler started recruiting members for the Jimi Hendrix Experience.
Chandler changed Hendrix's first name to "Jimi." He next found drummer Mitch Mitchell and bassist Noel Redding to join the band. Mitchell was a fantastic drummer whose jazz flair and flourishes worked well with Hendrix's playing. Redding's job was to hold the bottom down. Redding's palm muting and picking matched well with Hendrix's guitar style.
Within one year, The Jimi Hendrix Experience became one of the world's most popular and highest-grossing touring acts. The Experience's first single, "Hey Joe," spent ten weeks on the UK charts. Their full-length album "Are You Experienced" became a 1960s anthem featuring tracks like "Purple Haze," "The Wind Cries Mary," "Foxey Lady," "Fire," and "Are You Experienced?" In June, he traveled to America and ignited the crowd at the Monterey International Pop Festival with his incredible performance of "Wild Thing." The audience had never seen anyone light their guitar on stage before.
By 1968, Hendrix had taken greater control over the direction of his music. He returned to the studio and started work on his most ambitious work "Electric Ladyland." The following year, he toured Germany, and in the summer, his band played on the last day of the Woodstock Festival. His groundbreaking version of "Star-Spangled Banner" woke up the mud-soaked audience. Many believe that Hendrix and his band had the best performance at the three-day festival. Why and how he played the song is still debated today. But there is no doubt that this honorably discharged paratrooper from the 101st Airborne made history on August 18.
Later that year, Hendrix formed the Band of Gypsys featuring bassist Billy Cox and Electric Flag drummer Buddy Miles. The band performed at the Fillmore East in New York City between December 31, 1969, and January 1, 1970. The New Years' concert album went double Platinum with sales of over two million since 1970.
As 1970 progressed, Jimi brought back drummer Mitch Mitchell to the group and, together with Billy Cox on bass, to reform the Jimi Hendrix Experience. The group recorded several tracks for a new LP tentatively titled "First Rays Of The New Rising Sun." Unfortunately, Hendrix did not see this musical vision come to completion because of his hectic schedule, then his tragic death on September 18, 1970.
It has been 52 years since his passing. The brilliance of this performer's music still captures people's imagination and probably will for the next fifty years.