“When I die, I want people to play my music, go wild and freak out and do anything they want to do” – Jimi Hendrix
Consistently being named as the greatest guitarist of all time by Rolling Stone magazine and almost every other publication that has ever compiled such a list, Jimi Hendrix combined matchless brilliance, an improvisational spirit, and touching soul every time he picked up the Guitar.
In a brief career, Jimi Hendrix expanded all the explosive possibilities of the electric guitar. He was a master at mixing different type of music to produce a new musical sound out of his electric guitar. His innovative and creative method, often experimenting with amplification created astral-quality feedback and roaring distortion. Considering Jimi Hendrix could not read or write music, it is astonishing that his rise in the music industry took only four years. His musical passion had influenced and is still influencing some of the greats from David Bowie, Robert Smith and Freddie Mercury to moderns like Matt Bellamy, Dave Grohl, and Josh Homme.
Below are some of my personal favorite of Jimi Hendrix:
Voodoo Child (Slight Return): This song was released as a single just after the death of Hendrix and it shot to Number One in the UK. It did not even crack the Hot 100 in America, but it has been since played on classic rock radio around 10 billion times.
Purple Haze: The opening track on the US version of his debut LP, Purple Haze presented Jimi and his backing band with 2:50 of scorching, fuzzed-out and psychedelic glory.
Little Wing: A stunning guitar solo, it was the first time that Jimi recorded his guitar through a Leslie speaker, creating the wave-like echo sounds that make it’s guitar parts so distinct.
Machine Gun: Recorded during the Vietnam War, it one of the most frenetic anti-war songs of the era. At the end of the song, it sounds just like an actual machine gun, and drummer Buddy Miles’ background vocals sound like the screams of a war.
The Wind Cries Mary: It was written by Jimi, the band spent hours, working in the studio on the song, but finally decided to with the very first take. It was the third single of the group.
Jimi Hendrix only lived to the age of 27, but in this short span, he created a remarkable collection of songs that continue to make Jimi Hendrix as one of the most popular stars in the world of rock music.
If you are inspired by Jimi Hendrix and want to learn guitar just give “Guitar Confidence” a call. Our instructor Rex has now been doing mobile guitar lessons for many years and brings the joy of guitar to anyone who wants to learn. We travel to over 30 cities in the East Bay and South Bay areas; including Danville, San Ramon, Dublin & Pleasanton.
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