By Sheersho Zaman
“When you listen to Hendrix, you are listening to music in its pure form” – Roger Mayer
Jimi Hendrix is a man who requires little to no introduction. During his brief period in this world, he showed us what it was really like to “feel” music. 18 September 1970 was a dark day for music-lovers around the world. It is the day the guitar virtuoso left this world at a young age of 27. However, in the short time he was here, he had left an unforgettable impression amongst the general populace.
Perhaps the greatest proof of Hendrix’s musical genius is the way other legends in the industry talked about him.
Hendrix’s rendition of “All Along the Watchtower” by Bob Dylan was so amazing that it became even more famous than the original song. Furthermore, Bob Dylan himself had made changes to his own original version inspired from the version Hendrix did.
After the inception of the “Jimi Hendrix Experience,” they (Jimi on guitars, Noel Redding on bass and Mitch Mitchell on drums) were the talk of scene. Industry legends like Paul McCartney, John Lennon and the other Beatles were all rushing to witness this phenomenon. Others like Pete Townshend and the Stones soon followed.
In fact, when Keith Altham, a reporter who spent most of his time with the Hendrix experience, was at a show where the Jimi Hendrix Experience were playing, he spotted Brian (the founder and original leader of the Rolling Stones) “walking back up with tears in his eyes.” When Altham asked him what was wrong, Brian replied, “It’s what he does, it chokes me.” And that was what Jimi Hendrix was, making even the greats tear up with his blindingly brilliant playing.
These are all very intriguing tales, but perhaps the most interesting incident involving an industry legend’s reaction to Jimi Hendrix was probably that with Eric Clapton and Cream. The insurgence of Hendrix and his music caught the ears of Eric Clapton and his then growing powerhouse band Cream. They invited Hendrix and his band to join them for a jam to see what all the fuss was about. Chandler, the Jimi Hendrix Experience manager at the time, had also apparently told Hendrix of Eric Clapton, as an incentive to make Hendrix go to Britain.
At the jamming session, Tony Garland (a member of Hendrix’s management company) was also present. According to him, Hendrix started playing Howlin’ Wolf’s “Killing Floor” and at “breakneck tempo.” It was such that it “stopped you in your tracks” according to Garland.
Clapton allegedly went backstage in the middle of the song, and Chandler followed. The song Hendrix played was apparently one that Clapton himself was “yet to master.” Backstage, Clapton had started angrily puffing on a cigarette, and told Chandler: “You never told me he was that fu***** good.”