It’s November 27, the day the great Jimi Hendrix was born. Jimi grabbed the music world by the ear, gave it a good shake, and turned it upside down – literally. The impact Jimi left on rock ‘n’ roll, and music, can still be felt today.
Making Guitars Cool(er).
Electric guitar players were cool before Jimi came on the scene. They just didn’t act like it. Many early rock ‘n’ roll bands, including future icons like the Beatles and The Who, strolled out onto the stage with their guitars hanging high and tight, usually somewhere just south of the front pockets on their sensible shirts.
Jimi Hendrix was one of the first, if not the first, artists to use scratching and sampling. The title track from the Jimi Hendrix Experience’s 1967 album Are You Experienced opens with a rhythmic scratching that would sound right at home on today’s hip-hop songs. Throughout the song, sequences of guitars and drums are played backward as well. According to engineering assistant George Chkiantz, the backward guitar track was recorded four times before the final version was chosen.
In 1969, Jimi recorded a 13-minute-long piece titled “Doriella Du Fontaine.” The song features a rap-like performance by spoken-word poet Jalal Mansur Nuriddin, whom some consider the great grandfather of rap. Unlike the rap we all know and love, the radio version of “Doriella Du Fontaine” was edited to remove a single naughty word.
Decibels and Distortion.
By 1960s’ standards, the gear used by the Jimi Hendrix Experience was almost frightening. According to Jimi, the only way to get the sound they were looking for was to stack two Marshall and two Sound City 100-watt amplifiers.
But volume wasn’t the only ingredient in Jimi’s mad brew of sound. His earliest weapons of choice? A Fender Stratocaster, a Vox Wah-Wah pedal, and an Arbiter Fuzz Face. The first time Jimi used this setup in a live performance at the Big Apple Club in Munich, Germany, in 1966, fans became so excited that they literally pulled him off the stage, breaking the neck of his guitar. Jimi then smashed the remains of his guitar – a harbinger of things to come. The final piece of Jimi’s arsenal was added in 1967 by electronics wizard Roger Mayer. Roger’s device, the Octavia, took notes a whole octave higher, creating a flute or whistle sound.
Over time, many other performers, inspired by Jimi’s bold sound, began to push new boundaries of volume and sounds. Stages across the country became a maze of pedals and cables, leading to walls of amps and speakers – and fans couldn’t have been happier.
Fire. Yes, fire.
You knew this was coming. No discussion of Hendrix is complete without a nod to his pyromaniacal stage antics. After smashing his guitar at the Big Apple performance in Munich, Jimi would occasionally repeat the stunt when the mood hit him. But at a performance at London’s Finsbury Park Astoria, Jimi decided to up the ante.
That night, the Experience ended their opening set with “Fire.” Jimi put down his Stratocaster (not his beloved black Strat) where the audience couldn’t see it. Roadies doused the unfortunate instrument in lighter fluid before Jimi returned to pick it up. He knelt beside it and lit it with a match. The flames jumped four feet in the air, burning his hands. The show’s emcee ran out to put the fire out and burned his hands as well. Jim finished the set on another guitar and was treated at a local hospital after the show.
In 2008, the infamous burned guitar was brought out of storage and sent to auction. It sold for a cool $320,000.
Sadly, Jimi’s career was tragically cut short on September 18, 1970. In just four years, Jimi Hendrix had left an impact on music that is still being felt today. In honor of Jimi, pick up a guitar, flip it upside down (or get this one), and play a little something. Just be sure that when you’re done, the biggest thing you light on fire are the candles on a cake.
Also, if you’re interested in emulating Jimi’s signature sound, check out our “How to Sound Like Jimi Hendrix” video.