Jimi Hendrix: News, History & Updates

Jimi Hendrix Biography by Greg Prato

Excerpts from Greg’s books for Alternative Nation

KK DOWNING [ex-Judas Priest guitarist]: The first time was with his first album, Are You Experienced. It was an instant hit – absolutely monumental. With me and a few of my friends, it was the thing that we had all been waiting for. It literally did give everything that was happening a real kick in the backside. Not to say there wasn’t great things happening – because there was – but it really was totally electrifying. And I think that all the guys that went to see Hendrix in the UK before even his album was released – because he had come to small clubs and jammed, and Clapton was there, Pete Townshend. Everybody was completely wowed.

ALEX LIFESON [Rush guitarist]: It was the summer of 1967 and I was at [original Rush drummer] John Rutsey’s house – and his brother Bill had just purchased Are You Experienced. He dropped the needle and “Purple Haze” played through that tiny speaker and changed our world immediately.

RIK EMMETT [Triumph singer/guitarist]: I recall going to see him once – at the Canadian National Exhibition [on February 24, 1968]. And the sound in the place was horrible. I think this was back in the days when…I don’t want to be held to account on this, but I seem to recall he had stacks of I think Sunn amps or something like that, and I don’t think they were mic’d. It was still the time when guys were relying on their stacks to fill the space. And any soundman will tell you – if the sound coming off the stage is ungainly, it creates issues. And I think the PA was underpowered and undersized for the venue, and the stage level was frightening. So, that’s my memory of it.

ULI JON ROTH [ex-Scorpions guitarist]: No two Hendrix songs were ever the same – they were all in his own style, which was very, very unique. But, they also really had their own individual “face” and identity. There is no song in the world like “Purple Haze,” there is no other song like “Little Wing,” there is no other song like “Axis,” there is no other song like “House Burning Down” or “Gypsy Eyes” or “Hey Joe.” They’re all completely unique. And many artists are not able to do that kind of thing – they find a formula, and they repeat it over and over again, kind of. I think that was extraordinary – what Hendrix did. And the list goes on…literally, anything – “Burning of the Midnight Lamp,” “The Wind Cries Mary” and the early stuff, “Third Stone from the Sun,” you name it.

PAUL LEARY [Butthole Surfers guitarist]: I actually remember that day [that Hendrix died, on September 18, 1970]. I was sitting at the dining room table with my family, and we had a new Sylvania TV set that was sort of adjacent to the dining room, and I had a seat at the dining room table that I could turn, look, and see the TV. The news was on – probably Walter Cronkite or something – and they announced the news of his passing. It was shocking. Things were different back then – in regards to drugs. I mean, people almost thought of drugs in a cool, hip, kinda funny way. Before the “dying off” started, I don’t think anybody really understood the magnitude. Cocaine was considered cool – it was “a rich people’s drug,” and everybody wanted to be rich.

BRUCE KULICK [ex-Kiss guitarist]: The only other guy that I feel had an impact and took another generation and really made a huge impression upon a generation – which is still valid – would be Eddie Van Halen. And there were other great players that are influential and important, but for me, I always describe Eddie as an influence for me, too, because he’s like the “super- charged car.”

In other words, Hendrix may have been the first Mustang or Ferrari or whatever was around then, but ten years later, Eddie created something that was very powerful on the guitar – incredible technique. And Eddie has always really connected to the instrument and the emotion.

STEVE VAI [solo artist, ex-David Lee Roth guitarist]: Axis: Bold as Love was the Jimi record that I discovered when I was learning my chord vocabulary on the guitar. Because when you go to learn chords on the guitar, you usually get a list of tablature chords and you use your open chords, your major and minor barre chords, maybe you’re learning some cool seventh chords, or major-minor chords, and chords from tensions. I was really big on finding chords that sounded really lush. I remember when I discovered an E flat major seventh six nine sharp eleventh chord – it opened up a universe for me. And I knew why it was called all that – I had great musical training.

KIM THAYIL [Soundgarden guitarist]: Chris [Cornell] and I had been in this other band before Soundgarden – a cover band. And not a very good cover band. I was playing bass and Chris was singing…and that band also did some Doors and Otis Redding. And we did the song “Can You See Me” by Hendrix.

So, I believe Soundgarden were in England and we were going to record some songs for a BBC session [in 1992], and that was the session where we did “I Don’t Care About You” by Fear, “I Can’t Give You Anything” by the Ramones, and “Homicidal Suicidal” by Budgie. And those radio guys were interested in a fourth song, so I said to Chris, “Why don’t we do ‘Can You See Me’ by Hendrix?” It had been a number of years, but Chris and I quickly remembered it, and it took no time for Ben and Matt to learn it. I don’t know if we ever played it live – we just recorded it for that BBC session…maybe we played it live once, I don’t know.

KIRK HAMMETT [Metallica guitarist]: Yeah, I would say that [Jimi is the greatest rock guitarist of all-time]. Only because it’s hard to put anybody else in that position. And it’s easy to put Jimi in that position, because he died at 27. And look at all he accomplished in that short amount of time – like, five years, maybe. To accomplish all of that in that short period of time and be so influential, to leave a body of music that is still vibrant and influential to this day – to this minute – I would say yes, he is probably the greatest guitar player. To be able to do all that in that short of time…I mean, there are lots of great guitar players out there. But they had the benefit of their whole lives playing and getting better and exploring and shifting and changing. Jimi didn’t have that. He came out and he was all he was in those five years.

QUOTE SOURCES (CLICK LINK FOR ORDER INFO):
All quotes are from Avatar of the Electric Guitar: The Genius of Jimi Hendrix