What if they survived

[hsp-sandiego]

TB being a Bass Player's Forum, Surprised Jaco was not mentioned in OP. One of the finest musicians to date.

 

[higain617]

I have this strange feeling that Jimi Hendrix may have gone the Santana soft rock/pop route in the early 2000's.

 

[hobosong]

It's hard for me to see Janis, Cobain, and Morrison put in the same group as Hendrix, Allman, Elvis and Holly.

Still, I think only Hendrix and Allman had meaningful careers ahead of them.

 

[Bodeanly]

I can't diss on Cobain. He was the spokesperson for a generation of kids that went on to play guitar. Who do the kids look up to these days? Some dude on stage, staring into his stupid laptop? I'll take Cobain over any of that stuff any day of the week.

 

[MVE]

Duane Allman, Jimi Hendrix and Buddy Holly... Yes.
The rest of the list... not so much.

I would have loved to hear Jimi and Duane play together...

 

[mat666]

I will always wonder what metallica would be if Cliff was still there, for sure everything after master wouldnt be there (I would miss and justice for all though)

 

[wideload]

Jimi would be a producer/artist, doing things I don't understand. Buddy Holly would be a billionaire music/film guy, kind of like Ron Howard. And Elvis IS still alive, he just had a facelift and changed his name to Wayne Newton.

 

[Joebone]

I agree, it is hard for an artist to be at the top of their form, be innovative and be popular all at the same time for a sustained period.

If Duane Allman would have lived I think the whole Southern Rock movement of the 70's would have been better, at a much higher level. Much less tolerance for Molly Hatchet, 38 Special, etc.

I think Morrison would have flamed out regardless. Just my two cents.

Hard to say what would have happened with Buddy Holly. Some of his work was brilliant but would he have evolved? And fast enough to stay ahead of the crowd?

I think Janis Joplin could have gone on to have a lasting, meaningful career. She really, really knew how to put soul into a song. Hopefully she would have gotten a band more worthy of her talent. Took my kids to see her house (and the dead house) in San Francisco this Spring. They were like, who is she and why are we here? I have failed them.

Ditto on Joplin. Her last album, with the Canadian bunch billed as the Full Tilt Boogie Band, was a step in the right direction…the San Francisco stuff was fun, and of its time, but Joplin clearly was capable of much, much more.

Ditto on Morrison. Read his lyrics in print, and I dare you to tell me he was a "poet."

Ditto on Duane Allman.

Back to the OP…Hendrix? Really hard to say - that kind of intensity reminds one of Bird, who was dead at 35. OTOH, if Hendrix could manage his scene, perhaps he could have had the kind of long, innovative career of a Miles Davis, who kicked through multiple evolving stages as an artist and innovator…but Miles had an unusually high degree of self-awareness and self-control...

 

[static0verdrive]

By "we" do you mean rock audiences crossing over? Mahavishu Orchestra was up and running by 1971 and Bitches Brew was 1969

SNAP. I was about to post that The Inner Mounting Flame was '71.

 

[TyBo]

One trick, eh? Which one would that be? The dive bombing and whammy bar? The innovative chordal playing? The bringing together of funk, R+B, and rock (with jazz overtones)? Or perhaps, uh, I don't know ... the songwriting? Wish I had a trick like that ...

Or when he was fired by the Isley Brothers because he couldn't play the parts they wanted?

I know Jimi was fired by Little Richard for drawing too much attention with his stage antics (and for being late). Hadn't heard of him being fired by the Isleys, and I'm dubious about the "couldn't play the parts" thing. It is well known that he was a huge influence on Ernie Isley (listen to the group's "Who's That Lady"!) ... it's pretty clear that he was well thought of there.

Jimi also backed up Wilson Pickett, Sam Cooke, Slim Harpo, Jackie Wilson, and King Curtis, among others, so I think he kinda knew what he was doing! Particularly if we consider his later career, and consider how all of his contemporaries viewed him (the guy, for most of 'em).

 

[jnewmark]

Elvis is kind of interesting in this regard. I'm old enough to have seen him back in the '50's on TV, and the impact he made, musically speaking , was incredible, not to mention one of the first, if not THE first white performer to do Blues and RnB, what people called " race records " back then, and one of the first, overtly sexual performers onstage. Of course, once he left Memphis and Sun records, his music got more " pop " sounding, and toward the end of his life, was getting into the more " soulful " type of material, i.e., Suspicious Minds, etc, which was keeping up with a popular music genre of the time. So, you could sort of say, he was evolving in a way toward more modern sounding material, and, who knows, maybe he still would have been a relevant performer into old age.

 

[MVE]

Duane Allman was not 'Southern Rock'... ABB moved towards Southern Rock after he passed as Dickie Betts became more influential.


Duane was moving more towards jazz towards the end but his unique style of accompaniment transcended classification. He would have been equally conformable standing next to Rudolph Serkin playing Beethoven on piano or Daft Punk playing their laptops. It was all music to him and he would just hum along with his slide guitar.

 

[avocado]

Jimi Hendrix is the one who would have continued to have influence and significance. The rest would have had a longer day, perhaps, but they would have had their day. Who knows what directions Jimi would have gone in. He had that capacity. I'm not sure the others did.

We're all just guessing of course, but I think Jimi would have had a similar career to his frenemy Eric Clapton. Wildly successful, then putting out some records that aren't well-received, then laying low for a while, then eventual re-discovery and new success, then more mixed reviews. Or maybe not, who knows.

 

[MegaSwing]

Otis Redding would have never sold out to popular trends and would gradually settle into the niche of 'revered all-purpose blues vocalist'—similar to Bobby Bland, only sweeter. Just as today, you would never hear his voice on a disco record.

 

[MegaSwing]

I believe that if Jimi hendrix and Jaco both lived they would've ended up playing together. Probably with Miles Davis in the Jazz/Fusion realm.
Imagine that. Jimi and Jaco sharing a stage!!

This is an utterly mesmerizing idea.

 

[ZenG]

A poster said :- "Think what it would be like if John and George had lived (Beatles)"......

I'm guessing pretty much the same as since the Beatles split up. A few solo attempts here and there......maybe a couple of hit songs......nothing revolutionary.

No re-union tours or "get back togethers".........they had their moment in the sun as a group....and then it's over as time moves on......just like with a lot of musicians and groups.

Some groups make a bigger contribution than others...but it's all part of the overall matrix.

I read somewhere that Hendrix tried jazz, didn't like it and had trouble playing it.

The Doors:- without Jim Morrison there are no Doors. He was the central focus, really. They did try an album after he died...but nothing really came of it.

 

[higain617]

George Harrison lived until 2001. He doesn't really apply here.

 

[ZenG]

Thing is:- when a group or musician makes a revolutionary impact then everybody expects the next album to be as good as better as the initial ones.

This can happen when a band is "evolving"........they'll make several astounding L'P's....

and then it starts to go downhill from there.........but people still expect more of the same forever.......and it's not happening...

 

[Stranger Danger]

I agree, it is hard for an artist to be at the top of their form, be innovative and be popular all at the same time for a sustained period.

If Duane Allman would have lived I think the whole Southern Rock movement of the 70's would have been better, at a much higher level. Much less tolerance for Molly Hatchet, 38 Special, etc.

I think Morrison would have flamed out regardless. Just my two cents.

Hard to say what would have happened with Buddy Holly. Some of his work was brilliant but would he have evolved? And fast enough to stay ahead of the crowd?

I think Janis Joplin could have gone on to have a lasting, meaningful career. She really, really knew how to put soul into a song. Hopefully she would have gotten a band more worthy of her talent. Took my kids to see her house (and the dead house) in San Francisco this Spring. They were like, who is she and why are we here? I have failed them.

Duane Allman would have been bigger than Eric Clapton.

 

[MegaSwing]

Duane Allman would have been bigger than Eric Clapton.

Did he sing as well as Clapton? There lies your answer.