Why Jimi Hendrix is so Important

[Space Pickle]

i am the greatest rock guitarist of all time

i know for i told me so

 

[Stick_Player]

i am the greatest rock guitarist of all time

i know for i told me so

You might be onto something BIG!

I made you a T-shirt:

 

[headband]

being old I was there

let me say it like this - there was pop music before the Beatles and then there was pop music after the Beatles

there was rock guitar before JH and then there was rock guitar after JH (and there were a lot of good guitarists; Page, Beck, Duane, Clapton etc)

there was EB before Jaco and there is EB post Jaco

these are game changers all

+1 I was there too. And if you weren't around in the 60's, I understand that you might not get it because the things he brought to the table are commonplace now. Jimi was a game changer. He left an incredible mark on so many of us back then, and it was so influential that it made it's mark on the way we play today.

 

[fhm555]

A little research BEFORE posting (false) information?

Pertaining to Hendrix... There are MANY imagined/created/designed things that were done well before he came onto the scene.

The things I listed were done before Hendrix even picked up a guitar.

This in no way discounts his contributions, albeit less than many believe.

But isn't the myth surrounding the larger than life legends half the fun in talking about them? It certainly worked for William Wallace.

I know most of it is BS but who really cares? it's not like it's hurting anyone for people to believe something not exactly accurate about a musical legend. How many people still believe Haggard did time in prison, or Leo invented the electric guitar?

I said Hendrix invented the tape loop and had a wah modded because I read it in an article many years ago discussing the relative value of collector instruments. The article also said Hendrix would buy a dozen white strats from Manny's music, play them for a minute then autograph them and give them away, which diluted the value of a Hendrix signed white strat. I guess it's not as grandiose as giving away new Cadillac's like Elvis did all the time, or as out to lunch as what happened to a shark caught while Led Zep was fishing off a hotel balcony, but what the hey, it's those stories that keep the larger than life, well..., larger than life.

 

[fhm555]

You might be onto something BIG!

I made you a T-shirt:

I saw Kyle Petty on the news one night being interviewed during practice for the upcoming Talladega race. he had his fire suit pulled down with the arms tied around his waist and was wearing a T that said "The older I get, the faster I was"

 

[socialleper]

In my opinion there are some key factors that makes a musician "great" that are singular, which guarantees their greatness.

1. They break the mold- It is completely accurate to say that Jimi Hendrix was an amazing blues player. He was also a blues player that took the established approach to the music and turned it upside down (sometimes literally.) He is remembered for taking those steps out of convention and bravely doing something that others would have thought was too much. That doesn't always pay off, but in his case it did. For Reasons expressed in number two.
2. Right place right time- Anyone that has been in music long enough knows that this means everything. There are some brilliant musicians out there slogging away that will never get their break. There may have been guitarists that were "better" than Jimi, but because dumb luck didn't hit them in the faces, they are forgotten nobodies. Add this to the fact that his unconventional approach to the instrument fit in perfectly with the counter culture of the time, and you have a perfect storm.
3. Dying young always helps- This is going to sound cynical to some, but in my mind, after decades of watching how people relate to things, I can say that one of the best things you can do for your career is to die. Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Joplin, John Lennon, Randy Rhodes, Cliff Curton and now "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott have all benefited greatly from dying young. It gives them mystique, it makes people wonder "what if", and it keeps them from getting old. They will never have put out some half baked material because they needed the money. They will never have a chance to become irrelevant. They will never have the chance to go on a talk show and say something stupid. They live as perfect icons in the minds of their fans.
4. Because Baby Boomers refuse to go away already- I'm ready for the flames, and before you start, I'll let you know I'm armored with a thick coat of "I don't give a @#$%." We have latched on to all of these "Great" artists that just so happen to be from when the baby boomers, the most self congratulatory, self obsessed generation ever, where young. Isn't that convenient. Hendrix is without a doubt one of the most influential guitarists ever, and without a doubt defined what it meant to be a guitar legend. However, did he produce more work in his lifetime than any guiatrist? No. Does he have an unequaled technical skill that can't be repeated? No. In his lifetime did he sell more records than anyone else? No. What is dead is dead and I don't want to spend my life living in the nostalgia of 50 years ago. There are brilliant musicians alive today playing phenomenal music, but because people have their heads shoved up their own time warp, they don't see them. "I don't like modern music." That's because you aren't looking or are too old; move on. Jimi was one of the greats, awesome, move on and look for new greats.
5. "The Simpsons Did It" effect- I enjoy South Park greatly and listen to the commentary on the DVDs. Matt and Trey were talking about how many times someone at a writer's meeting would say "we can't do that, the Simpsons did it already." Eventually Matt and Trey had to say "Great, they've done everything because they did it first. @#$% it, we can't let that stop us." The Beatles are who the Beatles are because they did it first. Same goes for Hendrix. You can only define something once, after that it is set in stone. These artists beat everyone else to the punch, if idea #2 had them a minute too late, someone else would be the greatest whatever.

 

[Stick_Player]

..., or Leo invented the electric guitar? ...

Or, the Electric Bass.

 

[bluesdogblues]

I was a little late in appreciating Jimi Hendrix music. It was years after I already became a professional musician... At first I thought I don't understand his music. But I realized that people must be call him & his music as 'legendary' for any strong reasons, so I thought, there must be something wrong with me if I can't understand -even if only for a bit - of the reason why people call it that way. So I was kind of start 'pushed myself' to listen and learn his music. Unconsciously to me, to the point that it become my favorite..LOL.

I'm not good in explaining things, but I believe Jimi Hendrix and his music is a very important part of music and music history to be appreciated of. Very inventive too, and I see a 'line' between him and people like Robert Johnson and alike.

And IMHO, even if for someone who doesn't like 'hard/distorted' music, even behind the hardness and distortion sound etc of Jimi Hendrix music, if you 'erase' them (the distortion sounds, the 'hipness' and the 'hard rock' aspects of his music), there are still many beautiful inspiring musical value that make him deserves to be called as a legendary musician, songwriter, sound designer, arranger, lyricist, rhythm player, guitarist, performer, recording technique inventor, fashion icon, artist etc...perhaps more than just his guitar playing. I mean his guitar playing is great, but I see many other value other than that.
Perhaps that's also the reason why musicians of any other genre than rock music -even Great Jazz Musicians like Gil Evans, Miles Davis etc- are also appreciate his works.

Excuse me, while I kiss the sky...

 

[sevdog]

Pretty much everyone had forgotten about Jimi Hendrix until Wayne's World came out. This whole thread should be about Garth's sweet Foxy Lady moves. If it weren't for that scene Hendrix would be completely irrelevant.

 

[xk49w]

I was there too. I've heard most of them before and since and to me he is the greatest rock guitarist. I thought his solos were exceptionally creative for the genre. I hadn't heard any Hendrix for decades, then the other day I checked out Band of Gypsies - Machine Gun on YouTube. All that emotion and surprise came flooding back. It made me smile.

My wife of 35 years doesn't get Hendrix. She didn't get it '69 and she doesn't get it now. I feel bad for her.

BTW, I hadn't heard of Brent Mason, but I have heard of Guthrie Trapp. Brent and Guthrie together.

 

[Rocker949]

During his lifetime, there were plenty of people who didn't "get" Hendrix. Obviously, that kind of thing still remains to the present day. People are free to like it or dislike the music. As for my part, I've enjoyed Hendrix's music since the first time I heard it. It was never a debatable issue.

 

[bluesblaster]

there have been some amazing guitar players over the years, those that have pushed the boundaries of the instrument will be remembered for there creative contributions

 

[Jack Butler]

Neither Billy Gibbons nor Buddy Guy are rock guitarists, and neither did anything at all unique with the instrument. Eddie Van Halen influenced more kids to take up the guitar than anybody in history -- with the possible exception of the Beatles Ed Sullivan appearance.

+1 to that. I love Hendrix by the way.

I would say almost, but not quite. And not nearly as innovative. Eddie Van Halen is a great player, and he has a unique style, and he was often imitated. I'm just not seeing anything all that original about his playing. I would say Tom Scholz, before him, had a more unique and innovative sound. Many players were already using his most well-known technique. Eddie refined that technique, and made it a much bigger deal, but I can't think of much he actually invented, as a guitar player. He is a fantastic player, and one of the top players of all time, but on a scale with Hendrix?

I'd actually say Eddie "invented" more things. While Hendrix was phenomenal for all the reasons you mention in your initial post, he isn't known for inventing or even popularizing anything in particular in the way EVH did.

 

[troy mcclure]

While I agree with your OP, I believe guys my age (50's) were more influenced by Page and Clapton. Guys 5-10 years younger were influenced by EVH, I totally agree Jimi did more to advance the instrument than anyone else. I think, much like Jeff Beck, his style is so hard to cop, that most guys just sound like a bad imitation when they play his stuff.

 

[Rocker949]

I guess I never "got" Eddie Van Halen. As a band, and especially in regard to how interesting their songs were, Van Halen has always bored me out of my mind. Add to that that David Lee Roth was never much of a singer to begin with. I do like Michael Anthony, though. However, the way he was kicked out of the band and replaced by Wolfgang, that's hardly anything to be proud of. Pretty shabby treatment of a musician who deserved far better, in my opinion.

 

[edpal]

I think Hendrix was a great, eclectic player, not sure if he is the greatest - I'll say he is one of the all-time greats. But I actually consider him cooler for his lyrics. "Castles Made of Sand", "If 6 were 9", "One Rainy Wish" "Hey Joe", Voodoo Chile" and "Highway Chile". So many more.
"Castles Made of Sand"
. . . There was a young girl, whose heart was a frown,
Because she was crippled for life, and couldn't speak a sound
And she wished and prayed she would stop living, so she decided to die.
She drew her wheel chair to the edge of the shore, and to her legs she smiled

"You won't hurt me no more."
But then a sight she'd never seen made her JUMP AND SAY
"Look, a golden winged ship is passing my way"
And it really didn't have to stop...it just kept on going.
And so castles made of sand slips into the sea,
Eventually

Good stuff - thanks Rich(mellowinman).

 

[Mvilmany]

Jimi was absolutely brilliant. He was one of the most creative individuals of the 20th century.

He was a true Renaissance Man.

 

[SirMjac28]

A well stated opinion sir.

I absolutely agree very well stated.

 

[nukes_da_bass]

I agree with everything eddie said.
I also am still blown away by the guitar tracks on axis bold as love!
And I'm amazed at the Hendrix haters.
It takes all kinds in this world.

 

[DwaynieAD]

i'd rather listen to nickelback than hendrix, but i wont dispute his influence on the genres of rock and metal.