Jimi Hendrix is the greatest rock guitarist of all time.
People often dispute that statement. This guitarist has more technical skill. That guitarist is faster. On and on it goes. It's not a worthy argument. What does "greatest" mean? It certainly means something, but it can be difficult to define.
The Jimi Hendrix Experience was jamming in London in 1966. When you look at the sound, style, and innovation of that band, you can see how far ahead they were from everything that had happened so far, and it would take some time for the rest of the world to catch up to them. But that's not why Jimi Hendrix is so important.
The Jimi Hendrix Experience is difficult to define. They played psychedelic rock. They played blues. They played hard rock. What few people seem to recognize is that they were a progressive band. You won't find them on any list of progressive bands, however they incorporated all the elements. Extended song times. Experimental time signatures. Lyrics that went beyond normal boy meets girl; psychedelic or party themes. Experimental song structures. There is no question that the Jimi Hendrix Experience meets many of the criteria for a progressive band, but they can't be defined as a progressive band, just as they can't be defined as a hard rock band, a blues band, a pop band, or a psychedelic band. They were their own, unique thing, with a unique sound that had never been heard before. But that's not why Jimi Hendrix is so important.
Jimi was an unusual character. Painfully shy in many ways, but a player with women. Bold and confident on stage, but almost aggressively insecure. He was the last guy to think he was the greatest guitar player, or singer, or songwriter, or anything else. But it wasn't a false humility; nor was it born only out of insecurity. He had an almost pathological need to stay hungry, because he always wanted to be better. He played and practiced almost constantly, even after becoming a big star. He was afraid of becoming fat and complacent, and although he was proud of work he did, he was equally sure it just wasn't good enough, because he could do more.
As a lyricist, he was brilliant. It's easy to poke fun at his more naive, psychedelic, trippy or even sometimes silly lyrics, but if you examine the entire body of his work, he wrote a lot of lyrics of quality, introspection, soulfulness and honesty.
Jimi captured my imagination many years after he had died. I was a young teenager, who had discovered rock music, and it was taking me out of my shell, and teaching me things I would carry with me the rest of my life. Jimi was important because of the way he influenced millions, and reached deep into our souls, and gave us something unique that asked us to be more. You have to remember, I grew up in the era of stadium rock, when the idea of the counterculture, of opening minds, and trying to make a difference had given way to nihilism, navel-gazing, and just plain shallow partying.
Jimi recorded music from 1967 until 1970. He had only three years to assemble a body of work that is simply astounding. He played a lot of different styles, making each his own. He was always looking for something more.
He wasn't simply the greatest rock guitarist of all time. He was the greatest rock guitarist off all time by such a large measure that you can take the next ten guys on the list, and they still don't add up to more than a fraction of what he was; what he meant; what he left.
NOT ONE SINGLE ROCK GUITAR PLAYER has come up since him that hasn't delved into his songbook, and bag of tricks. That's the biggest deal. And he was never "the guitar player" in a band. He was the singer, lyricist, songwriter, visionary, and leader, and the only lead singer in the history of famous rock stars who actually wanted his vocal LESS prominent in the mix.
Jimi Hendrix is important because not only did he change rock music forever; his life actually had an effect on society, and mostly for the better. If he influenced people to abuse drugs, then that is the downside, but he hardly could've done that on his own. The positive things he brought about, in regards to performance, songwriting, electronic effects, depth in looking at styles and social consciousness easily outweigh the negatives.
Jimi Hendrix is the greatest rock guitarist of all time.
Nobody else even comes close.
. What might be amusing to him is that 90% of the music I listen to now was made in the 70's!!! I can't get enough..still discovering stuff. And I'm only 39.
