Category: Guitar Heroes

When trying to assemble a list of facts about Jimi Hendrix it becomes a chore to decide what can be left out. His short career was so packed with outrageous behavior, musical innovation and hot girlfriends, every moment was a milestone. So let us begin at the beginning. On November 7, 1942 Jimi Hendrix was born in Seattle. In 1957 Jimi bought a cheap acoustic guitar from a family friend and from then on spent all his time learning to play it. His favorite records were by B.B. King and Muddy Waters.

After a brief and undistinguished time in the army where he made friends with another musician named Billy Cox, Jimi moved to Clarksville, Tennessee where he formed a band. Right from the beginning the colorful Jimi Hendrix personality was seen by audiences with Hendrix learning to play the guitar with his teeth in imitation of other guitar players of that era. After having quite a hard time trying to make a living in New York, Jimi became part of the Isley Brothers band and began touring where he was eventually hired as a member of Little Richard’s backing group.

Meanwhile Chas Chandler, the bassist with The Animals was looking to stop performing and become an entrepreneur. He had heard a song called “Hey Joe” and was determined to find an artist to record it. He listened to Jimi Hendrix play it and decided he had found his artist. Chandler helped Jimi move to London and found two English musicians, bass player Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell to form The Jimi Hendrix Experience. It was around this time that Jimi started to get noticed by famous British musicians like Cream, The Who, The Beatles and The Rolling Stones.

“Hey Joe” became The Jimi Hendrix Experience’s first single in 1966. They followed this with Hendrix compositions “Stone Free”, “Purple Haze” and “The Wind Cries Mary”. The irrepressible showman in Jimi Hendrix came out and set fire to his guitar during a stint as part of the farewell tour by The Walker Brothers in March 1967. In May the same year the Jimi Hendrix Experience released their first LP “Are You Experienced” which zoomed to the top of the charts but had to be content with number two spot behind The Beatles’ “Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band”.

In June 1967 Jimi appeared at The Monterey Pop Festival to let loose for the first time on the music lovers of America. His over the top stage persona and flamboyant guitar style burned his image into the annals of hippiedom. The guitar-destroying hero had finally arrived. The next month Jimi met and fell in love with the wah-wah pedal when he saw Frank Zappa putting it through its paces.

Jimi Hendrix’s second LP, “Axis Bold As Love” appeared in December 1967 and featured Jimi showing his dexterity with electronic musical effects including the wah-wah pedal. The next Jimi Hendrix LP, “Electric Ladyland” was released in 1968 and included “Voodoo Child (Slight Return)” and a total revamp of a Bob Dylan song called “All Along The Watchtower”. Due to the fact that Noel Redding was getting tired of playing bass Jimi handled much of the bass parts on the album himself.

Jimi headlined at the festival at Woodstock in 1969. His rendition of “Star Spangled Banner” finished two hours of technically uneven but inspired playing. In September, 1970 at the Isle Of Fehman Festival in Germany, Jimi Hendrix gave his final concert. Not long after, he appeared in a jam session at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club with Eric Burdon and his band, War.

On September 18, 1970, after drinking a copious amount of red wine and reportedly some sleeping pills, Jimi vomited during his sleep and choked. A true rock and roll death.

Today’s YouTube video is Jimi Hendrix playing All Along The Watchtower -

Technorati Tags: Jimi Hendrix, Chas Chandler, Hey Joe, Noel Redding, Mitch Mitchell, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Monterey Pop Festival, Axis Bold As Love, Woodstock, YouTube video

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Digging around for links for the recent post about Flamenco guitar brought up this YouTube video featuring Victor Monge (Serranito). Serranito, Paco De Lucia and Manolo Sanlucar were the big three guitarists of the new wave of Flamenco in the 1970’s. Serranito’s name is now relatively unknown, not because his playing was inferior but because his “classicalesque” approach to Flamenco and his penchant for playing ten notes where one would do made his music less listener friendly than that of Paco and Manolo. So I’m giving you a video of Serranito playing simply because, despite the emergence of great guitarists in all genres during the past thirty years, Serranito must still be the most technically advanced guitarist EVER, and this video is a great example of his work. Any guitar student needs to see a player like this do his stuff!

Technorati Tags: Flamenco guitar, Victor Monge (Serranito)

Throughout his solo career and his career with The Who, Pete Townshend has played (and destroyed) a large variety of guitars.
In the early days with The Who, Townshend played 6-string and 12-string Rickenbacker semi-hollow electric guitars primarily (particularly the Rose-Morris UK-imported models with special f-holes). However, as instrument-smashing became increasingly integrated into The Who’s concert sets, he switched to more durable and resilient (and sometimes cheaper) guitars for smashing, such as the Fender Stratocaster, Fender Telecaster and various Danelectro models. In the late 1960s, Townshend began playing Gibson SG models almost exclusively, specifically the Special models. He used this guitar at the Woodstock and Isle of Wight shows in 1969 and 1970.
By 1972, Gibson changed the design of the SG Special which Townshend had been using previously, and thus he began using other guitars. For much of the 1970s, he used a Gibson Les Paul Deluxe, some with only two mini-humbucker pickups and others modified with a third pickup. He can be seen using several of these guitars in the documentary “The Kids Are Alright”, although in the studio he often played a Gretsch guitar, most notably on the album Who’s Next.
During the 1980s, Townshend mainly used Rickenbackers and Telecaster-style models built for him by Schecter and various other luthiers. Since the late-1980s, Townshend has used the Fender Eric Clapton Signature Stratocaster, with Lace-Sensor pickups, both in the studio and on tour. Some of his Stratocaster guitars feature a piezo pick-up system to simulate acoustic guitar tones. This piezo system is controlled by an extra volume control behind the guitar’s bridge.
Townshend has used a number of other electric guitars, including various Gretsch, Gibson, and Fender models. He has also used Guild, Takamine and Gibson J-200 acoustic models. One Gretsch was a vintage model given to him by Joe Walsh.
There are several Gibson Pete Townshend signature guitars, such as the Pete Townshend SG, the Pete Townshend J-200, and three different Pete Townshend Les Paul Deluxes. The SG was clearly marked as a Pete Townshend limited edition model and came with a special case and certificate of authenticity, signed by Pete himself. There has also been a Pete Townshend signature Rickenbacker limited edition guitar.
He also used the Gibson ES-335, one of which he donated to the Hard Rock Cafe. Townshend also used a Gibson EDS-1275 double neck very briefly around 1968, and a Fender XII Guitar for the studio sessions for Tommy for the 12 strings guitar parts.
http://pete_townshend.totallyexplained.com/

Here’s a YouTube video of The Who:

Technorati Tags: The Who, Pete Townshend, YouTube