Jimi Hendrix: A salute to an iconic legend

Part 1 of our 2022 Black Music Month Series

6-3-22

He is considered among the greatest rock guitar players in history. He is a legend, an icon who made musical history and defined a culture with his innovative style of playing, his insane talent, and his absolute ability to mesmerize audiences with his charismatic stage show and antics. We're talking about Jimi Hendrix. Hendrix was named the greatest guitar player in history by Rolling Stone magazine in a list compiled by a panel of music experts and top guitar players.

Jimi Hendrix was the single most inventive electric guitarist in rock. Not only were fans dazzled by his performances but he did so playing the guitar upside down, He did more to extend the reach of the instrument than anyone else of his generation. He single-handedly redefined a genre of music by playing and recording sounds made with his guitar that defied explanation. He was a wizzard.

As a child, Hendrix was a fan of blues and rock and roll, and with his father's encouragement taught himself to play guitar. When Hendrix was 16, his father bought him his first acoustic guitar, and the next year his first electric guitar — a right-handed Supro Ozark that as a left-hander, he had to flip upside down to play. Hendrix couldn't afford a tuner when he was young. Instead, he tuned by-ear using his perfect pitch.

Hendrix sets fire to his guitar in this classic image

The Star Spangled Banner” has been performed in millions of ways, but Jimi Hendrix's solo guitar performance at the 1969 Woodstock Festival, captured on the documentary film of the event, is perhaps the most famous. Hendrix's innovative style of combining fuzz, feedback and controlled distortion created a new musical genre.

A fashion trend-setter, Hendrix pushed the envelope, wearing dazzling purples and golds, crush velvet and jewelry with sashes. He was a wonder to watch, style-wise, and few leadmen have been able to set a fashion standard while playing ear-melting tunes that drive people wild. Hendrix set his own style, pace and vibe, calm yet aggresive.

'Electric Ladyland,' Hendrix's sole No.1, topped the charts in late 1968. By 1968, Hendrix was a household name. He'd wowed crowds from London to Monterey.

Jimi Hendrix, first and foremost, was an innovator. He innovated the guitar and amplifier in close to every way imaginable. He unleashed the guitar's true potential by using it in a way that it had never been used before. Hendrix wasn't afraid to go loud.

Hendrix rips a solo player the guitar behind his head.

Join us as we celebrate black music month, recognizing iconic superstars and inovators you can appreciate and share with your family and friends. Leave a comment, check us out on social meedia and be sure to watch our web shows each week.

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