Mo2′s Music Street: Jimi Hendrix
I’m going to start a new corner on Mo2 Thinks. I’ll introduce my favorite musicians whenever I feel like it. Initially I thought about doing it every week, but I’m definitely way too lazy to do this every week. So we’ll play it by ear. Enjoy!
Jimi Hendrix is a guitar god. If you play the guitar, you know Jimi Hendrix. If you don’t you have issues, but at least you know about him now. In fact, everyone in the world should know Jimi but sadly many don’t. I’m surprised by the number of people I talk that don’t know who he is.
Jimi died at the young age of 27 years old. Yes he’s part of the good ol’ famous Club 27 along with other amazing musicians like Janis Joplin, Kurt Cobain, and Jim Morrison. Amy Winehouse being the newest addition last year. I’m not going to write a whole biography on Jimi, you can use Google or Wiki for that. Just know this, he was the most amazing guitarist that ever lived.
So why do I like Jimi? When I started playing the guitar, I didn’t even know who Mick Jagger was, I knew the Rolling Stones, but not Mick Jagger. Kinda liking knowing the Beatles but not George Harrison I guess. Sad eh? I can’t believe myself either. It goes without saying I didn’t know Jimi either, although this is like 10 years ago. When I first listened to Jimi I knew I was onto something and I’ve never looked back, every time I play the guitar I’m playing some sort of lick that Jimi played.
I love Jimi for his originality. He brought a new face to Rock and Blues. He never played a song the same way and his guitar was on fire (sometimes literally). Whatever he played on the guitar made people go…”Oh my god…” and he still has that effect today. Try listening to this version of Little Wing…it’s 3 minutes of your life that you won’t regret experiencing. If I’ve peaked your interest, just watch Jimi at Monterey in 1967 when he came back from London to the States, that’s where the storm began in the US. He was already famous in the UK, but that festival was what made him.
Jimi is human, his guitar playing was god-like, but he had a weak side. A lot of his performances were duds and if he was in a bad mood you could often hear it in his music, if he played at all that night. But when he was into it, he would produce music to a level that will never be reached by anyone. That’s another thing I liked about him, he had his dark side that he often wouldn’t conceal. You could see him struggling and I’m sure that had a big part in his death, but his pain and strain must have helped him in becoming such a musical legend.
Want more? Visit my Youtube picks of Jimi, that’s just a start. There a lot of Jimi Hendrix worshippers out there that have uploaded pretty much everything he has produced. Thank god for Youtube!
Jimi Hendrix picture by Dino Gravato on Flickr.
