What was the final song Jimi Hendrix ever played live?
The music world has suffered so many tragedies. In particular, fans have had to mourn the loss of legends all too young as the drugs, drinking, misadventures, and mental pressure associated with fame have claimed too many victims. On the topic, Neil Young once sang, “It’s better to burn out than to fade away”, thinking about all the artists who burned bright and fast, leaving a fierce legacy and a legendary memory. Jimi Hendrix was one of them, and the sound and image of his final concert were a vision of an artist at his peak.
It has been more than half a century since Hendrix’s death, yet his impact remains as present as ever. His incredible guitar playing, showmanship, and clear, passionate love for music as a whole, beyond his role as a maker, remain deeply influential to new artists. It’s tough to find an artist who wouldn’t recognise the immeasurable inspiration that his music left behind.
It’s an incredible legacy to create in only 27 short years. But when thinking back to his final ever show, it’s proof of why his electrifying presence has endured all these years.
It was September 6th, 1970. Hendrix was billed to perform at the Open Air Love & Peace Festival on the island of Fehmarn, which was essentially the Baltic Sea’s version of Woodstock. For two days, 25,000 music fans descended on the small island to see Hendrix along with Ginger Baker, Canned Heat, Sly & the Family Stone and more. It was a festival marred by organisational issues caused by awful weather, but Hendrix’s performance as so powerful that fans forgot all about that.
Originally billed to perform on Saturday, Hendrix made his fans wait a whole extra day as he was delayed by storms. So, by the time he took to the stage at midday on Sunday, his fans were eager and ready. However, it was noted that Hendrix himself seemed down or uninspired. He arrived at the festival, played his set and instantly left, with people commenting that he seemed to not be himself that day.
But still, when he got on stage, he played the hits, and he played them with the same passion he was known for. Opening with a Howlin Wolf cover of ‘Killing Floor’, he then played tracks like ‘Hey Joe’, ‘Foxey Lady’, ‘Purple Haze’, Dylan’s ‘All Along The Watch Tower’ and more. By the time he got to his final track, his crowd were in the palm of his hand as usual. He began his finale track, not knowing that that rendition of ‘Voodoo Child (Slight Return)’ would be the last song he’d ever play live.
He extended it well beyond its already lengthy run time into a seven-minute-long jam, giving his crowd more and more. The performance has been bootlegged, allowing his final rendition to live on.
Only 12 days later, Hendrix would die at age 27 on September 18th, 1970. Leaving behind a legacy of being one of the most beloved and talented musicians to walk the earth, the scrappy crowd recordings of that final live set are a perfect example of why his reputation has outlived him.
