The five best songs influenced by Jimi Hendrix
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: When you consider that Jimi Hendrix was only a mainstream artist for four years, there is no questioning whether or not he is the greatest guitar player ever.
Four years! Do you recognise how short a period of time that is within the artistic world? The fact that he was able to burst onto the scene so effectively and then make pieces of music that touched people so much that he is still considered one of the greatest guitarists ever, there is no doubt that nobody holds a candle to Hendrix. If any other guitarist who we frequently consider “the best” had such a short run in the limelight, they would be a footnote in the history of music, whereas Hendrix has multiple chapters dedicated to him.
What was it that made him so special? Well, there were lots of things. There was firstly, the most obvious attribute, his excellent guitar playing. He approached the six-string with a sense of spontaneity, always open to improvising on every song that he played and creating some truly awe-inspiring music in the process. However, on top of that, there was his animalistic approach to performing.
“He came on, and I went, ‘Oh, my god’,” recalled Jeff Beck when discussing the first time he watched Hendrix perform, “He had the military outfit on and hair that stuck out all over the place. They kicked off with [Bob Dylan’s] ‘Like a Rolling Stone’, and I thought, ‘Well, I used to be a guitarist’.”
Many people left Jimi Hendrix’s gig feeling blown away (and subsequently inspired). Cream wrote the song ‘Sunshine of Your Love’ after seeing Jimi Hendrix, using the guitarist’s performance to inspire the iconic riff. Jack Bruce said he wrote the bassline as an ode to Hendrix, and it was so on brand that Hendrix himself admitted he was a big fan of the track.
Elton John did something similar with his track ‘Benny & The Jets’. While the band depicted in that song are completely fictional and not a direct result of Jimi Hendrix’s influence, you can still pick up different elements of Hendrix’s live performance in the track, namely, thanks to the crowd noise. Elton John decided to use the cheering and whooping taken from the audience at a Jimi Hendrix gig. While writing about a band performing, why not take audience noise from one of the greatest live performers of all time?
Of course, Hendrix wasn’t just renowned for his guitar playing; he was also an exceptional writer. He always wanted to be recognised more for his lyrical ability, but it never happened. After he passed, Patti Smith recalled some of the best lyrics that Hendrix ever wrote and decided to incorporate some into her song ‘Elegie’.
“I got to talk to him once about 50 years ago. And for a young girl he was everything you would want in your rock and roll star,” she said, “[He] loved poetry. He often spoke not in the most favourable way about his poetry. He didn’t think he was the greatest writer. He really admired Bob Dylan, but he was a wonderful poet.”
When discussing the song ‘Elegie’ in particular, Smith quoted the lyrics she had taken from Hendrix and the song she took them from. “The last lines,” she said, “’ I think it’s sad, just too bad, that all our friends can’t be with us today’ – are borrowed from ‘1983… (A Merman I Should Turn to Be)’. I didn’t think Jimi would mind!”
Since his passing, Hendrix has been at the heart of several artistic works. His influence remains, even while he is no longer here. One of the most famous projects that he influenced was the David Bowie character Ziggy Stardust. The song itself was inspired by several exceptional musicians, Hendrix being one of them, and Ziggy’s guitar playing ability was likely an attribute that Bowie borrowed from Hendrix.
Finally, one of the most moving songs with Jimi Hendrix’s memory at its core is the Waterboys’ offering on ‘The Return of Jimi Hendrix’. The song is an ode to Hendrix, his influence on music, and his ability to create unique and beautiful songs.
All five of these songs represent how much of an influence Hendrix truly was. Whether it was his life performance, guitar playing, lyricism or legacy as a whole, there is plenty that artists persistently draw from to influence their work.
