How Jimi Hendrix shaped the world of Chrissie Hynde: “He’s one of my all-time number ones”
It would be hard to find a guitarist who doesn’t recognise the immense impact of Jimi Hendrix. Despite his tragically short life, his music and revolutionary guitar style continue to influence musicians today, and he is widely regarded as one of the most important guitarists in history. Anyone can listen to his albums and marvel at his brilliance. But for music-loving kids who were there at the time, like Chrissie Hynde, it was an entirely different experience—a transformative moment that left a lasting imprint on an entire generation.
We can all talk until we’re blue in the face about the impact of artists of the past hand. It’s easy enough to hear stories about Beatlemania, read up about the scenes at Woodstock or watch videos of what the crowds were like at The Doors’ shows. That’ll go some way to explaining the atmosphere at the time, but unless you were actually there, it would be impossible to truly understand it.
Because nothing can replicate the magical feeling of witnessing history happening in real-time. For lucky people, they might have that moment now if they go to the right gigs and get on board with the right artists at the right time. However, some would argue that even still, the most impactful modern artists couldn’t hope to live up to the 1960s legends who were truly breaking new musical ground with every gig. For someone like Hendrix especially, it seemed that every time he stepped onto the stage, he pushed the limits of rock and roll and proved just how powerful of an instrument a guitar could be. Ever since, players have only been able to hope to catch up to his talent, let alone attempt to recreate that kind of magical energy the people in the audience must have felt.
Chrissie Hynde would attest to that. Born in 1951, Hynde came into the world at exactly the right time. Music was heating up, and by the time she was in her early teens, taking her first steps into the rebellious world of rock and roll, she got to witness some of history’s greatest artists right in their heyday. Having had those experiences, it’s really no wonder she decided to wander down the musical path herself.
But out of all the gigs she saw and artists she followed, buying their albums as they came out and amazed the world upon first release, none of them were as impactful as Hendrix. “I grew up in the late ‘60s, and I was a teenager, so I know every single album that came out in that very versatile period from the West Coast (mainly the English bands), and Hendrix just sort of transcended everything,” she said of the artist, declaring, “He’s amazing! He’s one of my all-time number ones.”
Something about Hendrix felt different, though. Not only did it move and amaze her younger self, but it remains an impactful force on her work today, encouraging her to look beyond normal realms. “ I guess the short version is that he was psychedelic and had a sort of cosmic consciousness,” she said when asked to try and explain his impact. To her, his playing and lyricism were an invite to delve deeper as she explained, “He was writing about sulfur mines on Jupiter and stuff. You know, he was in the cosmos, and that’s where we were in those days… Some of us, I was.”
But while Hendrix’ impact remains just as vivid today for musicians and music lovers alike, Hynde’s own personal connection to the artist will always be coloured by the beautiful power of memory, young and nostalgia. “That’s when you’re really impressed by the music, I think when you’re a teenager,” she said, thinking back to her younger years when everything was a revelation, and she had some of the best artists in history soundtracking her first steps into the world.
