“The big bad Beatle”: How Paul McCartney helped Jimi Hendrix break America
Ever since Beatlemania found its way across the entire globe in the 1960s, British bands have always endeavoured to “break America”. The attention of the country brings with it a whole new scope of cultural opportunity – bigger shows, bigger audiences, and bigger paycheques. What’s not to love? But breaking the States is a difficult task, even for those who spawned out of it, even for Jimi Hendrix.
It was the autumn of 1966 when Hendrix left behind the Land of Opportunity for the United Kingdom. He was yet to find full-blown success in his homeland, so, with the support of new manager Chas Chandler, he crossed the Atlantic and sought it in London. His time in the capital city broadened his musical horizons as he collected new band members Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell, who became part of the Jimi Hendrix Experience.
Alongside new bandmates, Hendrix stumbled upon some more established names in the business, endearing himself to everyone from the Who to Paul McCartney. He won over the latter during a gig at the Saville Theatre in the summer of 1967, where the Beatle was shoulder-to-shoulder with Pete Townshend.
Despite being two of the biggest names in the biz in their own right, McCartney and Townshend were left stunned by Hendrix’s performance, which included a cover from the newly released Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and a cheeky request that Eric Clapton tune his guitar for him. McCartney’s support for Hendrix didn’t stop at applause, as he set out to give the soon-to-be legendary guitarist the opportunity to break America.
McCartney had joined the board of the Monterey Pop Festival earlier that year, a Californian cultural celebration which was set to play host to the likes of Jefferson Airplane, the Grateful Dead and The Byrds. Though he had witnessed Hendrix’s on-stage prowess just weeks before the festival took place, McCartney pushed for him to find a place on the lineup, and succeeded.
“18 June 1967. Monterey, California. Paul McCartney was the big bad Beatle, the beautiful cat who got us the gig at the Monterey Pop Festival,” Hendrix once wrote via The Guardian, “That was our start in America. Everything was perfect. I said: ‘Wow! Everything’s together! What am I gonna do?’”
With an introduction from a Rolling Stone and a blistering performance in which Hendrix’s guitar was – quite literally – on fire, the songwriter reintroduced his homeland to the Jimi Hendrix Experience. “I was scared to go up there and play in front of all those people,” Hendrix admitted, “You really want to turn those people on.”
“Once you hit the first note, or once the first thing goes down, then it’s all right,” he continued, “Let’s get to those people’s butts!” He certainly achieved that goal, as the gig marked the expansion of Hendrix’s success from Britain to the States and beyond. With an initial push from none other than Paul McCartney himself, Hendrix would earn his own place alongside McCartney as one of the best of the best.
Decades later, Hendrix is remembered not as one of the greatest American guitarists of all time but as one of the greatest – if not the greatest – guitarists in music history. His performance at Monterey Pop Festival is still a masterful display of why he won that title.
