Stevie Nicks explains how Jimi Hendrix inspired her creativity
Before Stevie Nicks joined Fleetwood Mac, she had already been in the company of various rock ‘n’ roll icons, including the great Jimi Hendrix. The two now-iconic figures of contemporary had crossed paths when Stevie Nicks was at the beginning of her journey, and the meeting changed the course of her life.
Years before answering Mick Fleetwood’s call to solve the crisis within Fleetwood Mac, Nicks was already accustomed to rubbing shoulders with music’s biggest stars. Her first group was the California psych band Fritz, who played alongside everyone from Janis Joplin to Hendrix. The band formed in the early 1960s when Bob Aguirre, the drummer of The Castiles, asked Javier Pacheco to perform at a high school talent show alongside bassist Cal Roper, guitarist Lindsey Buckingham, and vocalist/guitarist Jody Moreing.
Nicks noted in Stephen Davis’ book, Gold Dust Woman: The Biography of Stevie Nicks: “Nobody in that band wanted me as their girlfriend because I was too ambitious for them. They all thought I was in it for the attention and didn’t take me seriously at all. I was just a girl singer, and they hated the fact that I got a lot of the credit.”
While the band never reached their full potential, it did give Nicks an insight into superstardom. Her encounter with Hendrix came in 1969 when the legendary guitarist was at the height of his fame and one of the world’s most cherished musicians. To be able to share a stage with such greatness was a privilege for Nicks and had a long-term effect on her.
Fritz were one of many acts who performed at the same festival as Hendrix, but he took a liking to Nicks and dedicated a song to her in his set. Speaking on the radio programme, Off The Record with Joe Benson, Nicks explained: “I was inspired by Jimi Hendrix from a rock standpoint, because Lindsay and I got to open for him. It was a big huge show in San Fransisco. There was like 20 bands on; there was you, there was 15 more bands, and then there was Jimi Hendrix.”
She continued: “The perk that you get when you do that is that you get to be on the side of the stage when Jimi Hendrix goes on. And he actually dedicated a song to me. He looked over at me and said, ‘This is for you, babe.’ And I’m like, ‘You’re awesome! You are so awesomely cute and handsome, and you play so amazing, and thank you, Jimi!'”
“From Jimi, I learned grace and humility,” Nicks also told Benson. Despite Hendrix being a superstar, he didn’t carry himself with a sense of importance which reflected his stature in the music business. Jimi’s flagrant fashion sense also inspired Nicks, who immediately gave herself an outlandish makeover after being in his presence. She added: “I saw him play once, and I remember thinking, ‘I want to wear white fringe. I want to tie a beautiful scarf in my hair.” From that moment on, Nicks has continued to use her style as a form of artistic expression.
Listen below to Nicks’ pre-fame band, Fritz.
