‘Stone Free’: The song Jimi Hendrix unwillingly wrote for his first single
Every aspect of Jimi Hendrix’s life and music evoked the cultural revolution of the 1960s. Whether it was his effortlessly iconic guitar playing or his strong image, the Seattle-born instrumentalist seemed to have artistic expression flowing through his veins. After years of honing his craft on the rhythm and blues circuit, Hendrix’s story truly began with the formation of the Jimi Hendrix Experience in London in 1966. However, this new avenue of expression was not without limitations, much to the annoyance of Hendrix himself.
When Hendrix first arrived in London, immersing himself in the vibrancy of its swinging sixties era, he quickly forged a relationship with Noel Redding, having bonded over a mutual love of the blues. After a little more searching, the pair came upon Mitch Mitchell on the recommendation of former Animals bassist Chas Chandler, and The Jimi Hendrix Experience was born. Although their sound was very much rooted in the traditions of R&B music, Hendrix’s diverse skills meant that the band soon sprawled out in various different styles.
As anybody who ever saw the band has since attested, Jimi Hendrix was a phenomenon which was best understood in a live setting. Hendrix’s legendary live performances were characterised by improvisation, organised chaos, and the awe-inspiring guitar skills that first gave the musician his name. Over the years, everybody from Paul McCartney to fellow psychedelic guitar hero Eric Clapton has spoken with adoration about the live shows of The Jimi Hendrix Experience, but the band’s switch over to recording was less than harmonious.
In 1966, Hendrix’s label – Polydor – decided that the trio should release their first single. The rock standard ‘Hey Joe’, originally popularised by The Leaves, was quickly chosen as the A-side, but Hendrix still needed a track for the flip side. Originally, the guitarist wanted to record a cover version of Chris Kenner’s ‘Land Of 1,000 Dances’ to accompany ‘Hey Joe’, but the record label had other ideas. After all, Hendrix had talent as a songwriter, and putting out two cover songs on his debut single might not have reflected that skill.
Instead, producer Chas Chandler convinced Hendrix to write an entirely new song, which eventually became ‘Stone Free’. A mainstay of the band’s live performances, this ode to freedom and expression was the very first song Hendrix had written with The Experience, and its defiant optimism came to encapsulate the cultural revolution of the hippie age. Nevertheless, Hendrix himself was not too pleased with the fact that it was released as the B-side to ‘Hey Joe’.
Seemingly, Hendrix’s issue with the track was that it had been recorded far too quickly. Given the fact that, in the label’s eyes, the song was only a B-side, it didn’t necessarily have to be perfect. In fact, the song was not even released in the US, which the guitarist was particularly annoyed about. Hendrix, being the perfectionist that he was, was never satisfied with the 1966 version of ‘Stone Free’, and so had another go at recording the track in 1969, after deconstructing and rebuilding the song via his various live appearances up to that point.
The 1969 version of the song featured his old friend Billy Cox on bass rather than Noel Redding and sounds much more polished than the original version. However, his label saw the re-recording as superfluous, and the new version of ‘Stone Free’ did not see the light of day until the 2010 compilation album Valleys of Neptune. So, while the song might be a fan-favourite that encapsulated the youthful freedom of the counterculture age, it only ever came to light because of the tight restrictions of a major record label, and Hendrix’s preferred version of the track remains in relative obscurity to this day.
