Jimi Hendrix’s favourite British guitarists
If you ever doubt the power of word of mouth, take a look at Jimi Hendrix’s career trajectory. Because of the phenomenal place he holds in the hearts of guitar lovers across the globe, people assume that he had been making music as a mainstream artist for decades, but that wasn’t the case. He was only in the limelight for about four years, but throughout that period, as word spread about the greatest guitarist of all time, he created a legacy that is still celebrated today.
While his studio albums were successful, and the likes of Electric Ladyland and Axis: Bold of Love are still listened to frequently, his real power was contained within his live shows. It wasn’t just his technical ability and the way that improvising came as second nature to him, but it was the fact that Hendrix had an eccentric way of playing, to the point that he gripped the audience with his style and swagger the moment pick hit string.
The great Paul McCartney once recalled the first time he saw Hendrix live. It was a couple of days after the release of The Beatles Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, an album that Hendrix had taken to so much he decided to open with the titular track. “I put that down as one of the greatest honours of my career,” said McCartney, “I mean, I’m sure he wouldn’t have thought of it as an honour; I’m sure he thought it was the other way round, but to me, that was like a great boost.”
Hendrix was dedicated to the art of guitar playing because there was nothing in the world that he loved more. He was committed to the guitar and making music, which came from being inspired by some of the greatest players in the industry. The majority of these were from the States, such as Muddy Waters, BB King and Elmore James; however, there were some British guitarists he was a massive fan of, too.
The first one was Eric Clapton. Hendrix isn’t on his own with his praise for Clapton, as his ability to merge the melody of the rockabilly sound with the improvisation and shredding techniques embedded within the blues changes guitar music forever. Many guitarists we know and love today likely wouldn’t exist if not for Clapton, and it turns out Hendrix could be one of them.
The two guitarists became friends to the extent that they once played an improvised set on stage, sharing in the music that they both loved and held close to their hearts. “It was funny, in those days, anybody could get up with anybody if you were convincing enough that you could play,” said Clapton, recalling the event, “He got up and blew everyone’s mind.”
Clapton continued, “I just thought, ‘Ahh, someone that plays the stuff I love in the flesh, on stage with me’. I was actually privileged to be (on stage with him)… It’s something that no one is ever going to beat; that incident, that night, it’s historic in my mind but only a few people are alive that would remember it.”
Hendrix was also a big fan of King Crimson’s Robert Fripp, to the extent that he once called Crimson one of the best bands in the world. “This is the hand shaken by the hand of Jimi Hendrix,” said Fripp, “He came to see the band and… was apparently upstairs saying, this is the best band in the world. And he came down to see us, and he came up to me and said, ‘Shake my left hand, man, it’s closer to my heart’.”
