A classic track from veteran guitarist Jimi Hendrix is better because of the “freak out” he has, according to Paul McCartney.
The Beatles and Wings member knows a thing or two about heavier styles of rock, having written Back in the U.S.S.R. and Helter Skelter, the latter in particular a reaction to The Who’s Pete Townshend. But it was a love for Hendrix which spilt over into his most recent Got Back shows, where McCartney and the band performed a snippet of Foxy Lady nearly every night, that highlights what the veteran songwriter wanted most of all from music. A review of Purple Haze from McCartney had the Let It Be hitmaker would feature at the time of the song’s release. McCartney had turned down a chance to work with Hendrix and Miles Davis in a supergroup, and instead opted to praise the Purple Haze track.
He said: “Must be Jimi Hendrix. So, Jimi freaks out and sounds all the better for it! It’s breaking out all over the place, you know.“I thought it would be one of those things that people might keep down but it’s breaking through all over. You can’t stop it. Hooray. This is a good record, too.”
McCartney also suggested the album would “probably” be good, adding: “I really don’t know whether it’s as commercial as Hey Joe or Stone Free. I bet it is though. Probably will be. Fingers Hendrix. An absolute ace on the guitar. This is yet another incredible record from the great Twinkle Teeth Hendrix!”
Despite the thrills Hendrix created in the studio, he was surprisingly nervous at a huge performance just months before his death. Kirsten Nefer, his girlfriend at the time, says the imposing crowd and confined space led to a less-than-ideal experience in the lead-up to his show. The show would turn out to be one of Hendrix’s final shows, coming just a short while before his death on September 18, 1970.
Despite the quality found in the setlist, Hendrix was apparently nervous for how the set would go. Nefer said: “He was so afraid of going on the stage, and all these people, all of a sudden he felt trapped you know, in this little caravan and getting his clothes on.
“There was so many people in there you know, it was terrible… I remember walking from the caravan and out onto the stage, that was like the Gladiators in the old Roman Empire must have felt like that.”
Despite his death just a short while after the performance, Hendrix’s legacy and influence lives on. The guitarist, who would die in 1970 at just 27, would share how hitting the low point when starting out is the makings of a great artist and that most would “give up” but those who kept on would be rewarded for their efforts. He said: “When I was 17, I formed this group with some other guys, but they drowned me out.
“My first was a Danelectro, which my dad bought for me. Must have busted him for a long time. But I had to show him I could play first. In those days I just liked rock’n’roll, I guess. We used to play stuff by people like the Coasters. Anyway, you all had to do the same things before you could join a band. You even had to do the same steps.”
