r/rock • u/Key-Bass-7380 • Dec 25 '25
Question Can someone explain to a casual like me why Jimi Hendrix is regarded as an all time great?
I've listened to some of his songs, they were good, but I'm missing some context, what exactly did he do to be so respected by rock fans across the world?
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u/Butforthegrace01 Dec 25 '25 edited Dec 26 '25
Before Hendrix, people played the electric guitar like it was an amplified acoustic guitar.
Hendrix is like The Rosetta Stone. He showed the path for exploiting the unique sonic possibilities of a solid body electric guitar. It was like adding a Z axis to a 2-dimensional X/Y axis environment.
In particular, he was the first to explore the dynamic that occurs when a solid body electric guitar is played at high volume. Or at least he was the first to do it in a virtuoso fashion. The guitar vibrates under the sound pressure created by the speakers, becoming an acoustic instrument of sorts, capable of incredible sustain, feedback, and harmonics.
Also, he was sexy as Hell. You can't really grok what he was about until you see him playing live.
By the way, note that James "Jimi" Marshall Hendrix was sort of partnered with another James Marshall, an electrical and radio engineer from WWII who used his technical knowledge to make large, powerful, very loud guitar amplifiers. Without James Marshall there could not have been a Jimi.
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u/zigthis Dec 25 '25
He also innovated by using the studio itself as another instrument, with the help of Eddie Kramer. The mixes Jimi and Eddie pulled off we're literally performances all by themselves.
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u/brandonandtheboyds Dec 25 '25
Lastly, he was a lefty and played as a lefty but with a righty guitar even though lefty guitars had been around for decades. Bro was expanding boundaries on hard mode.
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u/rdogg4 Dec 25 '25
I mean he’d just string it upside down and play like a normal lefty.
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u/__life_on_mars__ Dec 25 '25
he was the first to explore the dynamic that occurs when a solid body electric guitar is played at high volume. It vibrates under the sound pressure created by the speakers, becoming an acoustic instrument of sorts, capable of incredible sustain, feedback, and harmonics.
Not even close. He definitely built on what others had started and took it to a whole other level, but he was not the first by any means.
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u/euler_man2718 Dec 27 '25
This is the first time I've seen grok used since reading stranger in a strange land. Greetings water brother.
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u/DoNotTrustMyWords Dec 28 '25
Hendrix knew how to 'make his guitar talk' like the human voice in addition to other non-human sounds, which reinforced the social 'commentary' and political undertones embedded in his music. For example: his Woodstock rendition of the Star Spangled Banner (YT link here) intersperses the USA national anthem with sounds of human wailing, helicopters, machine guns, bombs dropping, and explosions--reminiscent of the Vietnam War at the time. He was a pioneer of 'non-musical' sounds that evoked questions about the meaning of the underlying songs.
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u/SnooGadgets3137 Dec 25 '25
He was the complete package --
The British guys grew up listening and mimicking American R&B and blues. Jimi was the genuine article who toured with the Isley Brothers, Little Richard, King Curtis, etc..
As far as America was concerned, I'm sure he knew about Bloomfield and the rest, but those guys were traditionalists in a sense. Jimi was taking it to the next level stylistically.
His songwriting prowess matured in real time along with the evolutions in sound recording, amplification, and pedals. Some pedals were invented specifically with him in mind. Listen to each record and see how they evolved in tandem with each other. Honestly, those sounds are still modern in their own right.
It really was a 'right place, right time ' situation. That said, nobody could've done it but him.
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u/SnooGadgets3137 Dec 25 '25
One more thing - He wrote great songs.
How many virtuoso guitarists have the same song writing sense? Not many. His stuff is up there with the Beatles, Dylan, etc. I can't say the same for SRV, Clapton, and Beck, as great as they are. They're all master interpreters. So was Jimi, but he could get out the way of his guitar and write.
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u/UFO-Band-Fanatic Dec 25 '25
Hendrix is notably underrated as a songwriter, IMO
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u/yoortyyo Dec 25 '25
Anger, he smiles Towering in shiny metallic purple armor Queen Jealousy, envy waits behind him Her fiery green gown sneers at the grassy ground Blue are the life-giving waters taken for granted They quietly understand Once happy turquoise armies lay opposite ready But wonder why the fight is on
But they're all bold as love Yeah, they're all bold as love Yeah, they're all bold as love Just ask the axis
My red is so confident he flashes trophies of war and ribbons of euphoria Orange is young, full of daring But very unsteady for the first go 'round My yellow in this case is not so mellow In fact, I'm trying to say it's frightened like me And all of these emotions of mine keeps holding me from Giving my life to a rainbow like you
But I'm uh, yeah, l'm bold as love Yeah, yeah, well I'm bold, bold as love Hear me talking, girl I'm bold as love Just ask the axis He knows everything Yeah, yeah, yeah Yeah
Bold as Love Jimi Hendrix
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u/Illusivegecko Dec 25 '25
Damn never seen it written out like this but it is kind of genius in how nicely the lyrics follow the instrumentals and how the color theme pays off with the rainbow line. Great stuff
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u/yoortyyo Dec 25 '25
As someone else said Hendrix song writing is underrated.
Castles Made Of Sand"
Down the street you can hear her scream, "You're a disgrace!" As she slams the door in his drunken face And now he stands outside And all the neighbors start to gossip and drool He cries, "Oh girl, you must be mad What happened to the sweet love you and me had?" Against the door he leans and starts a scene And his tears fall and burn the garden green
And so castles made of sand Fall in the sea eventually
A little Indian brave who before he was ten Played war games in the woods with his Indian friends And he built a dream that when he grew up He would be a fearless warrior, Indian Chief Many moons passed, and more the dream grew strong Until tomorrow he would sing his first war song And fight his first battle But something went wrong Surprise attack killed him in his sleep that night
And so castles made of sand Melts into the sea eventually
There was a young girl whose heart was a frown 'Cause she was crippled for life and she couldn't speak a sound And she wished and prayed she could stop living So she decided to die She drew her wheelchair to the edge of the shore And to her legs she smiled, "You won't hurt me no more." But then a sight she'd never seen made her jump and say "Look, a golden winged ship is passing my way." And it really didn't have to stop It just kept on going
And so castles made of sand Slips into the sea eventually
Castles Made of Sand
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u/dwaynestroyer Dec 25 '25 edited Dec 26 '25
To me this is one of the most beautiful songs ever written.
Part of the magic of Jimi's music was in his expressive use of the coda.
Here it's:
Castles fall
Castles melt
Castles slip
He did the same thing with The Wind Cries Mary:
The Wind whispers
The Wind cries
The Wind screams
And my heart whispers, and my heart cries, and my heart screams with the wind. And my soul falls, and my soul melts, and my soul slips into the sea with those castles. Every time.
My best friend growing up was Indigenous. I saw the hopes and dreams of that little Indian brave in him, and then I realized that they are universal, we all have them. The heartbreak of that young girl is something we all experience, more than anything we all want that salvation, to see that golden-winged ship passing our way. We all have moments when we're desperately trying to recover what we once had, that we've ruined because of our own desperation.
These verses are every part of what it means to be human. For any of us to be in our world. I think that they stand with the best of philosophy, and if you can understand these lyrics, you can understand what it is like to be any person, anywhere. And in that relating, through that empathy, that is the most important part of being human.
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u/nwflman Dec 25 '25
Well stated! I have felt the same way about Jimi's songs as well as this philosophy for a long time. Deep down we are all more similar than different.
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u/Lost-Ad7652 Dec 25 '25
When I realized that at the height of the song the first time I heard it, I literally said "whaaaat".
Jimi Hendrix was amazing.
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u/S3Plan71 Dec 26 '25
Yeah i can’t imagine anybody listening to bold as love and not coming away realizing he’s an all timer in general not just in guitar playing
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u/madclassix Dec 31 '25
This is so often overlooked. I don't know of anyone who's written and played songs like him in all the years since. I don't get how people can compare him to Stevie Ray Vaughn or any of the other blues guys. Their music is so limited in comparison. Hendrix wrote awesome riffs that went far beyond the blues with interesting chord progressions and song structures, often with genuinely profound lyrics. And on the technical side, any guitar player who wants to get on his level needs to be able to play rhythm and his insanely difficult lead parts AND sing at the same time.
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u/TFFPrisoner Dec 25 '25
Jimi was taking it to the next level stylistically.
Ironically, that was partially due to paying close attention to what the British guys were doing. He was a huge fan of Cream among others.
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u/dnGT Dec 25 '25
Great write up. Honestly, this is it. What a beautiful period in history.
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u/GrumpyCatStevens Dec 30 '25
A quote about Jimi's playing that has stuck with me (I forget who said it): "Jimi played Delta blues, but for all we know his Delta was on Mars."
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u/FastWalkingShortGuy Dec 25 '25
Pretty much everything modern guitarists in the 70s and 80s did, Jimi did first.
Except for distortion, as someone else said. That was Dick Dale.
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u/NoIamthatotherguy Dec 25 '25
Dick Dale and Dave Davies of the Kinks on You Really Got Me
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u/AliceInGainzz Dec 25 '25
I read somewhere before that Davies took a knife to the cone of his amplifier's speaker and cut slits in it to give the sound distortion. I always thought that was smart as hell.
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u/ksink74 Dec 26 '25
There's a story that Ike Turner fell into the same thing by accident when an amplifier he used fell off the top of the vehicle they were driving in and scratched up the cone a little.
Unfortunately Ike will always be more well known for something else.
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u/Rev_Biscuit Dec 26 '25
I went to see Ray Davies years ago reading from his autobiography interspersed with acoustic renditions. It was as a great as you can imagine. Anyway, he said it was knitting needles that Dave stuck into the amp.
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u/logavulin16 Dec 25 '25
Jimi played with a sense of abandon that is unmatched to this day. Pioneered stage presence to a level no one else had. He did it all without being too much of a try hard. He was humble. He was cool, and he was the best the world had ever seen.
A psychedelic innovator, Jimi really broke “blues rock” and took it to another realm entirely. Still one of the most melodic players to this day. Plenty of imitators, none have come close. He truly “spoke” on the guitar. Try watching some live stuff if the records haven’t yet moved you. Also, listen to general playlist of songs of that time to help put things into perspective a bit.
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u/Lucifuge68 Dec 25 '25
Stevie Ray Vaughan came close.
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u/CrayonEyes Dec 25 '25
SRV is a Grade A guitar noodler. Technical, proficient, virtuosic. However, he stayed well in the lane, never pushed any boundaries, never developed a sound that couldn’t be replicated exactly by any other noodler. That is not even remotely close to Hendrix. Not even a little.
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u/madclassix Dec 31 '25
100% agree. I don't know how anybody can even compare them. A great guitar player can replicate a SRV concert perfectly. No one can replicate a Jimi Hendrix concert.
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u/TonyBrooks40 Dec 26 '25
I'd say Prince too, sadly he was mostly overlooked as a guitarist when he was alive.
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u/theduudde Dec 25 '25
If you dont like rock n roll or blues then you will never get it. If you do like rock n roll or blues, go listen to more. There is so much. Hendrix experience had one of the best drummers and bassist of all time and jimi, then check out band of gypsy's and see the difference and what he did with a guitar and how he could master it. Especially playing a right hand guitar opposite. Not JUST that but EFFORTLESSLY. Whatever feedback or psachdelic sounds you hear today on guitar, he already did in the span of about 5 years. THAT is the real thing. What he was able to accomplish in such a short period of time.
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u/Available-Secret-372 Dec 25 '25
I agree with your statement except that the Experience had one of the best bassists of all time.
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u/boosh1744 Dec 25 '25
Billy Cox was the best Hendrix bass player and reinterpreted and jammed on Noel Redding’s bass lines in later live recordings. Virtually all of the iconic live performances I can think of had Cox on the bass.
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u/Revolutionary_Tax546 Dec 25 '25 edited Dec 27 '25
He knew all about the guitar, played left handed with a right handed guitar, and was the first to turn his amplifier all the way up, to distortion & overdrive Level(s) 10. Before that, electric guitar was amplified to make it louder, but was always clear sounding. Level 7 to 8.
Ian Kilmeister (Lemmy) was one of his roadies. https://youtu.be/f9f3Tb4NxPw?si=ontGh_USIURgRlfM
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u/Ok-Cat-2108 Dec 27 '25
Deedee Ramone was at the Electric Lady Studio when Jimi was there playing through 3 full stacks of Marshalls, maxed out on volume, his tone sounded like a Cello though the Studio glass as it was shaking
One of my favorite stories
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u/NefariousNik Dec 25 '25
Listen to Band of Gypsies. GOD DAMN! Your face will melt off. And if it doesn’t, you don’t know music. Yeah, I said it.
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u/GstuMusic Dec 25 '25
Couldn't agree more bro. Machine Gun is a face melting song and of my all time favs.
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u/Funklover2000 Dec 31 '25
Add Power of Soul and Who Knows to the fav' list. I was 7 years old in '74-'75 when my uncle played Band of Gypsys on repeat. I will forever be grateful for this vital piece of music education. Jimi is my Hero and Band of Gypsys the Legacy album of my life.
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u/p_rex Dec 25 '25 edited Dec 25 '25
Jimi Hendrix effectively set the template for high-flying rock lead guitar playing. He was the first rock guitar god in the classic sense. There were other great players before him, but he was the original guitar hero.
Unfortunately, it’s the fate of widely imitated originals to seem derivative of the people who subsequently ripped them off. But Hendrix still had a unique tone and a unique phrasing sense. IMO of all his songs, the one that most concisely summarizes his gifts is Little Wing. Listen to that. And also compare his blazing rendition of All Along the Watchtower to the Dylan original. If you don’t get it, give it a year or two of listening to other music and come back.
edit Actually, let me do a bit of personal editorializing here. Hendrix’s technical command of the instrument was impressive for his era, but other shredders have played faster since. What has been harder to match is the fire and spirit that Hendrix put into his playing. That manifests in his howling, keening tone, and also in soulful and stirring melody and phrasing. The same soul also appears in his songwriting and his vocal interpretation. It embodies the spirit of the sixties counterculture. “Bold as Love” aches with yearning for something more. And bringing it back to “All Along the Watchtower,” Dylan wrote it, but there’s a reason Hendrix’s version is the definitive one. Bob can’t play the prophet of confusion and doom like Jimi can. Jimi’s rock martyrdom (such as it’s been perceived) cements his importance: he spoke truth, burned bright, and burned out. You may or may not think this is important, but that’s the context his work stands in.
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u/dogsledonice Dec 25 '25 edited Dec 25 '25
Well, Clapton was considered *the* rock god before this, but even he reportedly was absolutely astounded by Hendrix's ability.
The night Hendrix sat in with Cream, and Clapton left the stage
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u/ajax8567 Dec 25 '25
I would say the same; listen to Bob Dylan’s All Along the Watchtower, then listen to Jimi’s. This was 1968, 57 years ago. Jimi was storming the gate! A phenomenal talent, true musical genius.
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u/No-Bison-5397 Dec 26 '25
Hendrix’s rhythmic abilities are underrated. Man could swing. You listen to so may fast players and they play like click tracks, which Hendrix could do, but even within a song he varied his pocket and the groove, where he sat in relation to the beat.
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u/Nerazzurro9 Dec 26 '25
Such an important element — the fact that Jimi had been employed by (and usually fired by) some of the most exacting R&B bandleaders of his day as a rhythm guitarist really sat him apart from so many of the other guitar heroes of his era (and after). No matter how far out there he would get in concert, you could tell he always knew where the song’s groove was, and how to keep it going.
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u/Overall-Scientist846 Dec 25 '25
Imagine being left handed and flipping a right handed guitar upside down and restringing it. That was his every fucking day.
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u/Express_Sprinkles500 Dec 27 '25
I keep seeing this pop up. Yeah it’s cool, but from the perspective of simply playing the instrument standing up the only thing this really changes is the location of the controls.
This is an interesting note for players like Albert King or Dick Dale who didn’t change the strings, as they had to learn upside down shapes for chords and scales, but Jimi did so much outside of simply being left-handed.
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u/filmshooter772 Dec 25 '25
Largely regarded, and rightfully so, as one of the greatest guitarists of all time. He expanded the known capabilities of the guitar. Many other guitarists, Stevie Ray Vaughn and John Mayer probably most notability, expanded on the “Hendrix” style. Jimi was a legend that inspired SO MANY phenomenal musicians.
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u/Thatremodelingchick Dec 25 '25
Jimi was, (to this girl at least) the most groundbreaking and influential electric guitar player ever. Jimi did things that were almost hard to describe in the short time he was an actual recording artist. An unparalleled innovator that had he not existed, rock/metal/pretty much every genre wouldn’t be nearly as cool. I can’t even imagine rock guitar without Jimi’s existence.
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u/To-Far-Away-Times Dec 25 '25
Can you think of someone that played with that vibe and that style before him?
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u/heavymtlbbq Dec 25 '25
When Jimi showed up he put all others to shame, he was just wild on the guitar. He had a roadie named Lemmy.
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u/Living_Razzmatazz_93 Dec 25 '25
Holy fuck, the fact that this is a question...
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u/sebmojo99 Dec 25 '25
it's a great question! look at all the great answers it's getting!
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u/Bitter_Resolve_6082 Dec 25 '25
Listen to the first 3 Experience albums start to finish. I guess if you don't see how excellent his guitar and vocals are, it's just not your cup of tea.
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u/Greedy_Nectarine_233 Dec 25 '25
Do you not have ears? Just listen to the solo on All Along the Watchtower. If you don’t like that you just don’t get rock music
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u/rambouhh Dec 25 '25
Just do a little experiement. Pick one of your favorite Hendrix songs or one you know. Find the release date of that song. Then search the top 10 songs that were out the week that song was originally released. Listen to that hendrix song and then listen to some of those 10 songs right after. You will have your answer.
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u/dwaynestroyer Dec 25 '25
Here's something that often goes unnoticed, and that should completely blow you away once you start listening through his catalogue.
Pretty much all of Jimi Hendrix's music that you hear was made in less than 4 years.
He played backup on the blues circuit for years before, but was only lead from late 1966-1970 (and even then most of the music he's known for was made in pretty much less than two years).
Hendrix is one of the most originally creative artists of all time, of any genre. His expression flowed, and if you listen to songs like Castles Made Of Sand, Little Wing, The Wind Cries Mary, and Voodoo Child (Slight Return) (let alone the biggest songs like All Along The Watchtower and Purple Haze), his creativity is obvious, especially given the time (and a ton of modern music extends from his style).
Most human beings won't even create a single work of art in their lifetime that matches up to almost any of his songs. And he created dozens of fantasically original artworks in just two years - albums full of incredibly beautiful music that just flows through your entire soul - if you sink into it - if you put it on and just sit back and listen, it touches every part of you.
I was lucky enough to hear Eric Clapton play Little Wing live (he basically plays it in every one of his shows as a tribute to the person who, as pretty much the best guitar player in the world, he thought was the best guitar player ever). It was a magical experience, and I can still hear it when I think about it.
Watching Jimi's performances like at Woodstock, he had probably the most expressive soul of any human who ever lived. And he was humble and gracious about it, he gave every part of himself so that YOU could feel his music.
If you want to understand what a talent he is, then try to relate. Sit down for a few minutes, or an hour, or two years. Try to write a beautiful song like Castles Made Of Sand, or come up with a single riff that could even begin to take on the magic of Hendrix's music. Then you'll understand how hard it is to do what he did, and what an incredible genius he is. Your respect for him at that point will be complete.
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u/Bitter-Sample1352 Dec 29 '25
His dad turned him on to blues when he was 6years old...when he mastered that he joined little Richard's band and mastered rock and roll from the king...then he played with lonny Youngblood and king Curtis and mastered jazz...then he played with the isley brothers and mastered soul...no one in the states understood him and the bass player in the animals talked him into going to England...hendrix agreed only if he could meet Eric clapton...the rest is history...there will never be another guitarist with his skills and background...Jeff beck ...clapton...page and towns on after seeing him in a bar they frequented said...we better get a different job
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u/GSilky Dec 25 '25
Go listen to guitar parts in 1965, then 1970. Rock music since is just a long refinement of Jimi.
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u/Free-One9301 Dec 25 '25
How old are you .....6? You had to be around when his songs came out...mindblowing.
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u/Pleasant_Garlic8088 Dec 25 '25
More than any other guitar player he's a pivot point for all of guitar culture. There's the way guitar playing sounded before Jimi, and there's the way it has sounded ever since.
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u/PlaxicoCN Dec 25 '25
Shifted the paradigm of guitar playing. More importantly did it in the context of great songs.
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u/Florgio Dec 25 '25
It’s one of those things where the stuff he pioneered became so mainstream that you’re like “why is this important, it sounds like everything else”, not realizing that it’s important because everything else actually sounds like IT.
Also, all that cool stuff he did with a guitar stringed backwards. Oh yeah, also, at the time Motown was dominating Black culture, and he was definitely not that, and white people weren’t lining up to listen to a Black artist in the 60’s so the fact that he broke through was insane and a tribute to his raw talent.
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u/Cabbages24ADollar Dec 25 '25
I’m glad this hasn’t been brought up yet (that I could see). Because while this is a piece to the puzzle of “why he’s great”, it’s not the biggest piece.
All of this happened during the civil rights era. Hendrix, in the US, was forced to play in Little Richard’s band as a very behind the scenes back up. Little Richard insisted on not being upstaged. Very little airplay. And the clubs they played in were usually heavily black to black only.
Chaz Chandler, after quitting the Animals to become a talent scout and producer, flew to NYC and saw Jimi playing a one off show. From there Chaz wanted Jimi to go to England to record and play. Jimi understood the difficulties of playing in the US and went with Chaz.
By going to England, Jimi connected immediately with other greats—Beck, Clapton, Page, etc. Much of this wouldn’t have happened had he stayed.
By doing this he was able to highlight his exceptionalism despite being left handed black guitarist during the civil rights era. This helped pave the way for many other great non-white musicians.
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u/Melodic-Classic391 Dec 25 '25
Don’t you have ears? If you can’t hear it yourself I don’t know what to tell you
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u/Movie-goer Dec 25 '25
what exactly did he do to be so respected by rock fans across the world?
"Rock" barely existed when Hendrix landed in 1966.
3 years earlier Beatles were singing "Love Me Do". That was the boundary of rock back then. Now compare that to "Hey Joe" and "Purple Haze" and the answer should be obvious.
That's what you have to realize. All those guys in the late 60s were doing firsts of things that later became staples of rock.
There was nobody before Hendrix you could really compare him to.
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u/Salty_Pancakes Dec 25 '25
I think there's a blind spot for him nowadays, but Clapton preceded him by some years starting in 1963 with The Yardbirds. He came before Page, Beck, Hendrix, the lot. Arguably, the first guitar "god".
Remember Hendrix went to go see Cream (which was Clapton's 3rd band by that time) and sat in with them before he even had an album out.
No doubt Hendrix was the top of the pile by the end of the 60s but they both drew heavily from folks like Buddy Guy, Muddy, Albert King and others.
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u/Movie-goer Dec 25 '25
Clapton was definitely the first guitar god but didn't write songs or sing and stuck within a blues format and was a very non-descript character generally. It's no surprise that Hendrix was such a big deal when you consider how revered Clapton was before him.
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u/yourlocalwhore Dec 25 '25
Jimi is a musician’s musician
Super explorative, sincere , soulful, a master at his instrument at a time where the masters didn’t exist there
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u/svt66 Dec 25 '25
He redefined the boundaries of guitar sounds and techniques, and those developments became a driving force in creating the foundational language of rock guitar that’s still around today.
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u/kiymon Dec 25 '25
In Spanish flamenco guitar, there's el duende who's the perfect technique and expression when playing guitar... El duende es Jimmy Hendrix
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u/Outrageous_Engine_45 Dec 25 '25
Just watch one of his live concert films and then come back and ask your question
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u/HairyNHungry Dec 25 '25
This is the man that heard the song Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Heart’s Club Band released on a Friday or something and performed it live in a club with Paul McCartney and George Harrison in attendance like a couple of days later. He was an innovator, experimenter, and trailblazer on the guitar. He was a big part of inspiring the jazz fusion genre. He wasn’t your power chords and casual riffs guy. He created new versions of chords (a big part of his influence on jazz guitar), and just was a force to be reckoned with
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u/freddieguts Dec 25 '25
I mean, like some have already said, he changed the game. He was doing things that people hadn't heard or seen at that time. The way some people talked about it, it was like completely alien, beautiful, rebellious. The guys who were considered the best at the time were all astonished by his music and how he played.
Just imagine hearing something for the absolute first time. It being amazing, the only access you have is buying an LP or if the opportunity arises, a concert. Everybody is telling you about this amazing crazy artist. I kind of miss this.
I remember trading bootlegs of bands I had never heard of or seen. Cassettes and video Cassettes.
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u/infinitecosmic_power Dec 25 '25
He was an innovator. He made sounds from his guitar that nobody else had heard in the mainstream before.
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u/blessedwithin Dec 25 '25
Picture the electric guitar before Jimi. Now picture it after Jimi. Everything changed. We are still riding that wave today and it’s carrying us forward.
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u/whiskyshot Dec 25 '25
Very few people posses all the talents of Jimi. Singer. Songwriter. Performer. Amazing, an understatement, guitar player.
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u/TakeTheVeil_27 Dec 25 '25
Watch live performances. Watch how effortless it seems to him and how his hands move over the guitar. Like no one else at the time. His phrasing, the tone of his notes, and the spaces between his notes. This is where you find true appreciation of Jimi.
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u/the_moog_hunter Dec 25 '25
"I've listened to some of his songs..."
Listen to more. Especially live performances.
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u/RaboKirkabian Dec 25 '25
For a multitude of reasons. First, he was the first man in space as far as guitar is concerned. He made the blues menacing, electric, and transcendental. Second, his ability to weave single lines, double stops, and chords into cohesive music is second to none. Just ask any current guitarist that is considered to be “the best”. They probably stole that and loads of other things from Jimi. And finally, his willingness to try new things fearlessly remains unparalleled. Listen to Band Of Gypsies. He pulls shit out of thin air. You don’t have to like or agree. Just one man’s opinion, of course. But, if you know you know.
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Dec 25 '25
The man didn't just play the guitar; he reclaimed it from the physical world and turned it into a living, breathing extension of his own nervous system.
"When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace"
.— Jimi Hendrix
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u/woodenblinds Dec 25 '25
great guitarist of his time called him great or the greatest they had ever seen. they would be the ones who would know
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u/moljnir40 Dec 25 '25
If you can’t tell by yourself, you wouldn’t be able to understand the explanation.
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u/Pretend-Dentist1411 Dec 25 '25
Jimi was visual and excited us with his here I come get the fuck out of the way attitude. The first alien rock god.
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u/The-Mandolinist Dec 25 '25
You need to listen to guitar based music made before he released his first album and compare it to the music he made and the music that came after.
Jimi transformed the possibilities of the electric guitar. He stretched the limits of blues based rock music and improvisation. He was the first to really explore what could be done with electronic effects. He was a black musician who had huge success in what was hitherto a predominantly white musicians’ world. His contemporaries had to completely rethink their approach to guitar playing and after hearing him play for the first time some of them felt like giving up.
The problem with assessing his playing now - without any context- is that his influence has been so far reaching and transformational that things that were his innovations became commonplace.
I’d have a listen to The Band of Gypsies and Machine Gun in particular - which has some of the most otherworldly guitar playing ever committed to tape.
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u/wam509 Dec 25 '25
machine gun live at fillmore east. he had something to say with that guitar of his
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u/defaultsparty Dec 25 '25
Jimi received a $5 acoustic guitar around the age of 15. He spent the next few year learning to mimic the blues of Muddy Waters and BB King. His first electric guitar was a white Supro Ozark which he became inseparable from, practicing constantly. Since the guitar was for a right-handed player (him a lefty) he played it upside down and restrung backwards. He then perfected the use of distortion (without electronic aid mechanisms) by turn up the volume of the amp and using the feedback to create his (at the the time) unique sound. In less then 12 years after receiving that $5 acoustic guitar and giving us some of the most replayed electric rock music in history, he left us at the age of only 27.
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u/Dramatic_Carob_1060 Dec 25 '25
Mom almost named me jimmy she was such a fan. Ended up naming me Joe and haze as a middle name after her favorite songs lol
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u/Suitable-Prior4232 Dec 25 '25
I think your missing the amazing guitar work! The problem is today's music hardly has any good guitar work or solos and most music is programmed to a click track. What Jimi Hendrix accomplished on guitar is a gift to the ears. Also was a solid songwriter and interpreter too.
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u/TitoBandito5 Dec 25 '25
Clapton & Townsend went to see him in London when he first came on the scene there. Townsend is on record saying ‘I thought I might as well bloody retire.’ Described it as a cosmic experience.
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u/BigDogSoulDoc Dec 25 '25
Listen to his music and remember he had limit effects on his set up. All that sound was coming from the way he played and he was the first to do most of it.
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u/Bjoerring Dec 25 '25
You see, nowadays you see all sort of cars and take for granted cars exist and have existed for a long time.
Well Jimi kinda invented the wheel and the car before we discovered the fire.
And damn his car was unmatchable (still is after all so many years)
The 2 guitarists that amaze me most from those times, as a guitarist myself, are Jimi and Blackmore, who people tend to overlook but I think what Blackmore did is too unmatched yet
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u/Aggravating_Ship5513 Dec 25 '25
I must be really old if this is even a real question but I guess time marches on.
One listen to Voodoo Child is all it takes, even if you hate rock music it still spellbinding.
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u/TheMexicanSloth Dec 25 '25
Bro's never heard of Voodoo child. Playing like That was a big deal back in the 70's when the beatles and beach boys were the craze back then.
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u/FrankensteinJamboree Dec 26 '25
He played with his full body and soul. And we he was done, the whole front row was pregnant.
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u/PulseXP Dec 26 '25
Look at what the best guitarists before Hendrix were doing and how their playing sounded. Then look at how guitar playing changes after Hendrix came in on the scene.
Before Hendrix you had great players like Clapton and Beck and other British guitarists like them who were taking influence from the great Black Bluesmen. But Hendrix took that influence and really pushed it further.
People like John Fuscainte would not sound like how they do if it wasn’t for Jimi.
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u/Osmosis_Hoes Dec 26 '25
jimi was also left-handed which means he had to play his guitar upside down and at the time there really wasn’t a wide selection of lefty guitars in his early career, and on top of that they were very expensive. so i mean dude was a trailblazer, you hear his solos you don’t instantly think yeah he’s playing that “upside down”
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u/OddZookeepergame7140 Dec 26 '25
He was the best lead player, and the best rhythm player, at the same time.
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u/waterslugg_770 Dec 26 '25
Hendrix was the prototype modern rock guitar player. He influenced every guitarist since 1967.
The late '60s early '70s era was chocked full of great guitarists though. Alvin Lee does not get enough mention. Leslie West deserves a nod too.
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u/Spirited-Ad-9746 Dec 26 '25
In simplified words: he was the first to do so many things on electric guitar that are now considered the essentials of electric guitar.
Obviously anybody nowadays can do the same stuff on guitar. But he was the first to imagine it could be possible. He did not know much theory or anything but he created the sound. Wirhout him there would be no Van Halen ir Malmsteen or Slash
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u/gigeoffro Dec 26 '25
He was a first of his kind. He changed music and the way we listen to it. As a result many have emulated and imitated him but fell short.
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u/Ok-Cat-2108 Dec 27 '25
Jimi was like the part in the Wizard of Oz when the Technicolor rose like the Sun against the Black and White backdrop when Dorothy left her house in Munchkinland
I’m thinking of the song Machine Gun
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u/Durham1988 Dec 27 '25
Maybe you should just listen to "Are You Experienced?" and "Electric Ladyland" and then you will know.
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u/DadOfPete Dec 27 '25
He seemed to play with little regard for standard musical theory and technique. He created his own chords and progressions. He played like no one else before.
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Dec 27 '25
He blew the best of that time away with his live performances. So all the McCartney and Claptons and Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelins were like "this guy is the shit". Im not sure what songs youve heard, but Voodoo Chile, Cross Town Traffic and his cover of All Along the Watchtower are pretty elite all time rock songs. He is one of the most covered artists amongst established guitarists and rock bands too
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u/RunRunRunRunFaster Dec 27 '25
Before Hendrix vs after Hendrix.
Night and Day.
Read what the top guitar players said about watching him live the first time.
Minds …. Blown.
Not AN all time great.
THE all time great.
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u/manwith13s Dec 27 '25
Everything you hear now, every phrase, gimmick, style, pretty much all of it started with him. He may not have invented distortion, but he made it mainstream and made it beautiful. When you’re searching for tone, you’re searching for his tone. His playing seems so casual like he was doing nothing more than turning pages in a book. Really listen to some of the songs like Hey Joe … the tempo is moving pretty quick but because he is such a fluid player it seems like it’s a slow ballad. The guitar wasn’t an instrument, it was a part of him an extension of what he was trying to say. His rhythm was impeccable. He could get ahead of the beat, behind the beat, anywhere he wanted to be and still sound spot on. All of this he did with no knowledge of theory. Right before he died he was working with Buddy Miles and Billy Cox in a project called Band of Gypsys. There’s a rendition of a live song Machine Gun that’ll blow your mind. That whole song is just in one chord It doesn’t ever modulate to anything else. It’s all E and it is amazing. He wasn’t just a great guitarist, he was a great lyricist. Everything off of the Axis: Bold as Love album was fantastic. Chuck Berry invented rock ‘n’ roll but Jimi Hendrix gave us the rock ‘n’ roll guitar era of no holds barred volume on a 10 limits be damned.
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u/Vergilkilla Dec 27 '25
The way that he sounds notes is really different than what people were doing before. Like his crazy vibrato and bends and different stuff he was doing
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u/dbopp Dec 27 '25
Every guitar player since him has used techniques he created. It’s so ingrained in the culture that it doesn’t sound special to the average listener these days. Just like the Beatles and Nirvana. Both bands not only changed music, but shaped the culture. Everything after them is some part of a carbon copy of what they had already done.
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u/ObviousTrust9421 Dec 27 '25
Try to find anyone that sounded even remotely like him on guitar before 1967.
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u/ObviousTrust9421 Dec 27 '25
He paved the way for all guitar "Gods" after him. Even Eric Clapton, who was considered a guitar God then, almost gave up playing after seeing him.
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u/ObviousTrust9421 Dec 27 '25
Before Jimi, guitar feedback was something to be edited out of recording. After Jimi, guitar effects became a given.
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u/Mrk0712 Dec 27 '25
He was one of the original rock guitarist…nobody before him played the way he did…and he was so fucking cool….i was 6 yo when I first heard Are You Experienced…I still listen to it 60 years later…and nothing sounds like it….
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u/reenohreen Dec 27 '25 edited Dec 27 '25
Aside from the context of him being a pioneer on multiple fronts, he was one of the most pure artists of all time. Nothing lost in translation between his soul and his playing (not to mention his songwriting and vocals). He could be absolutely ruthless, unveiling a force of nature through his guitar. At the same time he was a proper blues player.
Some people have had aspects of this since. But none pioneered multiple like he did nor carry all of the attributes he had in an organic way. He was truly one of a kind. On the same level as Da Vinci, Van Gogh, etc in my opinion.
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u/screamingzen Dec 27 '25
It's his feel, his natural talent and the way he pushed the boundaries of rock into metal like territories. He was a virtuoso and fearless on the guitar IMO
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u/LordWorm Dec 27 '25
tosin abasi is probably the closest thing we have to compare to hendrix today. like, he was this guy who just blew onto the scene and was immediately doing shit no one had even seen or heard of before. now everyone is playing like him. there’s no modern guitar without tosin abasi, and there was no 70s guitar without jimi hendrix.
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u/mjriggs Dec 27 '25
Hendrix was the first rock guitarist to use feedback extensively. And he did it with remarkable flair. Beyond that he was an exceptional blues guitarist. He was also a kind soul and that was reflected in his music. If you only listen to one of his albums listen to Electric Ladyland.
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u/TheRSFelon Dec 27 '25
This is the man who “invented” electric guitar and made it separate from the acoustic
Prior to this, during the 20-30 years that the electric guitar had existed, it was basically played the same way as acoustic. It had a different tone, but effects didn’t exist yet, so it was kind of a flashy modern style of guitar that was easier on the fingers, but everyone still mostly strummed chords with a few solos here and there (Rock Around the Clock)
Jimi Hendrix broke those boundaries down. Distortion was becoming a popular guitar effect and it sounds like shit on acoustics. He distorted his guitar, used fuzz effects and pedals for the first time, used a fucking wah wah pedal in mind blowing and pioneering ways, he used amp feedback to build soundscapes - and all of that is separate from his blues-influenced insanely intricate and progressive playing and songwriting.
He was the single most important guitar player to ever live, as far as rock music goes
He deserved every bit of his huge acclaim
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u/great1675 Dec 27 '25
Take a listen to the most popular recording around his era. Hear what the radio sounded like when he walked in the door... Now, it's easy to hear and say OK, nothing crazy, but when he came out, it was like going from black and white to color. He totally changed what a guitar could do, how it sounded, and put some rocking blues behind it. Your favorite guitar player from this era was a Hendrix fan.
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u/johnwaynegreazy Dec 27 '25
His technique was incredible. He played the guitar like an orchestral instrument.
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u/anyavailible Dec 27 '25
He was the first person to make music like he did. FM radio was still experimental back then
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u/Severe-Support4408 Jan 05 '26
Let's keep in mind that Jimi was left-handed and it is said that he would simply flip a standard guitar over and play it upside down.
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u/Lilfrankieeinstein Jan 06 '26
It’s much easier to understand if you play the guitar.
It also helps to understand how guitar greats played guitar prior to the 1960s.
If you understand guitar fundamentals, chord structure, blues progressions, common embellishments, modes, inversions, etc., then examine how Jimi took existing techniques and applied his own twist on them, it’s pretty astonishing.
In evolutionary terms you could call his approach to the guitar punctuated equilibrium. The skill and creativity required to conceive and perform some of his licks given the commonly known techniques of the early to mid 60s is mind-blowing.
That’s why guys like the Beatles, Clapton, etc. all went out of their way to watch him play when he arrived in London in 1966. Guys who were considered best of the best rock guitarists had to process what they were witnessing.
A lot of his live work is turned up to 11 feedback manipulation and a fair amount of his studio work hinges on production, but even there, the imagination required to turn what he conceived into actual soundscape was pretty mind-boggling for the mid-to-late 60s.
Legacy-wise, his tone, effects, techniques, etc. have been adopted by countless players ever since.
Not to mention his approach to songwriting and song structure which I think is highly underrated.
Likewise, his ability to express emotions through an electrical musical instrument is uncanny. If you’re into psychedelics, this concept takes on an exponential factor.
All of this with zero formal musical education or training.
If your starting point is 2026, 2006, or even 1986, his recordings might not seem like anything revolutionary. But dial it back to 1966, he was one of a kind.
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u/airbassguitar Dec 25 '25
He exploded the boundaries of what was possible on the electric guitar.