Well, duh. Anyone who needs to be told that Jimi Hendrix was the best guitar player in existance probobly needs to be told what a guitar is as well.

Yeah, and I'd have to say that Stevie Ray Vaughn and Eric Clapton would be running neck and neck for second best.

My favorite Hendrix tune is his version of "All Along The Watchtower", with "Hey Joe" and "Voodoo Child" being my second and third favorite. I got sick of "Voodoo Child" for awhile, because WcW was using it as Hollywood Hogan's entrance music during the nWo days (a storyline that went on for about a year and a half longer than it should have).

Just being picyune about it BF, but it's Stevie Ray Vaughan, 'kay?

Yeah, I love "Voodoo Child" and, "Castles Made of Sand", "Little Wing", "Manic Depression", "Crosstown Traffic", "Power to Love", "Long Hot Summer". There are others. I just can't think of them right now.

I still find it amusing to think about the fact that The Jimi Hendrix Experience, for a few shows anyway, opened for The Monkees. I would love to be able to go back in time and attend one of those shows. That has to be one of the most mismatched concert bills of all time.

Well, you know, "Circle Sky" and "Do I Have To Do This All Over Again?" actually don't sound too different from Jimi's stuff (too bad they didn't do either of them untill after The Experience bailed). But, to tell you the truth, I can think of a worse bill: The Experience had to do some tour in Europe where on of the acts was a group of preforming seals!

"Circle Sky" has always sounded like another one of Papa Nez's country rockers, whereas "Long Title: Do I Have To Do This All Over Again?" sounds like The Doors to me, for some reason. I guess Tork could've been going for the Hendrix sound on it, though.

Hmmm...I suppose I can see the musical similarity to The Doors, but the heavier production just drips of Hendrix.

Say, just to take a trip down memory lane, does anyone here remember when they first got into Hendrix? Being the young whelp I am, my little story probobly wouldn't reflect most people's accounts, but here it is:

I'm pretty sure that the first time I ever came into contact with Jimi Hendrix was when they used "Fire" in that car comercial. But, being the snotty little ankle-biter I was at the time, I had no idea who it was and didn't care. Over the years, of course, I became familliar with his name and his reputation, but not his music. I can remember seeing him at Monterey on some Rock and Roll documentary and didn't hear a single note. I fact, I don't think they ever even played a song; they just showed his litle pyromania stunt. By this time, I'd graduated from ankle-biter to knee-biter (is that actually a real term?), so I thought the fire was cool but that was it. I started getting into psycadellia when I heard The Monkees' "Words" for the first time (so, like a good many folks from the '60s, I suppose I came to him throught The Monkees ) and began to look for his stuff. I'm sure I came accross a few of his songs in that time, but didn't know who it was and didn't pay attention. Then came that fatefull day (Jimi's birthday, interestingly enough) when the DJ announced beforehand that they would be playing some Hendrix. A herd of charging rhinos couldn't have moved me from the radio. The song was "1983" (what a way to be introduced!) and when I returned to the real world twelve minutes latter, I was in love!

I'm not sure many people discovered Hendrix through The Monkees. The way Mike tells the story, Jimi would get on stage and start playing "Purple Haze" while throngs of little pink arms would wave through air, with little girl voices chanting, "We want The Monkees! We want The Monkees!" After a handful of shows like, Hendrix threw down his guitar, flipped off the audience and left the tour.

I was aware of Hendrix for years. But I always thought of him as not being music, but noise. Then in the early Eighties, I started buying albums by "important" classic bands. I bought Are You Experienced?. I wasn't. I thought it was kind of interesting, but weird. So I only played it a couple of times. I later got rid of it.

Then in the late Eighties, early Nineties, I read David Henderson's bio of Jimi, 'Scuse Me While I Kiss the Sky. I found Jimi to be fascinating, but I didn't rush out to buy any of his records.

In Dallas we used to have a lot of head shops. Some of them, in addition to selling "smoking paraphenalia", also sold used books, tapes, records, etc. There was one out on Northwest Highway, between Webb Chapel and Denton Drive, that I used to go to to raid their books and tapes. There I found a copy of Jimi Hendrix's Band of Gypsys on tape. It was only a dollar, so I bought it. Took it home, played it, and that was it. This time, something clicked. I became interested in Jimi's music. More than that I was hooked on his music. So I started buying more; Electric Ladyland, Crash Landing, Axis: Bold As Love and a new copy of Are You Experienced?, this time on tape.

These days I have 15 Jimi Hendrix albums, all on CD, including the Experience box set. I've read about four or five other books on him. I'm "experienced".

Oh, and before any wiseacre suggests it, I never bought any "smoking paraphenalia". I was never really into that.

Try the Jimi Hendrix Blues CD. Not much of the screamin' variety -- I love to listen to it while on the comp at work.

I've got a video with Mike telling that story. You left out the best part! (where, every time Jimi went "Foxy", all the girls shouted "DAVY!").
Oh, and I must confess that my collection of Hendrix is rather wimpy (the Experience's three albums, a less-than-legal live album, and some various song on other collections). Not that I don't care, it's just that a poverty stricken slacker like me rarely has money long enough to get any more.

I looove that Blues disc! Before hearing it, I'd've sworn up and down that Jimi couldn't've played the blues. Nice to see I was wrong.

Papa Nez has kinda changed the way he tells the story over the years. The version I related was one he told the Armed Forces Radio waaay back when. I think he's spiced up the story with the "Foxy/Davy" bit.

I've got so many albums, because music is like a drug to me. I'm not sure how long I'd live without it (or reading). I've got the RCA dog on my back.

That's a new way of puting it. (I know exactly what you mean, though)

Here's Snopes on Hendrix and the Monkees.

Follow up.

Essentially, the Monkees thought Hendrix was so awesome, they didn't care that he didn't really fit in with their tour. They just wanted to watch and listen to him every night.