All Along the Watchtower
Who is this dashing man in an awesome jacket with sick
electric guitar skills?? None other than Jimi Hendrix: Rock God.
Here is a fun fact about Hendrix that you may or may not know- he taught himself to play guitar just by LISTENING. If that doesn't blow your mind after hearing "All Along the Watchtower," I don't know what will. This guy learned how to master an instrument by paying close attention to other musicians, then taking a guitar into his hands and experimenting with it.
One word comes to mind: prodigy.
Here is a fun fact about Hendrix that you may or may not know- he taught himself to play guitar just by LISTENING. If that doesn't blow your mind after hearing "All Along the Watchtower," I don't know what will. This guy learned how to master an instrument by paying close attention to other musicians, then taking a guitar into his hands and experimenting with it.
One word comes to mind: prodigy.
If you think I’m being dramatic, consider the definition of
prodigy: a person, especially a child or young person, having extraordinary
talent or ability (Thanks Dictionary.com!)
And then consider the discovery and career of Jimmy
Hendrix: At age 15, Jimi acquired
his first guitar and started to learn how to play by ear, spending hours
listening to music and working to figure out single notes. After dropping out
of high school and a stint in the army, Jimi moved to New York City, and it was
there that he was discovered, at the ripe age of 24.
Jimmy Hendrix was in fact, a prodigy.
Jimmy Hendrix was in fact, a prodigy.
After he was discovered, he settled in England and formed the
Jimi Hendrix Experience. Then he took the US by storm with songs like “Hey,Joe.”
Hendrix was a true performer. He would play behind his back, with his teeth, and trash his
guitar on stage. Beyond that,
however, he was also a true musician, constantly experimenting with all the
electric guitar had to offer. He
became well known for his interesting work with the wah-wah pedal. You know, the fun little pedal that
makes your electric guitar go “wahhhh-wahhhhh”? Yeah. That one.
Despite his early death at the age of 27, Hendrix has come to
be considered by some to be one of the greatest electric guitar players of all
time.
I am 20 years old and have very limited guitar skills. Hendrix is starting to make me feel a
little insecure…
IF I’M NOT A ROCK LEGEND IN 7 YEARS I DON’T KNOW WHAT I’M
GOING TO DO WITH MY LIFE!!!!
I’m just kidding.
Kind of.
Look I can play guitar too!
Jokes on you again! That’s a ukulele. And I’m not Asian… Or five years old. But that kid rocks, you’ve got to give
him some credit.
Child prodigy?
We’ll see.
But on a serious note:
What I wouldn’t give to be able to travel back in time and
see Hendrix perform after The Who at the Monterey Pop Festival… (For those of
you who don’t know, the Monterey Pop Festival was the first widely promoted and
heavily attended rock music festival.
It was three days long, think of it as the Coachella of the 1960s.)
If you haven’t been inspired to give Jimi Hendrix a listen
after reading this, think again.
You will be missing out on a man whose work continues to inspire
musicians today. Musicians the
likes of John Mayer…
Are you reading this right now?
Yes.
John. Mayer.
A man lucky enough to have a song written about him by Taylor
Swift.
But really people, Jimi Hendrix’s music continues to have an
impact on all of our lives. So
give him a listen. If not for me,
then for America:
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