WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.799 Welcome to the Deep Dive. Today we are taking 00:00:02.799 --> 00:00:05.500 on a figure whose career was, I mean, it was 00:00:05.500 --> 00:00:09.019 just so brief, so chaotic, and so blindingly 00:00:09.019 --> 00:00:11.419 bright that it fundamentally changed the course 00:00:11.419 --> 00:00:13.619 of music history. We're talking about James Marshall. 00:00:13.980 --> 00:00:16.879 jimmy hendrix exactly born johnny allen hendrix 00:00:16.879 --> 00:00:19.800 he spent less than four years in the global spotlight 00:00:19.800 --> 00:00:22.699 but in that time he didn't just play the electric 00:00:22.699 --> 00:00:27.199 guitar he completely and i mean completely redefined 00:00:27.199 --> 00:00:29.539 the relationship between a musician electricity 00:00:29.539 --> 00:00:33.200 and sound itself That redefinition is precisely 00:00:33.200 --> 00:00:35.619 the point, isn't it? It's why the Rock and Roll 00:00:35.619 --> 00:00:37.500 Hall of Fame describes him with this phrase that 00:00:37.500 --> 00:00:39.560 I just love. What's that? They call him, and 00:00:39.560 --> 00:00:42.079 I quote, arguably the greatest instrumentalist 00:00:42.079 --> 00:00:44.399 in the history of rock music. Arguably the greatest? 00:00:44.640 --> 00:00:48.000 Yeah. That phrase just perfectly encapsulates 00:00:48.000 --> 00:00:50.659 the sheer magnitude of what he did. We aren't 00:00:50.659 --> 00:00:52.460 just talking about a virtuoso who could play 00:00:52.460 --> 00:00:54.399 fast. No, not at all. We're talking about an 00:00:54.399 --> 00:00:57.399 artist who created a complete paradigm shift, 00:00:57.520 --> 00:01:00.539 who literally turned noise into his own personal 00:01:00.539 --> 00:01:03.259 vocabulary. Absolutely. So for this deep dive, 00:01:03.359 --> 00:01:05.840 that's the path we're charting, that short explosive 00:01:05.840 --> 00:01:09.359 path. Our mission is to trace his development 00:01:09.359 --> 00:01:11.640 from, you know, the rough and tumble chitlin 00:01:11.640 --> 00:01:14.140 circuit where he was just a sideman. Right. Through 00:01:14.140 --> 00:01:17.120 his revolutionary three album artistic peak and 00:01:17.120 --> 00:01:20.310 right up to his tragic end at age 27. And we 00:01:20.310 --> 00:01:22.269 really need to break down not just the performances 00:01:22.269 --> 00:01:24.629 we all know. But the technical blueprint he invented. 00:01:24.890 --> 00:01:27.829 We have to focus on the specific gear, the modifications, 00:01:28.109 --> 00:01:31.069 the esoteric techniques he weaponized to create 00:01:31.069 --> 00:01:33.530 that one -of -a -kind sound. It's a huge amount 00:01:33.530 --> 00:01:35.829 of ground to cover in what was an incredibly 00:01:35.829 --> 00:01:39.269 short, intense lifespan. And to really understand 00:01:39.269 --> 00:01:41.670 the success and frankly the chaos that followed, 00:01:41.849 --> 00:01:43.810 we have to start at the very beginning. Which 00:01:43.810 --> 00:01:46.010 was marked by some really intense struggle and 00:01:46.010 --> 00:01:48.170 instability. To put it mildly, yeah. Okay, so 00:01:48.170 --> 00:01:50.400 let's unpack this formative. period. It all starts 00:01:50.400 --> 00:01:53.480 in Seattle. But his early life, I mean, it was 00:01:53.480 --> 00:01:56.299 anything that's stable. No, it was characterized 00:01:56.299 --> 00:02:00.400 by this profound poverty and just constant familial 00:02:00.400 --> 00:02:04.159 upheaval. Jimmy was born in 1942. His parents, 00:02:04.340 --> 00:02:06.000 Al Hendricks and Lucille Jeter, they were young 00:02:06.000 --> 00:02:09.300 and they struggled. A lot. A lot. Constantly 00:02:09.300 --> 00:02:11.919 moving, living right on the edge of poverty and 00:02:11.919 --> 00:02:14.159 battles with alcoholism that created this really 00:02:14.159 --> 00:02:17.139 chaotic household. And we know that the fighting 00:02:17.139 --> 00:02:19.800 between his parents, especially, it drove young 00:02:19.800 --> 00:02:23.020 Jimmy to withdraw. Deeply. He would physically 00:02:23.020 --> 00:02:26.819 hide in a closet, just seeking refuge from all 00:02:26.819 --> 00:02:30.680 the noise and that instability. It paints such 00:02:30.680 --> 00:02:33.699 a clear picture of a child just looking for escape, 00:02:33.900 --> 00:02:35.879 looking for security, wherever he could possibly 00:02:35.879 --> 00:02:37.719 find it. And you can even see that instability 00:02:37.719 --> 00:02:40.759 reflected in his identity, in his name. That's 00:02:40.759 --> 00:02:42.560 right. He wasn't born James Marshall Hendricks. 00:02:42.680 --> 00:02:45.719 No, he was born Johnny Allen Hendricks. His father 00:02:45.719 --> 00:02:48.879 changed it in 1946 to James Marshall Hendricks, 00:02:48.979 --> 00:02:51.719 supposedly to honor his late uncle. So even his 00:02:51.719 --> 00:02:54.120 name was in flux. And then the family unit itself 00:02:54.120 --> 00:02:56.780 just shattered. It did. When his parents divorced 00:02:56.780 --> 00:03:00.620 in 1951, Jimmy was only nine. Al, his father, 00:03:00.699 --> 00:03:02.900 got custody of him and his brother Leon. But 00:03:02.900 --> 00:03:05.219 his three younger half -siblings? They had to 00:03:05.219 --> 00:03:07.300 be given up. The family situation was so dire 00:03:07.300 --> 00:03:09.460 they went into foster care or were adopted. The 00:03:09.460 --> 00:03:11.719 family was essentially broken. So it sounds like 00:03:11.719 --> 00:03:14.060 music became much more than a hobby for him. 00:03:14.139 --> 00:03:16.780 It was almost a necessary form of emotional survival. 00:03:17.199 --> 00:03:19.780 Absolutely. And there's this one fascinating, 00:03:19.960 --> 00:03:22.139 almost heartbreaking story from his elementary 00:03:22.139 --> 00:03:25.639 school that just perfectly illustrates this intense 00:03:25.639 --> 00:03:27.400 need for music. You're talking about The Broom? 00:03:27.599 --> 00:03:31.560 The Broom. A social worker at his school, Horace 00:03:31.560 --> 00:03:34.500 Mann Elementary, noted his habit of carrying 00:03:34.500 --> 00:03:37.460 a broom with him for over a year. Just carrying 00:03:37.460 --> 00:03:39.539 it around. Carrying it, cradling it, treating 00:03:39.539 --> 00:03:41.580 it like his guitar and doing these elaborate 00:03:41.580 --> 00:03:45.180 air guitar sessions. Wow. And the social worker 00:03:45.180 --> 00:03:47.539 was so struck by this, she actually wrote a letter. 00:03:48.039 --> 00:03:50.719 She requested school funding for a real instrument 00:03:50.719 --> 00:03:53.400 for him. On what grounds? She expressed a genuine 00:03:53.400 --> 00:03:55.759 fear that denying him this outlet might cause 00:03:55.759 --> 00:03:57.840 psychological damage. because he was already 00:03:57.840 --> 00:04:00.919 so withdrawn. Think about that. A professional 00:04:00.919 --> 00:04:03.800 observer recognized the danger of separating 00:04:03.800 --> 00:04:06.479 this specific child from his creative outlet, 00:04:06.599 --> 00:04:09.039 even if that outlet was just a broomstick. And 00:04:09.039 --> 00:04:11.060 even though the request failed to get funding, 00:04:11.379 --> 00:04:14.099 her assessment of his needs was absolutely spot 00:04:14.099 --> 00:04:17.100 on. He was practically pre -wired to be a guitarist. 00:04:17.220 --> 00:04:20.180 So when did he finally get... a real instrument 00:04:20.180 --> 00:04:22.379 in his hands well his real instruments came in 00:04:22.379 --> 00:04:24.939 stages and mostly through accidental discoveries 00:04:24.939 --> 00:04:28.680 the true start was around 1957. okay he was helping 00:04:28.680 --> 00:04:31.379 his father with a side job and he found a one 00:04:31.379 --> 00:04:34.240 -string ukulele in the garbage a single string 00:04:34.240 --> 00:04:36.759 that one string became his first teacher he taught 00:04:36.759 --> 00:04:39.579 himself completely by ear playing along to popular 00:04:39.579 --> 00:04:42.800 songs especially elvis presley he was obsessed 00:04:42.800 --> 00:04:45.589 with the rhythm and feel of tracks like hound 00:04:45.589 --> 00:04:47.910 dog that's the foundation right there learning 00:04:47.910 --> 00:04:50.610 rhythm and tone from just a single string when 00:04:50.610 --> 00:04:53.769 did he graduate to a full guitar in mid 1958 00:04:53.769 --> 00:04:56.430 he's 15 and he finally gets his first acoustic 00:04:56.430 --> 00:04:58.730 guitar for the grand sum of five dollars five 00:04:58.730 --> 00:05:01.430 dollars and he became instantly obsessive i mean 00:05:01.430 --> 00:05:04.149 spending hours just honing his craft learning 00:05:04.149 --> 00:05:06.370 from more experienced local players and absorbing 00:05:06.370 --> 00:05:08.730 the sounds of blues legends like muddy waters 00:05:08.730 --> 00:05:11.930 howland wolf bb king Do we know the first song 00:05:11.930 --> 00:05:13.910 he learned to play all the way through? We do. 00:05:14.009 --> 00:05:16.529 The very first complete tune he mastered was 00:05:16.529 --> 00:05:19.589 the dramatic sort of Nordish melody of the theme 00:05:19.589 --> 00:05:22.250 from the TV show Peter Gunn. From the drive of 00:05:22.250 --> 00:05:25.069 Hound Dog to the swagger of Peter Gunn, that's 00:05:25.069 --> 00:05:27.470 a pretty good early sign of the musical diversity 00:05:27.470 --> 00:05:29.850 he'd later command. Oh, absolutely. But that 00:05:29.850 --> 00:05:32.250 talent, almost immediately, it started causing 00:05:32.250 --> 00:05:34.189 him trouble. His professional career started 00:05:34.189 --> 00:05:37.089 with a, let's call it a mishap. A very public 00:05:37.089 --> 00:05:41.189 mishap. In mid -1959, his father finally bought 00:05:41.189 --> 00:05:44.430 him a white Supro Ozark electric guitar. Right. 00:05:44.529 --> 00:05:47.370 He played his debut gig with some unnamed band 00:05:47.370 --> 00:05:50.389 at the Jaffe Room of Seattle's Temple to Hirsch. 00:05:51.410 --> 00:05:54.709 And the gig ended. Well, ended abruptly. He was 00:05:54.709 --> 00:05:57.170 fired. Fired between sets for showing off, for 00:05:57.170 --> 00:05:59.410 inserting these flashy, unnecessary fills and 00:05:59.410 --> 00:06:01.829 solos where they just weren't wanted. He was 00:06:01.829 --> 00:06:03.490 already too much of a star for the room he was 00:06:03.490 --> 00:06:05.689 in. It's the first real hint of his inability 00:06:05.689 --> 00:06:08.629 to conform, which really defines his entire career. 00:06:08.970 --> 00:06:12.069 But that path of instability, it continued. And 00:06:12.069 --> 00:06:14.209 it led him right into a massive life decision. 00:06:14.670 --> 00:06:17.769 The army. Yeah. In 1961, when he was just shy 00:06:17.769 --> 00:06:19.730 of 19, the law finally caught up with him. What 00:06:19.730 --> 00:06:21.949 happened? He was caught riding in stolen cars. 00:06:22.459 --> 00:06:25.199 what they called joyrides, on two separate occasions. 00:06:25.779 --> 00:06:29.019 And he was faced with a choice. Serious jail 00:06:29.019 --> 00:06:32.800 time or enlisting in the U .S. Army? So he chose 00:06:32.800 --> 00:06:35.120 the Army. He chose the latter, enlisting on May 00:06:35.120 --> 00:06:39.899 31, 1961. So military service was a forced pivot 00:06:39.899 --> 00:06:42.680 for him. It was a way to avoid prison, not some 00:06:42.680 --> 00:06:45.279 expression of patriotism. Not at all. And after 00:06:45.279 --> 00:06:48.079 basic training, he was assigned to the 101st 00:06:48.079 --> 00:06:50.459 Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. 00:06:51.189 --> 00:06:53.649 The discipline, the regiment, it was an immediate 00:06:53.649 --> 00:06:55.670 shock to his system. Yes, I can imagine. He rode 00:06:55.670 --> 00:06:57.509 home complaining that the training was nothing 00:06:57.509 --> 00:06:59.910 but physical training and harassment. But to 00:06:59.910 --> 00:07:02.490 his credit, he did commit to the required paratrooper 00:07:02.490 --> 00:07:04.350 training. They completed it? He successfully 00:07:04.350 --> 00:07:07.709 completed his jumps, and in January 1962, he 00:07:07.709 --> 00:07:09.610 was awarded the prestigious Screaming Eagles 00:07:09.610 --> 00:07:12.449 patch. It was a sign that he could endure rigorous 00:07:12.449 --> 00:07:15.209 demands when he absolutely had to. But his commitment 00:07:15.209 --> 00:07:17.790 to the guitar always, always came first. It always 00:07:17.790 --> 00:07:19.870 superseded his commitment to the uniform. Yeah. 00:07:20.079 --> 00:07:22.000 The Army and Jimi Hendrix were just never going 00:07:22.000 --> 00:07:24.339 to be a long -term match. So his superiors noticed. 00:07:24.699 --> 00:07:27.819 Oh, they noticed. They quickly saw a profound 00:07:27.819 --> 00:07:30.899 neglect of his official duties. He was caught 00:07:30.899 --> 00:07:33.819 napping repeatedly, failed to report for bed 00:07:33.819 --> 00:07:36.959 checks, and was even labeled an unqualified marksman. 00:07:37.279 --> 00:07:40.290 So his platoon sergeant finally had enough. He 00:07:40.290 --> 00:07:43.189 did. He filed this damning report that stated 00:07:43.189 --> 00:07:46.189 very plainly that Hendricks had no interest whatsoever 00:07:46.189 --> 00:07:48.829 in the army and recommended he get a discharge 00:07:48.829 --> 00:07:51.649 as soon as possible. And he was granted that 00:07:51.649 --> 00:07:55.430 discharge in June 1962. It was a general discharge 00:07:55.430 --> 00:07:58.149 under honorable conditions for unsuitability. 00:07:58.269 --> 00:08:00.649 For anyone listening who's not familiar with 00:08:00.649 --> 00:08:03.230 military terms, what exactly does that mean? 00:08:03.870 --> 00:08:05.569 It's a good question. It's essentially a way 00:08:05.569 --> 00:08:07.889 of saying he couldn't adapt to the service life, 00:08:08.029 --> 00:08:10.449 but without implying any serious misconduct. 00:08:10.670 --> 00:08:12.709 So he didn't commit a crime or anything? Exactly. 00:08:12.829 --> 00:08:14.990 A general discharge under honorable conditions 00:08:14.990 --> 00:08:17.470 for unsuitability just means he couldn't adjust 00:08:17.470 --> 00:08:19.550 to the discipline. But he wasn't a criminal. 00:08:19.649 --> 00:08:21.990 It allowed the Army to quickly remove someone 00:08:21.990 --> 00:08:24.110 who was, you know, just ineffective and completely 00:08:24.110 --> 00:08:26.790 uninterested. And he tried to spin that story 00:08:26.790 --> 00:08:29.879 a bit later in life, didn't he? He did. Hendricks 00:08:29.879 --> 00:08:31.660 later claimed he received a medical discharge, 00:08:32.000 --> 00:08:34.919 suggesting he broke his ankle during his 26th 00:08:34.919 --> 00:08:37.600 parachute jump. A much better story. A much better 00:08:37.600 --> 00:08:40.679 story. But official Army records show no confirmation 00:08:40.679 --> 00:08:44.200 of that specific injury. However, the time at 00:08:44.200 --> 00:08:46.340 Fort Campbell was critical for one very important 00:08:46.340 --> 00:08:49.820 reason. He met Billy Cox. He met fellow serviceman 00:08:49.820 --> 00:08:52.240 Billy Cox, who was immediately blown away by 00:08:52.240 --> 00:08:55.179 his plane. Cox saw the raw, unschooled genius 00:08:55.179 --> 00:08:58.779 right away. Absolutely. And he described his 00:08:58.779 --> 00:09:01.179 technique as this incredible, almost impossible 00:09:01.179 --> 00:09:03.919 combination of John Lee Hooker and Beethoven. 00:09:04.330 --> 00:09:06.730 That's a fantastic description. It really is. 00:09:06.809 --> 00:09:08.990 They formed a loosely organized band called the 00:09:08.990 --> 00:09:11.429 Casuals. And as soon as they were both discharged, 00:09:11.629 --> 00:09:13.789 they moved together to Clarksville and then Nashville, 00:09:14.029 --> 00:09:16.389 officially trading their uniforms for the life 00:09:16.389 --> 00:09:18.450 of working musicians. And that's where part two 00:09:18.450 --> 00:09:21.409 starts, right there in 1962. They're moving into 00:09:21.409 --> 00:09:23.690 the brutal competitive world known as the Chitlin 00:09:23.690 --> 00:09:26.070 Circuit. Yeah. And this was the true training 00:09:26.070 --> 00:09:28.840 ground for his performance style. Can you explain 00:09:28.840 --> 00:09:31.019 what the Chitlin Circuit was? It was a crucible, 00:09:31.100 --> 00:09:32.919 really. It was a network of venues across the 00:09:32.919 --> 00:09:36.340 South, specifically for black R &B, soul, and 00:09:36.340 --> 00:09:39.460 blues musicians. And it demanded not just musical 00:09:39.460 --> 00:09:42.320 chops, but a level of showmanship that could 00:09:42.320 --> 00:09:44.870 instantly captivate a crowd. So when Hendrix 00:09:44.870 --> 00:09:47.450 and Cox formed the King Casuals, they plunged 00:09:47.450 --> 00:09:50.669 right into this scene. Head first. And this environment 00:09:50.669 --> 00:09:54.210 is directly responsible for so many of his legendary 00:09:54.210 --> 00:09:57.009 stage antics, which he really developed out of 00:09:57.009 --> 00:09:58.830 sheer necessity. Like playing with his teeth, 00:09:58.909 --> 00:10:01.169 for example. That's a perfect example. You just 00:10:01.169 --> 00:10:03.769 had to stand out. The competition was so fierce, 00:10:03.870 --> 00:10:06.590 he had to find ways to get noticed. He learned 00:10:06.590 --> 00:10:09.169 to play with his teeth specifically to one -up 00:10:09.169 --> 00:10:11.769 another guitarist in the band, Alfonso Baby Boo 00:10:11.769 --> 00:10:13.769 Young, who was already doing it. So it was a 00:10:13.769 --> 00:10:16.289 competitive thing. Totally. Hendrix later explained 00:10:16.289 --> 00:10:18.970 the high stakes. He said, the idea of doing that 00:10:18.970 --> 00:10:22.409 came to me in Tennessee. Down there, you have 00:10:22.409 --> 00:10:23.809 to play with your teeth or else you get shot. 00:10:24.379 --> 00:10:26.980 This may be a bit of an exaggeration. Probably 00:10:26.980 --> 00:10:29.659 some hyperbole, yeah. But it really reflects 00:10:29.659 --> 00:10:32.120 that fierce pressure to entertain. And for the 00:10:32.120 --> 00:10:34.519 next couple of years, he's just constantly gigging. 00:10:34.519 --> 00:10:37.179 Not as a star, but as a supporting musician for 00:10:37.179 --> 00:10:40.100 some of the biggest names in R &B and soul. The 00:10:40.100 --> 00:10:43.000 list is just phenomenal. And it shows you the 00:10:43.000 --> 00:10:45.919 kind of rhythmic complexity he had to internalize. 00:10:46.000 --> 00:10:49.080 He played with Wilson Pickett, Sam Cooke, Ike, 00:10:49.080 --> 00:10:51.629 and Tina Turner. Jackie Wilson. So he's soaking 00:10:51.629 --> 00:10:55.590 up all this R &B groove. Exactly. This deep immersion 00:10:55.590 --> 00:10:58.769 in tight, structured playing, it created a foundation 00:10:58.769 --> 00:11:01.830 that would later contrast so dramatically with 00:11:01.830 --> 00:11:04.509 his, you know, soaring, chaotic, psychedelic 00:11:04.509 --> 00:11:06.470 lead work. His highest profile job from that 00:11:06.470 --> 00:11:08.450 time was with Little Richard's touring band, 00:11:08.669 --> 00:11:12.129 The Upsetters. Yes, that started in 1964. And 00:11:12.129 --> 00:11:14.490 while he made some early recordings, like Testify 00:11:14.490 --> 00:11:16.970 with the Idly Brothers, his time with the very 00:11:16.970 --> 00:11:19.500 flamboyant Little Richard was... Short -lived. 00:11:19.620 --> 00:11:22.620 They clashed. Constantly. Over two things, mainly. 00:11:23.100 --> 00:11:26.460 His chronic tardiness and his increasingly showy 00:11:26.460 --> 00:11:29.019 stage antics and wardrobe. Little Richard demanded 00:11:29.019 --> 00:11:30.960 that his sidemen fade into the background. And 00:11:30.960 --> 00:11:33.100 Hendrix just couldn't do that. He couldn't. Or 00:11:33.100 --> 00:11:35.360 he wouldn't. He was already too much of a star, 00:11:35.480 --> 00:11:37.000 even when he was supposed to be supporting one. 00:11:37.379 --> 00:11:40.639 So Richard's brother fired him in July 1965. 00:11:41.100 --> 00:11:44.000 Which marks the start of his solo journey, but 00:11:44.000 --> 00:11:47.100 also leads to the first serious career entanglement 00:11:47.100 --> 00:11:49.759 that would come back to haunt him. The infamous 00:11:49.759 --> 00:11:53.220 Ed Chalpin contract. Right. So by October 1965, 00:11:53.759 --> 00:11:56.799 he's in New York. Just trying to make ends meet. 00:11:57.039 --> 00:11:59.139 And despite having already signed a deal with 00:11:59.139 --> 00:12:02.600 Sue Records, Hendrix signs this legally consequential 00:12:02.600 --> 00:12:05.480 three -year recording contract with an entrepreneur 00:12:05.480 --> 00:12:08.639 named Ed Chalpin. For how much? For a $1 advance. 00:12:08.840 --> 00:12:11.080 $1. And even though the relationship was short, 00:12:11.259 --> 00:12:14.460 that contract remained legally binding. And this 00:12:14.460 --> 00:12:16.940 mistake led to massive legal problems down the 00:12:16.940 --> 00:12:19.539 road, forcing him to produce an album for Chalpin 00:12:19.539 --> 00:12:22.139 years later. Which would become the Band of Gypsies 00:12:22.139 --> 00:12:25.340 album. Exactly. It's just amazing how a $1 mistake 00:12:25.340 --> 00:12:27.659 he made during the Sideman grind affects one 00:12:27.659 --> 00:12:29.500 of his biggest, most critically analyzed career 00:12:29.500 --> 00:12:31.720 moments. It really puts his financial and legal 00:12:31.720 --> 00:12:36.220 situation into sharp focus. So by 1966, he realizes 00:12:36.220 --> 00:12:38.659 he needs to get out of the restrictive R &B circuit. 00:12:38.940 --> 00:12:41.320 He needs a more creative, experimental environment. 00:12:41.519 --> 00:12:44.519 He moves to Greenwich Village, forms a band called 00:12:44.519 --> 00:12:46.879 Jimmy James and the Blue Flames. Which included 00:12:46.879 --> 00:12:50.000 Randy Wolf, who he famously nicknamed Randy California. 00:12:50.360 --> 00:12:52.429 That's the one. And this is where the crucial 00:12:52.429 --> 00:12:55.169 pivot to London happens. And it's orchestrated 00:12:55.169 --> 00:12:57.769 by a very surprising figure. A figure from the 00:12:57.769 --> 00:13:00.669 British rock aristocracy, no less. Linda Keith, 00:13:00.990 --> 00:13:03.649 who was then the girlfriend of Keith Richards, 00:13:03.830 --> 00:13:06.789 she spotted Hendrix at the Cheetah Club and was 00:13:06.789 --> 00:13:10.929 just mesmerized by his playing. The volume, the 00:13:10.929 --> 00:13:13.450 energy, the technique. So she knew he had to 00:13:13.450 --> 00:13:16.409 be seen in the UK. She insisted on it. She specifically 00:13:16.409 --> 00:13:19.419 contacted Chaz Chandler. the bassist for the 00:13:19.419 --> 00:13:21.299 Animals, who was looking to move into management. 00:13:21.539 --> 00:13:23.539 And Chandler came to see him play at Cafe Wa. 00:13:23.720 --> 00:13:25.600 And it was a done deal. Chandler was instantly 00:13:25.600 --> 00:13:27.759 impressed, especially with Hendrix's cover of 00:13:27.759 --> 00:13:30.500 Hey Joe. He convinced him that his artistic future 00:13:30.500 --> 00:13:33.299 was in London, where the scene was just exploding 00:13:33.299 --> 00:13:35.679 with psychedelia and volume. So Hendrix agreed, 00:13:35.960 --> 00:13:39.019 and they flew to London in September 66. And 00:13:39.019 --> 00:13:41.620 upon arriving, Chandler makes one other small 00:13:41.620 --> 00:13:44.759 but crucial change. He changes the spelling of 00:13:44.759 --> 00:13:48.120 his first name from Jimmy to S. Jimmy. And that 00:13:48.120 --> 00:13:50.879 becomes the indelible brand. And the Jimi Hendrix 00:13:50.879 --> 00:13:52.899 experience was formed very quickly after that. 00:13:53.000 --> 00:13:55.179 With Noel Redding on bass and Mitch Mitchell 00:13:55.179 --> 00:13:57.519 on drums. Right. Chandler brought in Redding, 00:13:57.539 --> 00:13:59.980 supposedly partly because Hendrix liked his mod 00:13:59.980 --> 00:14:02.419 hairstyle, which is a great detail. It is. And 00:14:02.419 --> 00:14:06.419 Mitch Mitchell on drums, who had this jazz background 00:14:06.419 --> 00:14:09.779 that gave the trio a frantic improvisational 00:14:09.779 --> 00:14:12.059 flexibility that was just essential for Hendrix's 00:14:12.059 --> 00:14:15.159 style. And the UK's rock elite took notice immediately. 00:14:15.399 --> 00:14:17.899 The moment he met Eric Clapton is just legendary. 00:14:18.220 --> 00:14:20.360 It's symbolic of a torch being passed, isn't 00:14:20.360 --> 00:14:22.779 it? It happened just weeks after Hendrix arrived 00:14:22.779 --> 00:14:25.799 at the London Polytechnic. Cream was playing 00:14:25.799 --> 00:14:27.919 and Hendrix asked to sit in. And what did he 00:14:27.919 --> 00:14:31.000 play? He unleashed this searing, frantic version 00:14:31.000 --> 00:14:33.980 of Howlin' Wolf's Killing Floor. And Clapton, 00:14:34.080 --> 00:14:36.700 who was known as God in London at the time. The 00:14:36.700 --> 00:14:39.179 preeminent British guitarist? He literally just 00:14:39.179 --> 00:14:41.120 stood in the wings and watched his entire world 00:14:41.120 --> 00:14:43.580 change. Do we know if that was just a symbolic 00:14:43.580 --> 00:14:46.399 moment or did Clapton actually react to it? I 00:14:46.399 --> 00:14:48.419 mean, did he change his playing style or his 00:14:48.419 --> 00:14:51.700 gear? Oh, it had a profound and practical impact. 00:14:52.519 --> 00:14:54.759 Clapton later admitted he was daintily intimidated. 00:14:54.940 --> 00:14:58.179 He realized that the restrained blues virtuosity 00:14:58.179 --> 00:15:01.419 he was known for was suddenly just not enough 00:15:01.419 --> 00:15:04.500 compared to Hendrix's sheer sound manipulation 00:15:04.500 --> 00:15:06.899 and volume. He summed it up perfectly. He did. 00:15:06.980 --> 00:15:09.100 He said he walked off and my life was never the 00:15:09.100 --> 00:15:11.779 same again. And it immediately spurred Clapton 00:15:11.779 --> 00:15:15.039 towards greater experimentation. So the UK embraces 00:15:15.039 --> 00:15:17.679 them instantly. They get three top ten hits right 00:15:17.679 --> 00:15:20.100 off the bat. Hey Joe, Purple Haze, The Wind Cries 00:15:20.100 --> 00:15:23.220 Mary. But they needed a visual hook to match 00:15:23.220 --> 00:15:25.700 that incredible sound. They absolutely did. They 00:15:25.700 --> 00:15:28.259 needed to top the stage theatrics of bands like 00:15:28.259 --> 00:15:30.980 The Who, who were famous for smashing their instruments. 00:15:31.259 --> 00:15:33.639 So Chandler and Hendrix are brainstorming how 00:15:33.639 --> 00:15:36.019 to get massive media exposure. And a journalist 00:15:36.019 --> 00:15:38.000 jokes that it's a pity Hendrix can't set his 00:15:38.000 --> 00:15:41.379 guitar on fire. And a legend is born from a bit 00:15:41.379 --> 00:15:45.940 of PR calculation. Yes. On March 31st, 1967, 00:15:46.279 --> 00:15:48.980 at the London Astoria, Hendrix delivers this 00:15:48.980 --> 00:15:52.080 explosive set, douses his Stratocaster in lighter 00:15:52.080 --> 00:15:54.940 fluid, and sets it ablaze. Earning him press 00:15:54.940 --> 00:15:57.860 labels like Black Elvis and the Wild Man of Borneo. 00:15:57.980 --> 00:16:01.279 And Chandler, always the shrewd manager, decides 00:16:01.279 --> 00:16:03.539 right then and there that the flammable guitar 00:16:03.539 --> 00:16:05.980 stunt has to become a prominent part of the show. 00:16:06.440 --> 00:16:09.559 It transformed him from a talented musician into 00:16:09.559 --> 00:16:12.419 a dangerous, must -see rock archetype. And that 00:16:12.419 --> 00:16:14.980 spectacle really ushers in part three, the creative 00:16:14.980 --> 00:16:18.259 peak. It's encapsulated in three monumental studio 00:16:18.259 --> 00:16:21.240 albums, all released within this whirlwind 18 00:16:21.240 --> 00:16:23.360 -month period. This is where the technical revolution 00:16:23.360 --> 00:16:25.659 really moves from the stage to the recording 00:16:25.659 --> 00:16:27.700 tape. The foundation is Are You Experienced, 00:16:27.740 --> 00:16:30.799 released in the UK in May of 67. And the context 00:16:30.799 --> 00:16:32.759 here is crucial. They were recording on basic 00:16:32.759 --> 00:16:35.100 four -track technology. Which meant severe limitations 00:16:35.100 --> 00:16:37.120 compared to the studios that would come later. 00:16:37.299 --> 00:16:40.080 And yet the album showcases this massive range 00:16:40.080 --> 00:16:43.419 from straight 12 -bar blues like Red House. Which 00:16:43.419 --> 00:16:45.460 is his only original 12 -bar blues composition. 00:16:45.580 --> 00:16:47.899 Right. All the way to radical sonic experimentation. 00:16:48.570 --> 00:16:51.190 And those four -track limitations forced them 00:16:51.190 --> 00:16:54.330 to get incredibly creative with mixing and overdubbing 00:16:54.330 --> 00:16:57.590 to get those complex textures. Precisely. The 00:16:57.590 --> 00:17:00.669 title track... Are You Experienced? is a prime 00:17:00.669 --> 00:17:03.090 example of pushing that tech to its absolute 00:17:03.090 --> 00:17:05.650 breaking point. It's filled with backward guitar, 00:17:05.910 --> 00:17:08.630 backward drums, vocal snippets. And they achieved 00:17:08.630 --> 00:17:10.789 that just by flipping the tape reels around. 00:17:10.910 --> 00:17:12.609 Literally just flipping the tape and recording 00:17:12.609 --> 00:17:15.630 backwards. It was incredibly complex to synchronize 00:17:15.630 --> 00:17:17.809 on four tracks, but that's how they got that 00:17:17.809 --> 00:17:20.730 distinctly psychedelic, almost melting sound. 00:17:21.160 --> 00:17:24.579 The album was a huge commercial success. It peaked 00:17:24.579 --> 00:17:26.859 at number two on the UK charts, and it was only 00:17:26.859 --> 00:17:29.240 kept from the number one spot by what is arguably 00:17:29.240 --> 00:17:32.279 the biggest album in music history. Street Pepper's 00:17:32.279 --> 00:17:34.799 Lonely Hearts Club Band. It's a classic rock 00:17:34.799 --> 00:17:36.920 history fact. But the admiration between the 00:17:36.920 --> 00:17:39.480 artists was mutual and immediate. Just three 00:17:39.480 --> 00:17:42.099 days after Street Pepper was released, Hendrix 00:17:42.099 --> 00:17:44.640 opened a London show with a cover of the title 00:17:44.640 --> 00:17:47.059 track. And Paul McCartney was there. He was in 00:17:47.059 --> 00:17:49.589 the audience. He later called that performance 00:17:49.589 --> 00:17:52.589 one of the great honors of my career, noting 00:17:52.589 --> 00:17:55.309 how unbelievably quickly Hendrix had learned 00:17:55.309 --> 00:17:57.509 and reinterpreted their complicated new work. 00:17:57.690 --> 00:18:00.710 But despite all that UK success, the real U .S. 00:18:00.750 --> 00:18:02.609 breakthrough didn't come until a month later 00:18:02.609 --> 00:18:06.109 at the Monterey Pop Festival. This was the absolute 00:18:06.109 --> 00:18:09.670 turning point. Their first U .S. single, Angel, 00:18:09.990 --> 00:18:13.170 had completely failed to chart. They were essentially 00:18:13.170 --> 00:18:15.630 unknown in America. So how did they get the gig? 00:18:16.079 --> 00:18:18.740 It took Paul McCartney personally lobbying the 00:18:18.740 --> 00:18:21.339 organizers. He insisted the festival was incomplete 00:18:21.339 --> 00:18:23.980 without Hendrix, calling him an absolute ace 00:18:23.980 --> 00:18:26.200 on the guitar. And he delivered one of the most 00:18:26.200 --> 00:18:28.920 career -defining performances in rock history. 00:18:29.200 --> 00:18:32.200 He closed the show in June of 67. The performance 00:18:32.200 --> 00:18:34.680 culminated in him kneeling before a Stratocaster, 00:18:34.799 --> 00:18:37.400 dousing it in lighter fluid, kissing it goodbye, 00:18:37.559 --> 00:18:40.299 and then setting it on fire as a sacrifice. A 00:18:40.299 --> 00:18:41.460 sacrifice. That's what he called it. He said, 00:18:41.539 --> 00:18:43.819 you sacrifice things you love. I love my guitar. 00:18:44.099 --> 00:18:46.839 And the photograph from that moment, captured 00:18:46.839 --> 00:18:49.500 by a 17 -year -old Ed Karev, it became iconic. 00:18:50.109 --> 00:18:52.490 It cemented his image and instantly transformed 00:18:52.490 --> 00:18:55.849 him from an unknown into the rock archetype of 00:18:55.849 --> 00:18:58.690 the psychedelic voodoo child. Monterey made him 00:18:58.690 --> 00:19:01.670 a global legend overnight, although the follow 00:19:01.670 --> 00:19:04.009 -up gig was maybe the strangest pairing in rock 00:19:04.009 --> 00:19:06.369 history. Opening for the Monkees' U .S. tour. 00:19:06.549 --> 00:19:08.549 Which was quickly abandoned because their young 00:19:08.549 --> 00:19:11.630 audience. Well, they didn't appreciate the band. 00:19:11.849 --> 00:19:13.990 That commercial misfire seems to have only pushed 00:19:13.990 --> 00:19:16.410 him further into radical sonic experimentation, 00:19:16.930 --> 00:19:19.529 which is immediately audible on his next album, 00:19:19.730 --> 00:19:23.269 Axis, Bold as Love. Exactly. Axis came out later 00:19:23.269 --> 00:19:25.150 that year and is full of technical innovations. 00:19:25.529 --> 00:19:29.049 The album opener, EXP, uses microphonic and harmonic 00:19:29.049 --> 00:19:31.650 feedback in this incredibly creative way. And 00:19:31.650 --> 00:19:33.710 it has that early stereo panning effect where 00:19:33.710 --> 00:19:35.890 the guitar sounds like it's orbiting your head. 00:19:36.049 --> 00:19:38.269 But the truly significant subtle detail for me 00:19:38.269 --> 00:19:40.740 is on the title track. Bold as Love. You're talking 00:19:40.740 --> 00:19:43.839 about the phasing effect. Yes. The coda of Bold 00:19:43.839 --> 00:19:46.160 as Love contains the very first recording of 00:19:46.160 --> 00:19:48.619 stereo phasing effects in rock music. This is 00:19:48.619 --> 00:19:51.140 a massive, quiet leap forward. For listeners 00:19:51.140 --> 00:19:53.259 who aren't audio engineers, can you just briefly 00:19:53.259 --> 00:19:56.079 explain what phasing is and why that achievement 00:19:56.079 --> 00:19:59.920 matters so much? Sure. Phasing, or sometimes 00:19:59.920 --> 00:20:03.960 flanging, is an effect you create by duplicating 00:20:03.960 --> 00:20:06.339 an audio signal. in this case the guitar, and 00:20:06.339 --> 00:20:08.819 then slightly delaying one copy. Okay. When you 00:20:08.819 --> 00:20:11.599 merge those two signals back together, the slight 00:20:11.599 --> 00:20:13.940 timing differences cause certain frequencies 00:20:13.940 --> 00:20:17.119 to cancel out while others are boosted, creating 00:20:17.119 --> 00:20:20.400 that distinct sweeping whoosh sound. Like a jet 00:20:20.400 --> 00:20:22.859 plane taking off. That's the classic description. 00:20:23.099 --> 00:20:25.279 Yeah. It fundamentally changes the texture of 00:20:25.279 --> 00:20:28.059 the recording. It makes the guitar feel... less 00:20:28.059 --> 00:20:30.299 like a traditional instrument and more like a 00:20:30.299 --> 00:20:32.599 fluid electronic soundscape. It turns the whole 00:20:32.599 --> 00:20:35.220 composition into this immersive three -dimensional 00:20:35.220 --> 00:20:37.819 audio experience. Perfect for the psychedelic 00:20:37.819 --> 00:20:40.799 era. And this album is also infamous for showing 00:20:40.799 --> 00:20:42.660 the sheer chaos that was already surrounding 00:20:42.660 --> 00:20:45.109 Hendrix. I'm talking about the lost tape crisis. 00:20:45.390 --> 00:20:47.589 The story that just shows the fragility of his 00:20:47.589 --> 00:20:49.829 whole creative process. The album was almost 00:20:49.829 --> 00:20:52.490 delayed because Hendrix lost the master tape 00:20:52.490 --> 00:20:55.109 of Side One in the back of a London taxi. He 00:20:55.109 --> 00:20:57.930 just left it in the cab. Just left it. So he, 00:20:58.150 --> 00:21:00.569 Chess Chandler, and the engineer Eddie Kramer 00:21:00.569 --> 00:21:03.650 had to pull an all -nighter, remixing the entire 00:21:03.650 --> 00:21:06.529 side from safety copies. The pressure was immense, 00:21:06.789 --> 00:21:08.990 and the relationship between Hendrix and Chandler 00:21:08.990 --> 00:21:11.450 was already starting to fray. And the detail 00:21:11.450 --> 00:21:14.210 about the song If Six Was Nine is just pure rock 00:21:14.210 --> 00:21:17.190 and roll absurdity. It is. The only usable safety 00:21:17.190 --> 00:21:20.029 copy they had was so badly wrinkled that it wouldn't 00:21:20.029 --> 00:21:21.670 run through the tape machine properly. What did 00:21:21.670 --> 00:21:24.450 they do? They had to literally iron the tape 00:21:24.450 --> 00:21:27.150 flat before they could use it in the final mix. 00:21:27.329 --> 00:21:31.289 Wow. That frantic high wire act of creation just 00:21:31.289 --> 00:21:33.769 perfectly summarizes his working life. And speaking 00:21:33.769 --> 00:21:36.650 of chaos, the album cover also caused some controversy. 00:21:36.970 --> 00:21:39.809 It did. The psychedelic cover depicted the band 00:21:39.809 --> 00:21:42.329 as avatars of Vishnu and other Hindu deities. 00:21:42.650 --> 00:21:45.430 Hendrix was deeply disappointed. He felt it was 00:21:45.430 --> 00:21:48.009 inappropriate. Why? He noted that he had Cherokee 00:21:48.009 --> 00:21:50.250 ancestry and that the cover should have highlighted 00:21:50.250 --> 00:21:53.230 his American Indian heritage instead. He said 00:21:53.230 --> 00:21:55.529 quite clearly, you got it wrong. I'm not that 00:21:55.529 --> 00:21:58.009 kind of Indian. It reflects a yearning for identity 00:21:58.009 --> 00:22:00.069 that was often overlooked by the press, who were 00:22:00.069 --> 00:22:02.890 just focused on the psychedelic spectacle. Exactly. 00:22:03.089 --> 00:22:05.930 And finally, that brings us to the third studio 00:22:05.930 --> 00:22:09.849 album, the chaotic masterpiece from 1968, the 00:22:09.849 --> 00:22:13.490 double LP Electric Ladyland. This was the culmination 00:22:13.490 --> 00:22:15.650 of his early career. It was the only experience 00:22:15.650 --> 00:22:18.450 album mixed entirely in stereo and critically, 00:22:18.670 --> 00:22:20.990 the only one he produced and directed himself. 00:22:21.250 --> 00:22:24.349 But that newfound autonomy created massive friction. 00:22:24.650 --> 00:22:27.309 This is where his perfectionism and his unique 00:22:27.309 --> 00:22:30.529 working style really drove his key collaborators 00:22:30.529 --> 00:22:33.869 away. How so? Hendrix's method involved demanding 00:22:33.869 --> 00:22:37.049 repeated takes, sometimes dozens of them, and 00:22:37.049 --> 00:22:39.349 often inviting a constant stream of guests and 00:22:39.349 --> 00:22:42.130 hangers -on into the studio. So it wasn't a professional 00:22:42.130 --> 00:22:44.430 environment. Noel Redding famously called the 00:22:44.430 --> 00:22:47.309 sessions a party, not a session, saying the distractions 00:22:47.309 --> 00:22:50.069 made productive work almost impossible. This 00:22:50.069 --> 00:22:52.150 led Chaz Chandler, who couldn't handle the lack 00:22:52.150 --> 00:22:54.730 of discipline and the spiraling budgets, to quit 00:22:54.730 --> 00:22:56.970 as his producer and manager. And Redding's input 00:22:56.970 --> 00:22:59.509 was diminished during this time as well. Greatly. 00:22:59.529 --> 00:23:02.190 He found it so frustrating he would sometimes 00:23:02.190 --> 00:23:05.549 just leave the studio. And as a result, Hendrix, 00:23:05.690 --> 00:23:07.890 the perfectionist, ended up playing many of the 00:23:07.890 --> 00:23:11.789 bass parts himself. Like on 1983. A merman I 00:23:11.789 --> 00:23:14.690 should turn to be. That's a key example. But 00:23:14.690 --> 00:23:16.890 despite all that internal friction, this became 00:23:16.890 --> 00:23:19.650 his commercial climax. It was his most successful 00:23:19.650 --> 00:23:22.829 release and his only U .S. number one album. 00:23:23.009 --> 00:23:26.049 And it's a vast, diverse work. It has the incredible 00:23:26.049 --> 00:23:29.769 15 -minute slow blues jam Voodoo Chili. which 00:23:29.769 --> 00:23:32.069 features Jack Cassidy from Jefferson Airplane 00:23:32.069 --> 00:23:34.970 on Bass and Steve Wynwood from Traffic on Oregon. 00:23:35.109 --> 00:23:37.170 Captured during a spontaneous late night session. 00:23:37.410 --> 00:23:39.670 And then, of course, there's the definitive seismic 00:23:39.670 --> 00:23:42.250 cover of Bob Dylan's All Along the Watchtower. 00:23:42.329 --> 00:23:44.430 Which became his highest selling single and his 00:23:44.430 --> 00:23:47.450 only US Top 40 hit. He took Dylan's somber acoustic 00:23:47.450 --> 00:23:50.910 story and transformed it into this vast panoramic 00:23:50.910 --> 00:23:53.809 sonic movie. And Dylan himself was deeply impressed. 00:23:53.890 --> 00:23:56.309 He later said, he found things in it that I didn't 00:23:56.309 --> 00:23:58.789 know were there. The album also introduced another 00:23:58.789 --> 00:24:01.009 element that would become totally synonymous 00:24:01.009 --> 00:24:03.269 with the Hendrix sound. Burning of the Midnight 00:24:03.269 --> 00:24:06.309 Lamp is significant because it's his first recorded 00:24:06.309 --> 00:24:09.490 use of a wah -wah pedal. Right. He'd been fascinated 00:24:09.490 --> 00:24:12.269 after seeing Frank Zappa use one. And by the 00:24:12.269 --> 00:24:14.789 time of Electric Ladyland, he had mastered it, 00:24:14.869 --> 00:24:17.269 instantly creating one of the best -known wah 00:24:17.269 --> 00:24:20.230 -wah riffs in rock history with Voodoo Child. 00:24:20.839 --> 00:24:23.799 Slight return. The album really proved he could 00:24:23.799 --> 00:24:26.319 blend his blues roots with his psychedelic vision 00:24:26.319 --> 00:24:29.599 perfectly. It was the fullest realization of 00:24:29.599 --> 00:24:31.920 his ambition, as critics said at the time. So 00:24:31.920 --> 00:24:34.079 if those three albums represent his incredible 00:24:34.079 --> 00:24:37.440 creative peak, part four traces what came next. 00:24:37.700 --> 00:24:40.599 Professional transition, personal unraveling, 00:24:40.599 --> 00:24:44.039 and the eventual tragic end. That initial dynamic 00:24:44.039 --> 00:24:47.200 trio just could not sustain the chaos. The original 00:24:47.200 --> 00:24:49.359 experience lineup officially ended in June of 00:24:49.359 --> 00:24:52.480 1969, right after the Denver Pop Festival. Noel 00:24:52.480 --> 00:24:54.759 Redding quit the very next day. His frustration 00:24:54.759 --> 00:24:56.880 had just been mounting for months over Hendrix's 00:24:56.880 --> 00:24:59.660 chaotic work ethic, the lack of discipline, and 00:24:59.660 --> 00:25:01.279 the fact that Hendrix kept expanding the group 00:25:01.279 --> 00:25:03.450 without Redding's input. So with the end of the 00:25:03.450 --> 00:25:05.390 experience, we see the return of an old friend, 00:25:05.589 --> 00:25:09.309 Billy Cox. Yes, Billy Cox, who'd been so impressed 00:25:09.309 --> 00:25:11.630 with his John Lee Hooker meets Beethoven technique 00:25:11.630 --> 00:25:15.089 back in the Army days, he rejoined on bass. They 00:25:15.089 --> 00:25:17.950 formed a temporary band called Gypsy Sun and 00:25:17.950 --> 00:25:20.109 Rainbows. And they only rehearsed for less than 00:25:20.109 --> 00:25:22.009 two weeks before their first performance. But 00:25:22.009 --> 00:25:24.549 what a stage it was. They headlined the Woodstock 00:25:24.549 --> 00:25:28.210 Music and Art Fair in August 1969. And by this 00:25:28.210 --> 00:25:30.279 point... Hendrix was the world's highest paid 00:25:30.279 --> 00:25:34.140 rock musician. He got a staggering $32 ,000 fee 00:25:34.140 --> 00:25:36.559 for that appearance. But despite the massive 00:25:36.559 --> 00:25:39.299 paycheck and the headlining slot, the scheduling 00:25:39.299 --> 00:25:42.079 was a total mess. It was. They ended up performing 00:25:42.079 --> 00:25:44.599 in the early morning hours of Monday to a severely 00:25:44.599 --> 00:25:47.200 diminished audience. The crowd had dropped from 00:25:47.200 --> 00:25:50.680 maybe 400 ,000 down to around 30 ,000. And Hendrix 00:25:50.680 --> 00:25:53.559 himself was completely exhausted. Reportedly, 00:25:53.559 --> 00:25:56.140 he'd been awake for over three days. And yet, 00:25:56.200 --> 00:25:58.349 that performance gave us the single most iconic 00:25:58.349 --> 00:26:00.670 moment of the festival. And maybe the defining 00:26:00.670 --> 00:26:04.549 sound of the entire late 60s zeitgeist. His instrumental 00:26:04.549 --> 00:26:07.009 rendition of the Star Spangled Banner. It was 00:26:07.009 --> 00:26:09.529 a technical tour de force. He used just copious 00:26:09.529 --> 00:26:12.589 feedback, extreme distortion sustained. To sonically 00:26:12.589 --> 00:26:14.950 imitate the sounds of rockets and bombs exploding 00:26:14.950 --> 00:26:17.690 over a war zone. And it was immediately interpreted 00:26:17.690 --> 00:26:21.349 by everyone as this powerful anti -war statement 00:26:21.349 --> 00:26:23.490 against Vietnam. But it's fascinating that he 00:26:23.490 --> 00:26:25.809 later denied that specific political intention. 00:26:26.619 --> 00:26:29.579 Framing it as go America. Given the impact of 00:26:29.579 --> 00:26:32.039 that performance, do historians generally accept 00:26:32.039 --> 00:26:34.859 his denial? It is highly debated. About three 00:26:34.859 --> 00:26:36.819 weeks after the festival, he addressed it directly. 00:26:37.039 --> 00:26:40.480 He said, we're all Americans. He was like, go 00:26:40.480 --> 00:26:43.220 America. We play it the way the air is in America 00:26:43.220 --> 00:26:46.220 today. The air is slightly static. Slightly static. 00:26:46.380 --> 00:26:48.759 Most historians see that explanation as an attempt 00:26:48.759 --> 00:26:50.920 to dampen the inevitable political scrutiny that 00:26:50.920 --> 00:26:53.660 followed such a loaded performance. But regardless 00:26:53.660 --> 00:26:57.210 of his intent. The sound he created using extreme 00:26:57.210 --> 00:27:00.609 technical manipulation to mimic warfare is undeniable. 00:27:00.750 --> 00:27:02.789 Guitar World later named it the greatest performance 00:27:02.789 --> 00:27:04.990 of all time. Based purely on its revolutionary 00:27:04.990 --> 00:27:07.890 sound. So after Woodstock, Hendrix still had 00:27:07.890 --> 00:27:11.009 that lingering 1965 contract with Ed Chalpin 00:27:11.009 --> 00:27:13.230 to deal with. Which is exactly where the Band 00:27:13.230 --> 00:27:15.869 of Gypsies project came from. To settle that 00:27:15.869 --> 00:27:17.990 legal dispute and fulfill his contractual obligation 00:27:17.990 --> 00:27:20.630 for a new album, he quickly formed an all -black 00:27:20.630 --> 00:27:23.029 power trio with Billy Cox and Buddy Miles on 00:27:23.029 --> 00:27:25.609 drums. And this band represented a huge musical 00:27:25.609 --> 00:27:28.250 shift, moving away from psychedelic blues rock 00:27:28.250 --> 00:27:31.329 towards a blend of funk, soul, and pioneering 00:27:31.329 --> 00:27:34.289 jazz rock fusion. It's a vital, though very short, 00:27:34.329 --> 00:27:37.130 chapter. The album they made was the only official 00:27:37.130 --> 00:27:40.049 live LP released during his lifetime, and it 00:27:40.049 --> 00:27:41.970 contains what many critics call the absolute 00:27:41.970 --> 00:27:44.619 pinnacle of his entire career. The track, Machine 00:27:44.619 --> 00:27:47.700 Gun? The 12 -minute track, Machine Gun. Musicologist 00:27:47.700 --> 00:27:50.539 Andy Allidore called it the premier example of 00:27:50.539 --> 00:27:53.220 his unparalleled genius. So what makes Machine 00:27:53.220 --> 00:27:56.079 Gun so technically paramount that it earns a 00:27:56.079 --> 00:27:58.740 description like that? In that one track, Hendrix 00:27:58.740 --> 00:28:00.980 achieves complete mastery over his equipment. 00:28:01.200 --> 00:28:03.460 During the instrumental breaks, he uses high 00:28:03.460 --> 00:28:06.579 gain, massive overdrive, and effects like the 00:28:06.579 --> 00:28:08.680 uni -vibe. Which simulates a rotating speaker. 00:28:09.000 --> 00:28:12.269 Exactly. And he uses it all to create this aural 00:28:12.269 --> 00:28:15.569 landscape of war. He's consciously using the 00:28:15.569 --> 00:28:18.230 guitar to create sounds that precisely represent 00:28:18.230 --> 00:28:21.890 warfare. Rockets descending, bombs detonating, 00:28:21.950 --> 00:28:24.190 machine guns rattling. He wasn't just playing 00:28:24.190 --> 00:28:27.569 music. He was using the guitar as a sonic effects 00:28:27.569 --> 00:28:30.130 generator to paint images of conflict. You've 00:28:30.130 --> 00:28:32.650 got it. Unfortunately, the band of gypsies was 00:28:32.650 --> 00:28:35.480 incredibly short -lived. It ended abruptly at 00:28:35.480 --> 00:28:38.039 their third and final public performance in January 00:28:38.039 --> 00:28:41.359 1970. It was a disaster. Hendrix was reportedly 00:28:41.359 --> 00:28:44.420 disoriented, struggled through a few songs, snapped 00:28:44.420 --> 00:28:47.220 at a fan who requested Foxy Lady, and then just 00:28:47.220 --> 00:28:49.619 walked off stage. And both Buddy Miles and Noel 00:28:49.619 --> 00:28:51.460 Redding later claimed that the manager, Michael 00:28:51.460 --> 00:28:54.519 Jeffrey, had given Hendrix LSD to sabotage the 00:28:54.519 --> 00:28:56.720 band because he wanted a more profitable experience 00:28:56.720 --> 00:28:59.099 reunion. Jeffrey fired Miles soon after that. 00:28:59.220 --> 00:29:02.099 He did, and Cox quit temporarily, citing paranoia. 00:29:02.299 --> 00:29:04.539 But despite all the chaos and personal struggles, 00:29:04.819 --> 00:29:06.740 Hendricks remained fiercely committed to his 00:29:06.740 --> 00:29:08.740 professional future. Which culminated in the 00:29:08.740 --> 00:29:11.359 construction of Electric Lady Studios. A massive 00:29:11.359 --> 00:29:13.400 financial commitment. About a million dollars 00:29:13.400 --> 00:29:16.619 in 1970. It was intended to serve two purposes. 00:29:17.440 --> 00:29:20.440 First... to house his boundless creativity, and 00:29:20.440 --> 00:29:23.180 second, to drastically reduce his enormous annual 00:29:23.180 --> 00:29:25.640 recording costs, which had swelled to around 00:29:25.640 --> 00:29:29.099 $300 ,000. And the design itself was specifically 00:29:29.099 --> 00:29:32.380 tailored to foster a creative, non -pressured 00:29:32.380 --> 00:29:35.200 mindset. Yeah, the architect John Storick designed 00:29:35.200 --> 00:29:38.480 it to be relaxing and psychedelic. He consciously 00:29:38.480 --> 00:29:41.480 avoided right angles, used round windows, ambient 00:29:41.480 --> 00:29:44.059 lighting. Hendrix wanted a sanctuary where the 00:29:44.059 --> 00:29:46.220 clock wasn't constantly ticking. The studio officially 00:29:46.220 --> 00:29:50.059 opened on August 25, 1970. A landmark professional 00:29:50.059 --> 00:29:52.880 milestone, which immediately preceded his final 00:29:52.880 --> 00:29:54.740 trip to Europe, from which he never returned. 00:29:55.130 --> 00:29:56.930 He left for London right after the grand opening 00:29:56.930 --> 00:29:59.390 party. He did. The subsequent Cry of Love tour 00:29:59.390 --> 00:30:01.349 was just fraught with problems, and he performed 00:30:01.349 --> 00:30:04.269 his final concert on September 6, 1970, at the 00:30:04.269 --> 00:30:06.890 Isle of Femarn Festival in West Germany, to booing 00:30:06.890 --> 00:30:09.630 and jeering from fans. And Billy Cox, suffering 00:30:09.630 --> 00:30:12.210 from severe paranoia, quit the tour soon after, 00:30:12.410 --> 00:30:14.769 leaving Hendrix isolated in London during his 00:30:14.769 --> 00:30:18.210 final days. He died on September 18, 1970, at 00:30:18.210 --> 00:30:21.910 age 27. The coroner concluded he died of asphyxia 00:30:21.910 --> 00:30:24.609 after aspirating his own vomit while intoxicated 00:30:24.609 --> 00:30:26.769 with barbiturates. And his girlfriend later admitted 00:30:26.769 --> 00:30:28.789 that Hendricks had taken nine of her Vesperex 00:30:28.789 --> 00:30:31.990 sleeping tablets. An enormous dose, 18 times 00:30:31.990 --> 00:30:34.690 the recommended maximum dosage, believing they 00:30:34.690 --> 00:30:37.829 were just a mild sedative. That detail just underscores 00:30:37.829 --> 00:30:40.750 the tragic, chaotic end to a life of such explosive 00:30:40.750 --> 00:30:44.009 intensity. His death cemented his place in the 00:30:44.009 --> 00:30:46.980 notorious 27 Club. But the body of revolutionary 00:30:46.980 --> 00:30:49.359 work he left behind in that impossibly short 00:30:49.359 --> 00:30:52.259 window is simply astounding. And that brings 00:30:52.259 --> 00:30:54.819 us to the final, most crucial part of our dive. 00:30:55.220 --> 00:30:57.579 The enduring technical blueprint he left for 00:30:57.579 --> 00:30:59.839 every guitarist who followed. Okay, so if he 00:30:59.839 --> 00:31:02.259 is the greatest instrumentalist, we need to understand 00:31:02.259 --> 00:31:04.200 the mechanics. How did he get that singular, 00:31:04.299 --> 00:31:06.660 aggressive, almost percussive snap and sustain? 00:31:07.619 --> 00:31:09.519 Let's start with the guitar he's most associated 00:31:09.519 --> 00:31:12.380 with. The Fender Stratocaster. The Strat was 00:31:12.380 --> 00:31:14.559 his primary weapon. And the fundamental source 00:31:14.559 --> 00:31:16.900 of his unique tone is actually an accidental 00:31:16.900 --> 00:31:19.039 technical modification. He was left -handed. 00:31:19.200 --> 00:31:21.500 He was left -handed, but he played right -handed 00:31:21.500 --> 00:31:24.599 models turned upside down and restrung. And this 00:31:24.599 --> 00:31:27.339 simple inversion created a unique and irreversible 00:31:27.339 --> 00:31:29.779 difference in the instrument's wiring and physics. 00:31:30.140 --> 00:31:33.740 So why is that reversal so crucial to the sound? 00:31:34.039 --> 00:31:36.880 It's all about the bridge pickup. On a Stratocaster, 00:31:37.019 --> 00:31:40.759 that pickup is slanted. Traditionally, the highest 00:31:40.759 --> 00:31:42.619 strings are closer to the bridge for a bright, 00:31:42.660 --> 00:31:45.200 thin tone, and the lowest strings are closer 00:31:45.200 --> 00:31:47.619 to the neck for a warmer, bassier tone. Right. 00:31:47.819 --> 00:31:49.839 When Hendrix flipped and restrung the guitar, 00:31:50.099 --> 00:31:52.700 that slant was reversed. Okay, so the lowest 00:31:52.700 --> 00:31:55.180 strings, the bass notes, were now closer to the 00:31:55.180 --> 00:31:57.980 bridge. Exactly, which made them brighter, more 00:31:57.980 --> 00:32:00.319 aggressive, and gave them a more percussive snap. 00:32:00.619 --> 00:32:03.420 And conversely, the highest strings, his melody 00:32:03.420 --> 00:32:06.450 notes, were now warmer and darker. That inversion 00:32:06.450 --> 00:32:08.970 fundamentally changed the balance of the instrument. 00:32:09.150 --> 00:32:11.789 It pushed the treble frequency into the low strings, 00:32:12.009 --> 00:32:13.990 which is crucial for understanding the aggressive 00:32:13.990 --> 00:32:16.910 rhythm tone we hear on tracks like Fire. Absolutely. 00:32:17.130 --> 00:32:19.109 It gave him an aggressive attack on the bass 00:32:19.109 --> 00:32:21.630 strings while providing this thick, throaty sustain 00:32:21.630 --> 00:32:24.809 on the higher strings, a key departure from traditional 00:32:24.809 --> 00:32:27.190 Strat tone. And beyond the guitar itself, his 00:32:27.190 --> 00:32:29.710 choice of amplification was absolutely critical. 00:32:30.029 --> 00:32:33.650 In the U .S., he used Fender Twin reverbs. But 00:32:33.650 --> 00:32:36.049 when he got to the UK, he quickly shifted to 00:32:36.049 --> 00:32:39.049 100 -watt Marshall Super Lead amplifiers. And 00:32:39.049 --> 00:32:41.069 he often used three of those enormous stacks 00:32:41.069 --> 00:32:43.490 at the same time, basically ushering in the age 00:32:43.490 --> 00:32:46.670 of arena volume. He did. And the shift to Marshall 00:32:46.670 --> 00:32:49.109 was crucial, because the British Marshall sound 00:32:49.109 --> 00:32:51.190 is inherently different from the U .S. Fender 00:32:51.190 --> 00:32:53.789 sound. How so? Fender amps are known for their 00:32:53.789 --> 00:32:56.630 clean headroom and chime. Marshalls are known 00:32:56.630 --> 00:32:58.569 for their mid -range focus and aggressive breakup. 00:32:59.460 --> 00:33:01.740 Hendrix needed that saturation the Marshalls 00:33:01.740 --> 00:33:04.380 provided to get the thick, harmonic -rich sustain 00:33:04.380 --> 00:33:08.299 he wanted on massive UK stages. And he was famous 00:33:08.299 --> 00:33:10.319 for the Hendrix setting. Which was turning all 00:33:10.319 --> 00:33:12.539 the control knobs to the maximum level. Volume, 00:33:12.660 --> 00:33:15.059 treble, mids, everything on 10. So the combination 00:33:15.059 --> 00:33:17.180 of the maxed -out Marshalls and the restrung 00:33:17.180 --> 00:33:19.619 inverted Strat produced the physical foundation 00:33:19.619 --> 00:33:22.279 of his sound. But the genius was how he treated 00:33:22.279 --> 00:33:24.839 the guitar, not just as wood and wire. But as 00:33:24.839 --> 00:33:27.839 a fully electronic sound source, he was instrumental 00:33:27.839 --> 00:33:30.240 in mainstreaming effects pedals that were brand 00:33:30.240 --> 00:33:33.059 new at the time, and he pioneered using them 00:33:33.059 --> 00:33:36.039 to turn previously undesirable sonic artifacts, 00:33:36.319 --> 00:33:39.299 like feedback and distortion, into an expressive 00:33:39.299 --> 00:33:42.039 personal vocabulary. And his collaboration with 00:33:42.039 --> 00:33:44.420 the electronics enthusiast Roger Mayer was key 00:33:44.420 --> 00:33:47.180 to this. He called Mayer the secret of his sound, 00:33:47.299 --> 00:33:50.140 and Mayer provided the first of the major custom 00:33:50.140 --> 00:33:53.269 effects we associate with him. The Octavia. Right. 00:33:53.450 --> 00:33:56.369 The Octavia is this custom -built effect that 00:33:56.369 --> 00:33:58.569 adds an octave doubling effect to the signal. 00:33:58.829 --> 00:34:01.289 He first recorded with it on the blistering guitar 00:34:01.289 --> 00:34:03.849 solo for Purple Haze. And then there was the 00:34:03.849 --> 00:34:07.089 ubiquitous fuzz face for distortion. And it's 00:34:07.089 --> 00:34:08.849 important to understand how he used the fuzz 00:34:08.849 --> 00:34:11.349 face differently than his contemporaries. Others 00:34:11.349 --> 00:34:14.230 used it as just a dirty boost, a way to slightly 00:34:14.230 --> 00:34:17.480 overdrive a clean signal. Hendrix, however, used 00:34:17.480 --> 00:34:19.739 it in conjunction with his maxed out 100 watt 00:34:19.739 --> 00:34:22.260 Marshall stacks. And this combination generated 00:34:22.260 --> 00:34:25.179 massive sustained distortion. Which allowed him 00:34:25.179 --> 00:34:27.320 to pull out those singing harmonics and that 00:34:27.320 --> 00:34:30.019 thick controlled feedback. Exactly. Making it 00:34:30.019 --> 00:34:33.039 sustain like a violin, rather than just producing 00:34:33.039 --> 00:34:36.179 uncontrolled squealing noise. And of course, 00:34:36.239 --> 00:34:39.219 the wah -wah pedal, which we first heard on Electric 00:34:39.219 --> 00:34:41.739 Ladyland. The wah -wah, which he used for that 00:34:41.739 --> 00:34:45.179 iconic... crying effect, especially on Voodoo 00:34:45.179 --> 00:34:48.079 Child. Slight return. And he also heavily used 00:34:48.079 --> 00:34:51.280 the UniVibe. Which isn't a vibrato, it's a Leslie 00:34:51.280 --> 00:34:53.500 Speaker simulator. A sophisticated one, yeah. 00:34:53.639 --> 00:34:56.820 It provides that deep, swirling, phase shift 00:34:56.820 --> 00:34:59.889 modulation. We hear that all over his Wistock 00:34:59.889 --> 00:35:02.590 performance, and it's crucial to the sonic warfare 00:35:02.590 --> 00:35:05.030 he creates on Machine Gun. So beyond the hardware, 00:35:05.190 --> 00:35:08.070 his actual playing technique was visually and 00:35:08.070 --> 00:35:10.170 technically unique. That ability to play rhythm 00:35:10.170 --> 00:35:13.030 and lead at the same time. This came partly from 00:35:13.030 --> 00:35:15.449 his years fronting a trio, where he had to fill 00:35:15.449 --> 00:35:18.030 a huge amount of sonic space. He developed the 00:35:18.030 --> 00:35:20.130 ability to play complex rhythm chords and lead 00:35:20.130 --> 00:35:22.610 lines together, creating the illusion of two 00:35:22.610 --> 00:35:25.070 or three guitarists. But the single most specific 00:35:25.070 --> 00:35:28.059 detail is his revolutionary hand position. The 00:35:28.059 --> 00:35:30.440 famous thumb technique. He just rejected standard 00:35:30.440 --> 00:35:32.340 fretting conventions entirely. How did it work? 00:35:32.500 --> 00:35:35.920 Instead of using bar chords, he frequently fretted 00:35:35.920 --> 00:35:39.099 the low sixth string root notes with his thumb 00:35:39.099 --> 00:35:41.360 wrapped over the top of the neck. A piano style. 00:35:41.659 --> 00:35:43.420 That's what it's been called. And it allowed 00:35:43.420 --> 00:35:46.000 him to sustain the root notes of chords while 00:35:46.000 --> 00:35:48.760 keeping his fingers free. to play melody, bend 00:35:48.760 --> 00:35:51.199 notes, or add vibrato on the higher strings. 00:35:51.519 --> 00:35:54.300 That is an incredibly technically demanding approach, 00:35:54.480 --> 00:35:57.139 and it's visually so recognizable. It's extremely 00:35:57.139 --> 00:35:59.340 difficult, especially on a Stratocaster neck. 00:35:59.519 --> 00:36:02.500 He leveraged his large hands to do it, and it 00:36:02.500 --> 00:36:05.340 allowed for this unparalleled harmonic fluidity 00:36:05.340 --> 00:36:08.139 between the rhythm and lead parts, making his 00:36:08.139 --> 00:36:11.139 playing sound impossibly rich. You hear it constantly 00:36:11.139 --> 00:36:13.539 on tracks like Little Wing. And what about his 00:36:13.539 --> 00:36:16.969 tuning? Did he stick to standard pitch? No. In 00:36:16.969 --> 00:36:18.969 the last three years of his life, he universally 00:36:18.969 --> 00:36:21.449 tuned his guitar down a half step to E flat. 00:36:21.630 --> 00:36:24.579 And why did he do that? Two key reasons. It made 00:36:24.579 --> 00:36:26.900 string bending easier by reducing the tension, 00:36:27.000 --> 00:36:29.480 and it dropped the overall pitch, which helped 00:36:29.480 --> 00:36:31.780 him accompany himself vocally as his speaking 00:36:31.780 --> 00:36:34.019 voice was naturally quite low. So if you look 00:36:34.019 --> 00:36:36.739 at his influences, it's a perfect melting pot 00:36:36.739 --> 00:36:40.539 of his background. Electric blues, R &B, even 00:36:40.539 --> 00:36:42.840 folk from Bob Dylan. And that influence just 00:36:42.840 --> 00:36:45.219 flowed outwards into almost every subsequent 00:36:45.219 --> 00:36:48.340 genre imaginable. Hard rock, heavy metal Black 00:36:48.340 --> 00:36:51.699 Sabbath, Judas Priest funk, grunge Kurt Cobain. 00:36:52.280 --> 00:36:55.099 Pearl Jam, even hip -hop. The ultimate validation 00:36:55.099 --> 00:36:57.280 probably came from the jazz world, though. Indeed. 00:36:57.639 --> 00:37:00.119 Miles Davis was deeply impressed by Hendrix. 00:37:00.260 --> 00:37:02.599 He compared his improvisational abilities to 00:37:02.599 --> 00:37:05.760 jazz giant John Coltrane. Davis was so taken 00:37:05.760 --> 00:37:07.539 that he tried repeatedly to collaborate with 00:37:07.539 --> 00:37:09.659 him and even asked his own guitarist to emulate 00:37:09.659 --> 00:37:12.280 Hendrix's style. But despite the posthumous deluge 00:37:12.280 --> 00:37:14.599 of recordings, the legal issues around his music 00:37:14.599 --> 00:37:17.039 continued for decades. Yeah, thanks to that early 00:37:17.039 --> 00:37:19.119 Ed Chalpin contract and other loose agreements. 00:37:19.480 --> 00:37:23.320 By 1967, scores of unauthorized, remixed, pre 00:37:23.320 --> 00:37:25.159 -experienced recordings were being marketed to 00:37:25.159 --> 00:37:27.909 the public. These unauthorized releases swelled 00:37:27.909 --> 00:37:29.650 to hundreds of albums, which Hendrix himself 00:37:29.650 --> 00:37:32.489 denounced as malicious and greatly inferior. 00:37:32.750 --> 00:37:34.829 But the family did eventually regain control. 00:37:35.110 --> 00:37:37.929 After a very long legal battle, his father, Al 00:37:37.929 --> 00:37:40.550 Hendrix, finally regained control of his son's 00:37:40.550 --> 00:37:44.269 song and image rights in 1995, forming Experience 00:37:44.269 --> 00:37:47.809 Hendrix LLC. And that allowed the estate to properly 00:37:47.809 --> 00:37:50.590 curate his legacy. Exactly. They could issue 00:37:50.590 --> 00:37:53.309 high -quality releases and shut down the endless 00:37:53.309 --> 00:37:56.539 stream of inferior, unauthorized material. And 00:37:56.539 --> 00:37:59.000 the recognition is definitive. Grammy Lifetime 00:37:59.000 --> 00:38:01.460 Achievement, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and 00:38:01.460 --> 00:38:04.119 Rolling Stone ranking him the number one greatest 00:38:04.119 --> 00:38:07.119 guitarist of all time. He may have only had four 00:38:07.119 --> 00:38:09.539 years in the spotlight, but he defined the electric 00:38:09.539 --> 00:38:11.920 guitar for the rest of the century. He essentially 00:38:11.920 --> 00:38:14.639 gave the instrument a new voice, a new purpose, 00:38:14.739 --> 00:38:17.400 and a new future in the span of just three studio 00:38:17.400 --> 00:38:20.579 albums and one definitive live recording. His 00:38:20.579 --> 00:38:22.960 career is just a remarkable juxtaposition of 00:38:22.960 --> 00:38:25.619 technical genius wrapped in a life of high chaos 00:38:25.619 --> 00:38:28.380 and profound brevity. It's an astounding output 00:38:28.380 --> 00:38:30.760 for such a short life. He taught us that the 00:38:30.760 --> 00:38:33.000 electric guitar wasn't just an instrument. It 00:38:33.000 --> 00:38:35.780 was a noise machine, an electronic canvas capable 00:38:35.780 --> 00:38:38.219 of painting these incredible landscapes of emotion, 00:38:38.579 --> 00:38:41.139 violence, and psychedelia. And the most incredible 00:38:41.139 --> 00:38:43.539 part of his story is how he was always pushing 00:38:43.539 --> 00:38:46.420 forward, always experimenting, right up until 00:38:46.420 --> 00:38:49.070 the very end. And that brings us to our final 00:38:49.070 --> 00:38:51.469 provocative thought for you to consider. Despite 00:38:51.469 --> 00:38:53.849 his prolific recording sessions and his constant 00:38:53.849 --> 00:38:56.550 push for new sound, Hendrix left behind a concept 00:38:56.550 --> 00:39:00.769 album tentatively titled Black Gold. These tapes, 00:39:00.949 --> 00:39:02.929 recorded in the months before his death and full 00:39:02.929 --> 00:39:04.989 of demos for what would have been his next chapter, 00:39:05.210 --> 00:39:07.309 remain in the possession of Experience Hendrix 00:39:07.309 --> 00:39:10.190 LLC and have never been released. Given that 00:39:10.190 --> 00:39:11.989 he was the architect of modern guitar sound, 00:39:12.190 --> 00:39:14.329 constantly finding new technical vocabulary, 00:39:14.690 --> 00:39:16.670 what further innovations, what never before heard 00:39:16.670 --> 00:39:19.230 sonic inventions, might still be waiting to be 00:39:19.230 --> 00:39:20.090 unearthed in the vault.