New York Public Library interview with Pete Townshend on October 8, 2012. He's responding to an inquiry about Jimi Hendrix at the time of the Monterey Pop Festival. 8/25/23 NO MORE NEW COMMENTS ARE BEING APPROVED.
Pete Townshend said "If you didn't see him . . . I'm sorry". Well, I know exactly what he means because I was in the support band to him in Boston in 1967. He was a shy, polite gentleman and was in the next dressing room to us. He actually had a go on one of our 12string Rickenbackers and played it although it was strung right handed. I will be 80 in August and will never forget this amazing phenomenon. 🥁
I was born in 1966, I seen hendrix in 1986 in a dream, he said "dude put that guitar down and get a job, because you will never be 1 in a millionth the player I am." I did, thanks Jimi.
I saw a video with Ron Wood saying he once shared a flat with Jim. He, Wood, said the thing about Jim being left handed, he could play right handed, as well, and played better right handed than he, Wood, could play I guess for a professional musician, especially, that would be demoralizing.
Pete is a great storyteller. I could listen for hours to him. This man has known all the great names. To me, Townshend is the godfather of English rock. He wrote Tommy at age 23... Great composer, great guitar player, great performer. Living legend. His music will be regarded as 20th century classical music.
on various other places on you tube. i say the who and townshend can do little or no wrong and get plenty of blowback. i tell them to find some pete and roger loving friends. you are exactly the kind of a friend i want for them
Love Pete. Love The Who. No doubt he's a great storyteller, but he has a tendency to rewrite history. By all accounts that's not exactly the peacefully encounter that occurred, as John Phillips and Derek Taylor have said and written about. Hell there's footage of Pete from 1973 describing the the coin toss scenario a bit more aggressively. Never the less it's still entertaining.
@@rickarnold6704 If you loved seeing Jimi then take a look at Stevie Ray Vaughan playing Texas Flood live at El Mocambo. Jimi was Stevies idol and I think you might enjoy watching this other guitar genius.
Excellent. I saw Jimi two times, both in South Florida and I've seen the WHO 3 times. Two times with Keith and one time with Kenny. All wonderful musicians and a major impact on my life. I've been a drummer since 1964 and I still play.Thank You for this Great Post.
I've heard him say that Jimi said something like 'well if I'm going on after you, then I'm pulling out all the stops!" And then he jumped up on that chair and played some incredible, amazing stuff right there. I think he just overlooked that tidbit here.
That's what they say on the Monterey Pop Festival video. (still have the VHS) I think Pete has altered the story here, to make himself sound a bit more generous. In reality, every major player was afraid of Jimi's skills, and didn't want to risk following him on stage. (Because he would be so much better, there's no way you could "follow" his act.) It didn't have anything to do with Pete acknowledging that Jimi was such an important artist at the time. I love both players, but that's just silly!
My missus and I were walking along the Seine and came across a guy selling photographs in A4 size. There was a photo of Jimi Hendrix, among others, and I said to him; "Who took these photos"? He replied that he had, when he was a photographer in the late 60s. I bought the Hendrix photograph. It sits above the kitchen table in my apartment in Adelaide SA. Just a quick snapshot of Jimi walking past. A real treasure.
Very classy of Peter Townsend to acknowledge Jimi Hendrix to be the leading rock artist of his generation. I went to a Hendrix concert in a pretty small theater in Canada -- the size of a movie theater, if anybody remembers what they were. The Jimi Hendrix Experience had their wall of Marshall amps, along with various pedals for Jimi to use to alter the sound of his Stratocaster, and a reel-to-reel tape recorder which Jimi used to play multi-track leads: a pre-recorded lead by Jimi on tape, and Jimi playing over top of it in person. We were close enough to the stage to see Jimi's facial expressions, and to summarize his mood I'd say he was relaxed and having a really good time playing for an adoring audience. Not many realized at the time that Jimi had struggled for years to be taken seriously, living in poverty and having to move the England to get paying work. (At a get-to-know-you jam session in London with Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and other top Brits in the rock scene, Jimi left them speechless.) At this 1968 concert I attended Jimi was riding high, all his venues sold out. Their opening band was The Soft Machine, another totally disruptive force in rock who ended up transitioning to jazz fusion. I still have their first three albums. I played keyboards full-time back then, and The Soft Machine's keyboard player, Michael Rattledge, was acknowledged to be the best rock keyboard player in Britain. Onstage, Jimmy would banter a bit between songs but he knew what we were all there for: to hear cuts from his "Are You Experienced?" album. I know what Townsend meant when he noted the aura around Jimi as he performed at Monterey Pop. It was as if his whole being radiated music -- music that had never been heard before and that once heard, changed our perception of what rock could be. I would like to know what today's Gen Z rock music fans think of Jimi. Does he resonate with them as he did with us? Or is he ancient history? Hendrix pretty much invented the psychedelic sound but already during his 1968 tour there were rumors he was evolving it to be blusier, with less ornamentation. After Jimi's death at age 27, along with Janis and Brian Jones and other great talents who transformed the genre, over the 1970s there was a large-scale dumbing down of rock music, with, if course, a few notable exceptions.
It will undoubtedly please you to know that today's Gen Z rock music fans are in awe of Hendrix. Of course, some don't like or appreciate him. But look up reaction videos of Hendrix. Young people look at his performance and are like "WTF?!?!?! How did I miss this??" The looks on their faces are priceless.
I was 12 going on 13 when I saw Jimi live in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Found the original concert poster online and had a t-shirt made. All these years later I can still remember that show😱
After all he’s been through, he’s amazingly calm, clear headed and articulate. Probably one of the most intelligent and sensitive rock stars there’s ever been.
The way I remember it; Pete wanted to go first because he wanted the audience to see him smash his guitar before Jimi smashed his. Jimi went on after Pete and set the audience and his guitar on fire...but he did let me stand next to it and I chopped it down with the edge of my hand☺
I got to see Hendrix at Balboa Stadium San Diego and the Who at the San Diego Concourse basement both were great memories. Hendrix’s hands encompassed the neck of a guitar, it wasn’t like he played notes or chords it was more like the instrument was part of him. His hands floated over the neck effortlessly.
Pete was always jealous that Jimi did the guitar destroying thing…but he has mellowed in his story here. Jimi set his guitar on fire so he went beyond Pete.
This gave me chills. Jimi is rightly considered the best guitarist ever, but that does not take away from Pete Townshend's and The Who's influence as one of the greatest rock bands of all time.
Well I am sure that Pete is sincere but I saw Jimi and The Who in the same year (1968) and I can tell you that The Who was a formidable band and had no reason not to close the show. Remember that while The Experience had Jimi, The Who had Daltry, Enwistle and Moon. They were something to behold.
At their peak, in the very early 1970s, they were absolutely the most powerful band going!...I witnessed both the Jimi Hendrix Experience, and The Who.....Jimi was the better guitarist, but the Who as a unit were more powerful than Jimi's group.
Exactly. Both were great live acts. But Hendrixx was essentially a one-man show on stage while you had three of the greatest showmen on stage: Pete, Roger and Keith.
Thanks setting the record right man. In 73-4 I toured Europe like many young males looking for adventure. Saw Jethro Tull, Mountain and 3 days with Pink Floyd.
Pete was not far off about Jimi being "from another planet". I call him a time traveler from the future who was doing things with a guitar that we in the present could not even understand. There is a connection between artist and instrument when things get to that level, and then the instrument does whatever the artist things or feels or commands. That's it, and it's beyond the rest of us. We just play notes while Jimi played ideas.
Pete Townshend never considered himself to be a gifted technical guitarist. In fact, he's gone on record as saying that the real 'lead guitarist' in The Who was the Ox, not himself. This is why he was humbled, in a musical sense only, by Jimi Hendrix the guitarist. If the festival PTs referring to herein featured songwriting, everyone, including Jimi, certainly would've played before Pete. He is clearly one of the finest writer's to come along during the great Pop Music era.
Actually, this story contradicts that one he told many years ago in that documentary on Jimi in which he said that he and Hendrix got into an argument as to who would follow whom. He said that he told Jimi that "we are NOT going to follow you, and that's that.' Jimi just got up and played some incredible guitar backstage and said, "If we open for you then I am going to pull all the stops,:" Pete said he realized that they couldn't follow his act and allowed Jimi to play after them.
Just watched a NOVA special that gave tons of evidence on how fallible our memories are. Every time you remember a scene from the past, you change it a bit.
30 years ago was reading the accounts of both them not wanting to follow the other cuz they both had legendary followings and Great Expectations an amazing respect for each other
I agree with Pete if you never saw Jimi live you just couldn't appreciate his abilities and greatness. I was fortunate to see him live in April 1969 in Philadelphia. He was truly a Rock "God".
I saw him twice...and after he died, I continued to go to Rock concerts for several more years--NOBODY I witnessed had the charismatic power and skill of Jimi Hendrix...he did really seem to become larger than Life, onstage. I am proud to say he was from Seattle--even if he seemingly did not like Seattle much. That would be due to his very sad upbringing as a child.
Pete was very generous about compliments to legend Hendrix but me as a musician/ guitarist also have enormous respect for Pete Thowsend for his composing arts. Tommy, Quadrophenia, Who's Next are masterpiece of rock music. I wish i could play these cord barages. He is genius on his own also.
Pete is a musical genius & gracious on his recall of Jimi.Jimi smashed & then burned his guitar at Monterey, he learned this from the Who for the shock effect.he would never have done that in New York as "Jimmie James & the Blue Flames". I love Pete's recollection & happy that he is still going strong, yay!
I play down the local pub, it is what it is, generally get a good, or at least, polite reception. Sometimes someone will come in and be awesome and I’m put in to follow them. Hate that feeling! So I know where he’s coming from. Bit disappointing he can’t admit the fear even now 😅
I think there is something to recognize here... when Jimmi was 'Experencing'... folks in his presence 'experienced' his feelings. This is profound! Pete felt it... He GOT it. I ask you... How is it that 'WE' can feel someones' experiences when they are tripping? Is there a group connection to our brains? Have you ever been... Have you ever been... To electric Lady land.....
The truth is Pete didn't want the Who to be upstaged by Jimi's powerful stage show, (including his destroying his guitar at the end, which would make the Who look like copycats of Jimi).
No. Everybody knew The Who had been smashing guitars for a few years by then. Hence Mama Cass's comment. So, everybody knew Jimi was doing what The Who had been doing but, on stage, he did it with more style, elegance, and managed to play a tune. The Who smashing guitars was an outworking of Townshend's art school philosophy and was destructive, Hendrix managed to make smashing a guitar constructively melodic. That's what PT was getting at
That’s probably true but Jimi shamelessly ripped off Pete. Marshalls, feedback, guitar destruction was all Pete’s gig really. No artist wants to go on after all their tricks have been ripped off.
Jimi Hendrix was an early idol of mine partly because he was left handed and so am I. But Jimi was a product of his era quite literally, Jimi ended when the psychedelic ended. Completely an explosive and unsustainable phenomenon. Jimi Hendrix was his stage presence. And Pete describes how influential he was to shape the Monterey Pop festival in 1967. Every second and minute of that era was important and groundbreaking to expand our consciousness still going on today.
If you read a little more history you'll find that Jimi was right handed. His father Al bought him an acoustic when he was little and he naturally started playing left handed. His Dad never corrected him. Thats where the legend began.
Pete was there and of course I was not. I’ve studied Hendrix for many years and story for the most part is different. On the Movie Documentary on Jimi back in 1973 Pete tells a different story.
It wasn't about respect. It was fear. Pete KNEW Jimi would steal the show and he didn't want to follow that. It did balance better for both but Jimi DID still steal the show.
Jimmy likewise really didn't want to follow The Who and was very nervous and that's why he so quickly adopted the idea of letting his guitar on fire as a stunt to compensate for any insecurities
Jimi kinda ripped their teenybopper friends to shreds, kinda makes it easy to see why he left the tour early(putting it kindly). Don't know who came up with tgat zinger of an idea.
The teenie boopers came to see the monkees , they were not impressed by jimi, I read during the concert jimi flipped them off when he noticed the audience was displeased with him
Pete's stories tend to be apocryphal, embellished. The creative geniuses can't resist coloring their memories with a few dazzling touches. If The Who had Jimi's amps, the final score would've been a little closer. And they are both my all-time favorite acts.
Both are great live acts. And I don't care what Pete says here. As a live act, The Who > Jimi. Or, at the very least equivalent. Jimi was essentially a one-man show. While we know that Keith, Roger and Pete commanded the stage.
This is amazing. I just recall Pete saying to Jimi, "We can't follow you" and Jimi ignoring him. Brings this to light in a great way. Wish i could find Monterey Pop with Jimi or Ravi. both were great.
"I'm One" is such a great song, demonstrates why Townshend is one of the best songwriters of the rock era. HIs telling of this story is a bit different from what he says about it in the film "Jimi Hendrix", where it was more like, "Nope, no way no how am I going to follow THAT GUY!", and that Hendrix was more deferential and saying "Oh no, I can't follow you guys." Hard to know which is more accurate, as Pete, ever the artist, isn't known to let accurate accounting get in the way of his creative muse.😃
I saw Jimi four times and Pete describes it beautifully. I went to see him first time at a matinee in Liverpool Empire UNDER DURESS. Not a fan. He opened with Spanish Castle Magic. Otherworldly. We came out, bought tickets from a tout, and went straight back in for the second show. He was magnificent yet lovable all at the same time.
Don't agree with Pete's description of Hendrix's physical appearance- he was extremely beautiful and dressed amazingly. And this is coming from a straight male.
Jerry Garcia talked about playing at Monterey, after The Who and before Hendrix. He said the GD played terribly and in between those two monstrous performances, they were utterly forgettable. He had a great sense of humor about it. th-cam.com/video/ypDTyw1bcys/w-d-xo.html
Jimi made Pete feel inadequate and inferior as a guitarist. Pete’s strength is his metronome like rhythm guitar playing, which kept The Who from going off the rails live. Jimi’s fluidity on rhythm guitar, based in his R&B roots, is something Pete (and the rest of his peers Clapton, Beck, Richards, Page) could appreciate but couldn’t remotely approach. Pete was the weakest lead guitar player of them all and that added to his insecurity, especially vis a vis Jimi. Don’t get me wrong, I love Townsend‘s rhythm guitar playing - Live at Leeds is a great example of his power and mastery. No one else could have held that all together, steady as a rock with a mad man like Moon on the drums, with Entwhistle off to the races with him. Listen to Young Man Blues.
Exactly correct. I doubt Townsend was referencing himself with Jimi as a lead guy...just as a guitar player in general. But I love what he says...everything I have is his now. Townsend is a true visionary as we all know....an artist composer poet all the way. But he accepted the truth and saw the absolute alien angel demon guitarist that was Hendrix. He describes the effect of seeing him so well....but yea, Townsend UNPARALLELED as a rhythm player in all of rock. N
People misunderstand The Who; Pete is the timekeeper. He occupies the role the drummer would normally have. This allowed Keith to make his usual flourishes and allowed John to make his lead lines.
Yeah, Pete was a great rhythm player, I loved his sound, but when it came to soloing, he did not have the fluidity and ability to wail like Page, Clapton or Hendrix.
One of my big regrets was reading that bloody book 'Who Am I'...and as for your discourteous note, you can do absolutely whatever you want to do. It's your channel.
You don't see all the comments I'm not approving and am removing instead. I expected a few thousand views and 15 comments. The attention this video is getting is ridiculous.
Good, because he sucks. You wouldn't want to tolerate how phony he is - in fact, that's why I had to abruptly end the edit here, because he followed up with a statement that was so stupid Pete made everyone laugh at him.
My goodness! Such elegance from Pete! Jimmy will be the best electric guitar player ever. And every electrical guitarist knows that. Like a Picasso and Mozart. A touch of God.
I can't imagine Pete would have as many friends as your typical rock star. He seemed notoriously difficult to get along with, though not as bad as Ginger Baker.
Honestly Pete Townshend has changed this story at least 3 or 4 times. Don't get me wrong I am a big Who fan ... Also the The Grateful Dead came on in between The Who & Hendrix. I believe they did toss a coin about the order though.
Obviously I've never met Hendrix but the various photos I've seen of Hendrix and i personally know people that knew or met him he never looked like a trash man, his afro was right on time and he didn't look dirty at all to me. I think Pete just has to find a way of hating on this dude because he completely destroyed him to his face......
It would have been more socially responsible to specify what he meant in memory of Jimi. I read elsewhere Pete's issue was Hendrix's dandruff. It ruined the effect for Pete when he saw him up close. The whole thing amuses me.
Pete rarely said anything nice about his contemporaries, and that includes Jimi. Plenty of old interviews out there about how mad he was that Jimi stole is guitar smashing antics. And that comment to Mama Cass is very hard to believe. Too bad she can't confirm that.
Yeah it was more , Pete heard that he was on after and flipped saying he wasn't gonna be shown up , Jimi got on the chair played a blinder and said i'm not going on after you .... haha
@@Nominay True, but after hearing how Buddy Miles and Billy Cox helped Jimi go into a different musical direction, I'm sure that a power trio with Moon and Entwistle would have been fantastic. Just fantasising, that's all.
@@jimmycrackcorn2516 Wasn't he more of a straight rock beat drummer? Mitchell is more interesting for Jimi as a jazz drummer who had no problem with versatility.
Yes, years before this Pete told a different story. Appears they disagreed on the appearance order and it got a little heated. Pete said Jimi claimed he would pull out all the stops and make Pete regret it. As great as Pete is on guitar, he seems to have discomfort with his peers who may be equals or greater in popularity.
When other bands are fighting each other over the headliner spot, the Who had the honesty and respect to give it to Jimi Hendrix. That's a lot to be admired in such a great rock band.
This whole thing reminds me of an interview I saw with Eric Clapton once, who was set to follow Stevie Ray Vaughan in a show. After Stevie went out and just lit the stage on fire, Eric said that he turned to his bandmate before going on and said, “how in the hell am I supposed to follow that!” That tells you something about just how good Stevie Ray Vaughan was. When even Clapton was afraid to follow him.
@@Nominay You can't predict shows. I saw Wishbone Ash warm up for The Who in 73. They blew me away. Both bands of that period still do. We're just lucky to have them with us, and Jimi at least recorded. And as for people picking apart these memories by the players, enjoy it if you can, otherwise, just get a life. They were in it and you were not.
Also when Jeff Beck decided to let SRV come on stage and join him in a song. Then Jeff was fighting for his life to follow Stevie's solos. It's on YT. Jeff looks like a cornered rat at times and has difficulty shining. After SRV kills it, smiles at Jeff, Jeff looks like someone just stole his car. th-cam.com/video/84_UvByGDkM/w-d-xo.html
It's Jordan (basketball), Ali (boxing), Hendrix (lead guitar), The Beatles (singer/songwriters), Shakespeare (playwriting) and James Jamerson (bass guitar) who are so far as of 2023 are the Greatest Of All Time in their field. I'm not familiar with other sports, drumming has a 3 way tie with Reni, Moon and Bonham; and there isn't a GOAT for Tv and Movies just yet.
It's a trip how anyone on here comments after hearing it from the horse's mouth. No one else's two cents and feelings matter LOL. Thanks Pete. Some of us listen and accept.
It is true that Pete has told this story differently before, but I chose not to judge it. I see this more as an edited version of the fuller story, that's all.
Is Pete really dissing Jimi? Didn’t you hear Pete call Jimi godlike, with the skills of a Shaman, an elegant performer, the most profoundly important artist of the generation?
Eh. To my ears, Pete is dismissing Jimi's albums. Which, again to my ears, are WAY better than the Who's albums. Jimi as a live act was great, but what endures are the recorded versions of the songs.
@@aquamarine99911 No Because he is talking about a live show with Hendrix at Monterey Pop Festival. Anyone can tell Hendrix made remarkable music from his very first record Are You Experienced? In the mid 70's, bizarrely, a Toronto TV station ran Monterey Pop in the middle of a school day while I was on my lunch break. Maybe they figured all those hippy gals were now bored housewives. First time I ever played hooky. Told my home room teacher that my guppies had given birth and were eating their young so I had to stay home to protect the babies. She said "don''t lie to me, I know fish lay eggs!" I made her ask the science teacher and got away with it. She was so embarrassed about the false accusation that I did not not require a note from my parents Jimi truly was inspirational.
What Pete says @3:00. There has been some spec that Jimi possessed synesthesia. Even the language of Purple Haze or The Wind Cries Mary "the wind is drearily sweeping" suggests it. This could have been something more than just having dropped a couple of purple microdots (was acid produced in microdots back then?). I know it was everywhere by 77, microdots(!) ,blotter (!!), yellow windowpane (!!!). I digress. And flashback. Please don't overdo it young ones. You can be left with permanent visual distortions. And if you MUST try psychedelics do yourself a favour and start low dose for first experience, be in a safe place with safe people one of whom stays sober. You will need 12 hours, less for shrooms. Never do speed or opiates. I don't know anything about the newer drugs but trip advising sites are online if you are going to do them no matter what. I'm not advocating, this is harm reduction.
@@maximusindicusoblivious180 In the year that Toronto got a baseball team they came out with Blue Jay Blotter. Did not touch LSD again until my 60th birthday a few weeks ago.Timothy Leary blotter! Have a decent spring!
I think Jimi Hendrix honed his amazing skill on the guitar, and his amazing abilities as a musician, in the competitive chitlin circuit, where you were out if you didn't deliver. Jimi could easily and stylishly do the work of 2 or 3 musicians, rhythm, lead, singing, although the best falsetto singing came later (Have you ever been...). Lead guitar comes from the legacy of people like Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. Flashy and cutting edge, fast and furious. Check out "Blue N Boogie" by those two from 1953.
Before the Chitlin circuit he was already acknowledged as the best guitar player in Washington state. He played locally there in bands before joining the Army. Most of Hendrix's progression and skill was realized in his first 3 years playing.
What a fantastic period for the art of music & so many bands & so many expressions within it......alas it's all over now folks because popular music has been globalized.....all the freedom has been taken away.
Pete Townshend does not typically give accolades easily, so his favorable view of Jimi Hendrix carries some weight. Hendrix was the greatest performer of his time, doing things sonically that no one had done previously and still a mystery today. And, while Pete acknowledges that Jimi had playing ability that he himself did not have, I can't see Hendrix pulling off what Pete did with The Who. Try corralling Keith Moon and John Entwistle. Not sure Jimi could have done that. Pete's guitar work on Live at Leeds should be a thesis work on the "angry guitar".
Townshend never wanted to have to follow Hendrix - probably the only reason he agreed to do Woodstock was he knew Hendrix was the headliner for that festival and he would be the final performer ..
I've heard earlier interviews where he said something else to Mama Cass when she said "Isn't he doing YOUR thing?" And Pete said to her, "Well... it's OUR Thing."
IMHO this interview shows that Pete's STILL trying to cope with the fact that as a guitarist Hendrix was simply at a level he could never reach--nobody ever has!!
We need to find Jimi and ask him about his exchange with Pete about who's on first at Monteray so we can know the truth about the matter... Oh Wait!... I guess the survivors do get to write history...huh?
Pete Townshend said "If you didn't see him . . . I'm sorry". Well, I know exactly what he means because I was in the support band to him in Boston in 1967. He was a shy, polite gentleman and was in the next dressing room to us. He actually had a go on one of our 12string Rickenbackers and played it although it was strung right handed.
I will be 80 in August and will never forget this amazing phenomenon. 🥁
I really enjoyed your post.... it made me think.... thanks
Thank you for your memories .
I was born in 1966, I seen hendrix in 1986 in a dream, he said "dude put that guitar down and get a job, because you will never be 1 in a millionth the player I am." I did, thanks Jimi.
I saw a video with Ron Wood saying he once shared a flat with Jim. He, Wood, said the thing about Jim being left handed, he could play right handed, as well, and played better right handed than he, Wood, could play
I guess for a professional musician, especially, that would be demoralizing.
my friend bill was his lighting guy
Pete is a great storyteller. I could listen for hours to him. This man has known all the great names. To me, Townshend is the godfather of English rock. He wrote Tommy at age 23... Great composer, great guitar player, great performer. Living legend. His music will be regarded as 20th century classical music.
on various other places on you tube. i say the who and townshend can do little or no wrong and get plenty of blowback. i tell them to find some pete and roger loving friends. you are exactly the kind of a friend i want for them
Love Pete. Love The Who. No doubt he's a great storyteller, but he has a tendency to rewrite history. By all accounts that's not exactly the peacefully encounter that occurred, as John Phillips and Derek Taylor have said and written about. Hell there's footage of Pete from 1973 describing the the coin toss scenario a bit more aggressively. Never the less it's still entertaining.
Jimi died in 1970 at the age of 27 . We are still talking about his genius . Amazing . 🎸✨✨✨✨☮️
Jimi was the best!
Weird. Cosmic. 27th like. Right now.
Yup ! Prodigy!! Always will be!!
Pete Townsend is still talking about his genius.
@@rickarnold6704 If you loved seeing Jimi then take a look at Stevie Ray Vaughan playing Texas Flood live at El Mocambo. Jimi was Stevies idol and I think you might enjoy watching this other guitar genius.
I was at Pop in 67, words can not describe how amazing it was!
He’s told this story differently in the past
Excellent. I saw Jimi two times, both in South Florida and I've seen the WHO 3 times. Two times with Keith and one time with Kenny. All wonderful musicians and a major impact on my life. I've been a drummer since 1964 and I still play.Thank You for this Great Post.
@timmotel5804 Hendrix at GULFSTREAM RACE TRACK & JAI LAI FRONTON? Both venues still in operation.
Was the South Florida show you saw Jimi Hendrix at the 1968 Miami Pop Festival in Hallandale Beach?
The greatest rhythm guitarist and phenomenal song writer complimenting the original guitar god.
Pete was pretty good himself! i love what he did for Rock
I've heard him say that Jimi said something like 'well if I'm going on after you, then I'm pulling out all the stops!" And then he jumped up on that chair and played some incredible, amazing stuff right there. I think he just overlooked that tidbit here.
Those words are in the movie!...spoken by Pete himself! lol.
DOES IT MATTER BROTHER ???
That's what they say on the Monterey Pop Festival video. (still have the VHS)
I think Pete has altered the story here, to make himself sound a bit more generous. In reality, every major player was afraid of Jimi's skills, and didn't want to risk following him on stage.
(Because he would be so much better, there's no way you could "follow" his act.)
It didn't have anything to do with Pete acknowledging that Jimi was such an important artist at the time. I love both players, but that's just silly!
My missus and I were walking along the Seine and came across a guy selling photographs in A4 size. There was a photo of Jimi Hendrix, among others, and I said to him;
"Who took these photos"?
He replied that he had, when he was a photographer in the late 60s.
I bought the Hendrix photograph. It sits above the kitchen table in my apartment in Adelaide SA. Just a quick snapshot of Jimi walking past. A real treasure.
Very classy of Peter Townsend to acknowledge Jimi Hendrix to be the leading rock artist of his generation. I went to a Hendrix concert in a pretty small theater in Canada -- the size of a movie theater, if anybody remembers what they were. The Jimi Hendrix Experience had their wall of Marshall amps, along with various pedals for Jimi to use to alter the sound of his Stratocaster, and a reel-to-reel tape recorder which Jimi used to play multi-track leads: a pre-recorded lead by Jimi on tape, and Jimi playing over top of it in person.
We were close enough to the stage to see Jimi's facial expressions, and to summarize his mood I'd say he was relaxed and having a really good time playing for an adoring audience. Not many realized at the time that Jimi had struggled for years to be taken seriously, living in poverty and having to move the England to get paying work. (At a get-to-know-you jam session in London with Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and other top Brits in the rock scene, Jimi left them speechless.)
At this 1968 concert I attended Jimi was riding high, all his venues sold out. Their opening band was The Soft Machine, another totally disruptive force in rock who ended up transitioning to jazz fusion. I still have their first three albums. I played keyboards full-time back then, and The Soft Machine's keyboard player, Michael Rattledge, was acknowledged to be the best rock keyboard player in Britain.
Onstage, Jimmy would banter a bit between songs but he knew what we were all there for: to hear cuts from his "Are You Experienced?" album. I know what Townsend meant when he noted the aura around Jimi as he performed at Monterey Pop. It was as if his whole being radiated music -- music that had never been heard before and that once heard, changed our perception of what rock could be.
I would like to know what today's Gen Z rock music fans think of Jimi. Does he resonate with them as he did with us? Or is he ancient history?
Hendrix pretty much invented the psychedelic sound but already during his 1968 tour there were rumors he was evolving it to be blusier, with less ornamentation. After Jimi's death at age 27, along with Janis and Brian Jones and other great talents who transformed the genre, over the 1970s there was a large-scale dumbing down of rock music, with, if course, a few notable exceptions.
Jimi, not Jimmy.
As a 22 y/o Jimi for sure resonates w me and he isn’t ancient history. It must be nice that you got chance to see him play!!!!
How do you really feel?
It will undoubtedly please you to know that today's Gen Z rock music fans are in awe of Hendrix. Of course, some don't like or appreciate him. But look up reaction videos of Hendrix. Young people look at his performance and are like "WTF?!?!?! How did I miss this??" The looks on their faces are priceless.
Jimi Hendrix Always Loved, Never Forgotten, Forever missed.❤❤
I was 12 going on 13 when I saw Jimi live in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Found the original concert poster online and had a t-shirt made. All these years later I can still remember that show😱
It's respect , Jimi was the prodigy anywhere He went..
Love hearing these stories from their contemporaries!
Townsend trying to express how insanely amazing and revered Hendrix was!
Jimi was an improviser and that is why he was so good.
thank you Cpt Obvious for stating what has been said many many many times before
After all he’s been through, he’s amazingly calm, clear headed and articulate. Probably one of the most intelligent and sensitive rock stars there’s ever been.
Articulate? He's a stuttering mess.
His excuses for watching child porn weren't very intelligent.
You're right! That's why I Iove watching his interviews, even recent ones.
The Jimi performance remains amazing. 🌹🌹
The way I remember it; Pete wanted to go first because he wanted the audience to see him smash his guitar before Jimi smashed his. Jimi went on after Pete and set the audience and his guitar on fire...but he did let me stand next to it and I chopped it down with the edge of my hand☺
Pete is such a gent. And Hendrix was amazing. But I have listened to Pete my whole life and I always will.
I got to see Hendrix at Balboa Stadium San Diego and the Who at the San Diego Concourse basement both were great memories.
Hendrix’s hands encompassed the neck of a guitar, it wasn’t like he played notes or chords it was more like the instrument was part of him. His hands floated over the neck effortlessly.
Pete was always jealous that Jimi did the guitar destroying thing…but he has mellowed in his story here. Jimi set his guitar on fire so he went beyond Pete.
This gave me chills.
Jimi is rightly considered the best guitarist ever, but that does not take away from Pete Townshend's and The Who's influence as one of the greatest rock bands of all time.
Jimi was the Godzilla of guitar players!
Oh, No. There goes Tokyo ... 🐍
Well I am sure that Pete is sincere but I saw Jimi and The Who in the same year (1968) and I can tell you that The Who was a formidable band and had no reason not to close the show. Remember that while The Experience had Jimi, The Who had Daltry, Enwistle and Moon. They were something to behold.
At their peak, in the very early 1970s, they were absolutely the most powerful band going!...I witnessed both the Jimi Hendrix Experience, and The Who.....Jimi was the better guitarist, but the Who as a unit were more powerful than Jimi's group.
Exactly. Both were great live acts. But Hendrixx was essentially a one-man show on stage while you had three of the greatest showmen on stage: Pete, Roger and Keith.
Thanks setting the record right man. In 73-4 I toured Europe like many young males looking for adventure. Saw Jethro Tull,
Mountain and 3 days with Pink Floyd.
Agree. Both were fantastic. I still play them.
The Experience also had Redding and Mitchell. Don’t leave them out.
Pete was not far off about Jimi being "from another planet". I call him a time traveler from the future who was doing things with a guitar that we in the present could not even understand. There is a connection between artist and instrument when things get to that level, and then the instrument does whatever the artist things or feels or commands. That's it, and it's beyond the rest of us. We just play notes while Jimi played ideas.
"We just play notes while Jimi played ideas" - wonderful. I'm going to have to quote you on that with a reference to @zeppelinmexicano - with thanks!
Well said.
At that time, nobody on the planet could have followed Hendrix… not even Pete Townshend: and that is saying something
Pete Townshend never considered himself to be a gifted technical guitarist. In fact, he's gone on record as saying that the real 'lead guitarist' in The Who was the Ox, not himself. This is why he was humbled, in a musical sense only, by Jimi Hendrix the guitarist. If the festival PTs referring to herein featured songwriting, everyone, including Jimi, certainly would've played before Pete. He is clearly one of the finest writer's to come along during the great Pop Music era.
Philip Catherine. Look him up.
Actually, this story contradicts that one he told many years ago in that documentary on Jimi in which he said that he and Hendrix got into an argument as to who would follow whom. He said that he told Jimi that "we are NOT going to follow you, and that's that.' Jimi just got up and played some incredible guitar backstage and said, "If we open for you then I am going to pull all the stops,:" Pete said he realized that they couldn't follow his act and allowed Jimi to play after them.
Just watched a NOVA special that gave tons of evidence on how fallible our memories are. Every time you remember a scene from the past, you change it a bit.
“A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds..." Ralph Waldo Emerson
This version doesn't make sense. Townsend didnt want to follow Hendrix then agreed to go before Hendrix?
30 years ago was reading the accounts of both them not wanting to follow the other cuz they both had legendary followings and Great Expectations an amazing respect for each other
Well if he said we're not going to follow you, and Hendrix didn't want to open for them, they were in agreement according to what you wrote?
Even the mighty Pete Townshend acknowledges the phenomena that is Jimmi Hendrix.
I would encourage all here to read Who Am I by Pete Townshend. Truly amazing read ❤
I agree with Pete if you never saw Jimi live you just couldn't appreciate his abilities and greatness. I was fortunate to see him live in April 1969
in Philadelphia. He was truly a Rock "God".
I saw him twice...and after he died, I continued to go to Rock concerts for several more years--NOBODY I witnessed had the charismatic power and skill of Jimi Hendrix...he did really seem to become larger than Life, onstage. I am proud to say he was from Seattle--even if he seemingly did not like Seattle much. That would be due to his very sad upbringing as a child.
Pete was very generous about compliments to legend Hendrix but me as a musician/ guitarist also have enormous respect for Pete Thowsend for his composing arts. Tommy, Quadrophenia, Who's Next are masterpiece of rock music. I wish i could play these cord barages. He is genius on his own also.
Pete is a musical genius & gracious on his recall of Jimi.Jimi smashed & then burned his guitar at Monterey, he learned this from the Who for the shock effect.he would never have done that in New York as "Jimmie James & the Blue Flames". I love Pete's recollection & happy that he is still going strong, yay!
actually The Who were deathly afraid to follow Jimi
Ufrrf444444u44rrururururr😅44😅😅4444😅44😅😅😅44444😊r😅😊😅4😅4😅444😅444😅444444r4rrururuu4urfu4uru😅😅😅😅😅😅yy😅u😅😅😅😅😮😅u4u7uŕ
who wouldnt honestly. man was from mars. pete a great musician but no comparison.
@@reresimone4300 Townshend was a greater composer. Hendrix was a greater instrumentalist.
Seriously, why would anybody want to. I couldn't imagine it being a player myself.
I play down the local pub, it is what it is, generally get a good, or at least, polite reception. Sometimes someone will come in and be awesome and I’m put in to follow them. Hate that feeling! So I know where he’s coming from. Bit disappointing he can’t admit the fear even now 😅
I think there is something to recognize here... when Jimmi was 'Experencing'... folks in his presence 'experienced' his feelings. This is profound! Pete felt it... He GOT it.
I ask you... How is it that 'WE' can feel someones' experiences when they are tripping?
Is there a group connection to our brains?
Have you ever been... Have you ever been... To electric Lady land.....
I love Pete and have for decades. But he's changed his story about this over the years.
Self-effacing at it's finest.
This is "not" the original story he told in the the "JIMI HENDRIX MOVIE" from the early 70's, but Oh Well...
Quotation marks are NOT used for emphasis. Jesus h
Oh Well, parts 1 and 2.
What a great moment in time
The truth is Pete didn't want the Who to be upstaged by Jimi's powerful stage show, (including his destroying his guitar at the end, which would make the Who look like copycats of Jimi).
No. Everybody knew The Who had been smashing guitars for a few years by then. Hence Mama Cass's comment. So, everybody knew Jimi was doing what The Who had been doing but, on stage, he did it with more style, elegance, and managed to play a tune. The Who smashing guitars was an outworking of Townshend's art school philosophy and was destructive, Hendrix managed to make smashing a guitar constructively melodic. That's what PT was getting at
that's right i guess . i thought the same
Agree.
To be completely fair, Hendrix pinched a certain degree of their schtick...
That’s probably true but Jimi shamelessly ripped off Pete. Marshalls, feedback, guitar destruction was all Pete’s gig really. No artist wants to go on after all their tricks have been ripped off.
Jimi Hendrix was an early idol of mine partly because he was left handed and so am I. But Jimi was a product of his era quite literally, Jimi ended when the psychedelic ended. Completely an explosive and unsustainable phenomenon. Jimi Hendrix was his stage presence. And Pete describes how influential he was to shape the Monterey Pop festival in 1967. Every second and minute of that era was important and groundbreaking to expand our consciousness still going on today.
jimi had loads more top create , greatness is never bound in time
If you read a little more history you'll find that Jimi was right handed. His father Al bought him an acoustic when he was little and he naturally started playing left handed. His Dad never corrected him. Thats where the legend began.
The kids are not alright.
True, as Pete found out the hard way!
Pete was there and of course I was not. I’ve studied Hendrix for many years and story for the most part is different. On the Movie Documentary on Jimi back in 1973 Pete tells a different story.
It wasn't about respect. It was fear. Pete KNEW Jimi would steal the show and he didn't want to follow that. It did balance better for both but Jimi DID still steal the show.
Jimmy likewise really didn't want to follow The Who and was very nervous and that's why he so quickly adopted the idea of letting his guitar on fire as a stunt to compensate for any insecurities
Both acts were strong in their own way. I thought they were equally good.
Maybe it was both... PT was/is a complex character, though not to everybody's taste..
I saw Jimi Hendrix at Red Rocks Amphitheater 09/02/1968☮️🙏
Lucky you !
imagine what the monkees felt like....
I think they felt like crying all the way to the bank and to the tinniebopper's bedrooms.
huh? 😂
Jimi kinda ripped their teenybopper friends to shreds, kinda makes it easy to see why he left the tour early(putting it kindly). Don't know who came up with tgat zinger of an idea.
The who ?
The teenie boopers came to see the monkees , they were not impressed by jimi, I read during the concert jimi flipped them off when he noticed the audience was displeased with him
Possibly the greatest guitar player alive making the greatest compliments of possibly the best guitar player ever.
Great interview.
Pete's stories tend to be apocryphal, embellished. The creative geniuses can't resist coloring their memories with a few dazzling touches. If The Who had Jimi's amps, the final score would've been a little closer. And they are both my all-time favorite acts.
Both are great live acts. And I don't care what Pete says here. As a live act, The Who > Jimi.
Or, at the very least equivalent. Jimi was essentially a one-man show. While we know that Keith, Roger and Pete commanded the stage.
Never let the truth get in the way of a good story
This is amazing.
I just recall Pete saying to Jimi, "We can't follow you" and Jimi ignoring him.
Brings this to light in a great way.
Wish i could find Monterey Pop with Jimi or Ravi. both were great.
just type in ravi shankar the monterray festival is there
He didn’t have a proper Afro 😂😂😂😂 love this anecdote by Pete!
A great story well told .
"I'm One" is such a great song, demonstrates why Townshend is one of the best songwriters of the rock era.
HIs telling of this story is a bit different from what he says about it in the film "Jimi Hendrix", where it was more like, "Nope, no way no how am I going to follow THAT GUY!", and that Hendrix was more deferential and saying "Oh no, I can't follow you guys." Hard to know which is more accurate, as Pete, ever the artist, isn't known to let accurate accounting get in the way of his creative muse.😃
I think Pete has watered this down. I heard this story long ago and Pete told it a little differently.
He’s good at changing his story, I watched a video of him being arrested.
I saw Jimi four times and Pete describes it beautifully. I went to see him first time at a matinee in Liverpool Empire UNDER DURESS. Not a fan. He opened with Spanish Castle Magic. Otherworldly. We came out, bought tickets from a tout, and went straight back in for the second show. He was magnificent yet lovable all at the same time.
Won't get fooled again
Persona. Period. He was the music. He was life. Uncontrolled by society.
But what a price to pay for being so uninhibited and impulsive! He cheated us out of so much more music he could have provided! A shame, really.
Don't agree with Pete's description of Hendrix's physical appearance- he was extremely beautiful and dressed amazingly. And this is coming from a straight male.
I'll take his word as the eyewitness and one who reveres Hendrix so highly
@ WhatWouldHouseDo
Even Prince copied Jimi dress style! 💯
Jerry Garcia talked about playing at Monterey, after The Who and before Hendrix. He said the GD played terribly and in between those two monstrous performances, they were utterly forgettable. He had a great sense of humor about it.
th-cam.com/video/ypDTyw1bcys/w-d-xo.html
The Grateful Dead performed after The Who and before Hendrix, everyone forgets. Not the best draw for the boys.
Saw Jimi before Woodstock. He was sober
Thanks for sharing 🙏
Jimi made Pete feel inadequate and inferior as a guitarist. Pete’s strength is his metronome like rhythm guitar playing, which kept The Who from going off the rails live. Jimi’s fluidity on rhythm guitar, based in his R&B roots, is something Pete (and the rest of his peers Clapton, Beck, Richards, Page) could appreciate but couldn’t remotely approach. Pete was the weakest lead guitar player of them all and that added to his insecurity, especially vis a vis Jimi. Don’t get me wrong, I love Townsend‘s rhythm guitar playing - Live at Leeds is a great example of his power and mastery. No one else could have held that all together, steady as a rock with a mad man like Moon on the drums, with Entwhistle off to the races with him. Listen to Young Man Blues.
Page had everyone best when it comes to riffs. Let’s not kid ourselves
“ we’ll a young maaaaaaan ain’t got nuthin’ in the world these days….
Exactly correct. I doubt Townsend was referencing himself with Jimi as a lead guy...just as a guitar player in general. But I love what he says...everything I have is his now. Townsend is a true visionary as we all know....an artist composer poet all the way. But he accepted the truth and saw the absolute alien angel demon guitarist that was Hendrix. He describes the effect of seeing him so well....but yea, Townsend UNPARALLELED as a rhythm player in all of rock. N
People misunderstand The Who; Pete is the timekeeper. He occupies the role the drummer would normally have.
This allowed Keith to make his usual flourishes and allowed John to make his lead lines.
Yeah, Pete was a great rhythm player, I loved his sound, but when it came to soloing, he did not have the fluidity and ability to wail like Page, Clapton or Hendrix.
One of my big regrets was reading that bloody book 'Who Am I'...and as for your discourteous note, you can do absolutely whatever you want to do. It's your channel.
You don't see all the comments I'm not approving and am removing instead. I expected a few thousand views and 15 comments. The attention this video is getting is ridiculous.
No one could match Jimi as a guitarist, but as a band I prefer The Who.
Same here 😊
Happy birthday Peter xx
An interviewer that doesn't interrupt 🤙awesome 👏
Good, because he sucks. You wouldn't want to tolerate how phony he is - in fact, that's why I had to abruptly end the edit here, because he followed up with a statement that was so stupid Pete made everyone laugh at him.
My goodness! Such elegance from Pete! Jimmy will be the best electric guitar player ever. And every electrical guitarist knows that. Like a Picasso and Mozart. A touch of God.
Elegance? Pete is claiming Jimi stole his act
Its “Jimi”
Townshend actually spent decades badmouthing Hendrix.He was no friend of his.
I can't imagine Pete would have as many friends as your typical rock star. He seemed notoriously difficult to get along with, though not as bad as Ginger Baker.
Honestly Pete Townshend has changed this story at least 3 or 4 times. Don't get me wrong I am a big Who fan ... Also the The Grateful Dead came on in between The Who & Hendrix. I believe they did toss a coin about the order though.
That's rock and roll!
Happy Birthday Pete,…5/19/23.
Obviously I've never met Hendrix but the various photos I've seen of Hendrix and i personally know people that knew or met him he never looked like a trash man, his afro was right on time and he didn't look dirty at all to me. I think Pete just has to find a way of hating on this dude because he completely destroyed him to his face......
It would have been more socially responsible to specify what he meant in memory of Jimi. I read elsewhere Pete's issue was Hendrix's dandruff. It ruined the effect for Pete when he saw him up close. The whole thing amuses me.
Pete rarely said anything nice about his contemporaries, and that includes Jimi. Plenty of old interviews out there about how mad he was that Jimi stole is guitar smashing antics. And that comment to Mama Cass is very hard to believe. Too bad she can't confirm that.
Pete should stick to his pedo research
Pete and a few other guitar players from those days always seem to compliment him and at the same time insult him. Jimi Hendrix doesn't look dirty.
@@JamesWilliams-js4fo You never saw Jimi close up so you wouldn't really know.
@@JamesWilliams-js4foYou didn't smell him, did you? I bet Pete did.
@@MartinMaat Lol your demented.
Townsend is so eloquent, he does Jimi justice by how well he tells the story
His story has changed...
Yeah I’ve 100% heard a different version of this from him. 🤥
Yes, he has. But, still very interesting!
@@artothewanderer9517 See my comment above
Yeah it was more , Pete heard that he was on after and flipped saying he wasn't gonna be shown up , Jimi got on the chair played a blinder and said i'm not going on after you .... haha
@@richardbeaton7324 what's the difference?
Lucky boy, Peter...Lucky lucky boy ..
Hendrix, Moon and Entwistle! That would have been some power trio!
Why have Moon when he had Mitch Mitchell?
@@Nominay True, but after hearing how Buddy Miles and Billy Cox helped Jimi go into a different musical direction, I'm sure that a power trio with Moon and Entwistle would have been fantastic. Just fantasising, that's all.
@@Nominay Yeah, Mitch Mitchell was great but Jimi's band would’ve been better with Entwistle.
@@jimmycrackcorn2516 Wasn't he more of a straight rock beat drummer? Mitchell is more interesting for Jimi as a jazz drummer who had no problem with versatility.
Yes, years before this Pete told a different story. Appears they disagreed on the appearance order and it got a little heated. Pete said Jimi claimed he would pull out all the stops and make Pete regret it. As great as Pete is on guitar, he seems to have discomfort with his peers who may be equals or greater in popularity.
When other bands are fighting each other over the headliner spot, the Who had the honesty and respect to give it to Jimi Hendrix. That's a lot to be admired in such a great rock band.
I love the chord Tony hits near the end during "but now I'm back. . ."
What are you talking about? There is neither a Tony in this video or a line of "but now I'm back".
First time I heard it said like this. Pete doesn’t let the truth get in the way of a good story.
This whole thing reminds me of an interview I saw with Eric Clapton once, who was set to follow Stevie Ray Vaughan in a show. After Stevie went out and just lit the stage on fire, Eric said that he turned to his bandmate before going on and said, “how in the hell am I supposed to follow that!” That tells you something about just how good Stevie Ray Vaughan was. When even Clapton was afraid to follow him.
I think SRV was his 3rd favorite guitarist.
It also tells you the extent to which Eric Clapton wasn't God.
@@Nominay ...and that's why Stevie Ray Vaughan die...
@@Nominay You can't predict shows. I saw Wishbone Ash warm up for The Who in 73. They blew me away. Both bands of that period still do. We're just lucky to have them with us, and Jimi at least recorded. And as for people picking apart these memories by the players, enjoy it if you can, otherwise, just get a life. They were in it and you were not.
Also when Jeff Beck decided to let SRV come on stage and join him in a song. Then Jeff was fighting for his life to follow Stevie's solos. It's on YT. Jeff looks like a cornered rat at times and has difficulty shining. After SRV kills it, smiles at Jeff, Jeff looks like someone just stole his car. th-cam.com/video/84_UvByGDkM/w-d-xo.html
Has he finished his book yet?
Yes. It’s been on sale for eleven years. Keep up.
It's Jordan (basketball), Ali (boxing), Hendrix (lead guitar), The Beatles (singer/songwriters), Shakespeare (playwriting) and James Jamerson (bass guitar) who are so far as of 2023 are the Greatest Of All Time in their field. I'm not familiar with other sports, drumming has a 3 way tie with Reni, Moon and Bonham; and there isn't a GOAT for Tv and Movies just yet.
A.J. Foyt auto racing!
sir, 4 way tie on drumming, ever heard of Billy Cobham from 1970's Mahavishnu Orchestra? check him out..
It's a trip how anyone on here comments after hearing it from the horse's mouth. No one else's two cents and feelings matter LOL. Thanks Pete. Some of us listen and accept.
It is true that Pete has told this story differently before, but I chose not to judge it. I see this more as an edited version of the fuller story, that's all.
Is Pete really dissing Jimi? Didn’t you hear Pete call Jimi godlike, with the skills of a Shaman, an elegant performer, the most profoundly important artist of the generation?
I'd be surprised if anyone would think he was dissing Jimi. Pete's just being honest as according to his perception and memory.
@@Nominay Has Pete been researching any more pedo books?
Eh. To my ears, Pete is dismissing Jimi's albums. Which, again to my ears, are WAY better than the Who's albums. Jimi as a live act was great, but what endures are the recorded versions of the songs.
@@oinkooinkYou're absolutely asking the wrong person.
@@aquamarine99911 No Because he is talking about a live show with Hendrix at Monterey Pop Festival. Anyone can tell Hendrix made remarkable music from his very first record Are You Experienced? In the mid 70's, bizarrely, a Toronto TV station ran Monterey Pop in the middle of a school day while I was on my lunch break. Maybe they figured all those hippy gals were now bored housewives. First time I ever played hooky. Told my home room teacher that my guppies had given birth and were eating their young so I had to stay home to protect the babies. She said "don''t lie to me, I know fish lay eggs!" I made her ask the science teacher and got away with it. She was so embarrassed about the false accusation that I did not not require a note from my parents Jimi truly was inspirational.
What Pete says @3:00. There has been some spec that Jimi possessed synesthesia. Even the language of Purple Haze or The Wind Cries Mary "the wind is drearily sweeping" suggests it. This could have been something more than just having dropped a couple of purple microdots (was acid produced in microdots back then?). I know it was everywhere by 77, microdots(!) ,blotter (!!), yellow windowpane (!!!). I digress. And flashback. Please don't overdo it young ones. You can be left with permanent visual distortions. And if you MUST try psychedelics do yourself a favour and start low dose for first experience, be in a safe place with safe people one of whom stays sober. You will need 12 hours, less for shrooms. Never do speed or opiates. I don't know anything about the newer drugs but trip advising sites are online if you are going to do them no matter what. I'm not advocating, this is harm reduction.
Wow! Flashback on purple microdots, blotter with funny pictured stamps on it and and that golden windowpane. You had to have been there.
@@maximusindicusoblivious180 In the year that Toronto got a baseball team they came out with Blue Jay Blotter. Did not touch LSD again until my 60th birthday a few weeks ago.Timothy Leary blotter! Have a decent spring!
@@Alsatiagent Thanks Brother, you're the man. Happy Belated Birthday!
@@maximusindicusoblivious180 Thanks Maximus! Nice of you to say.
Yes purple Microsoft was actually some of the best around at that point
I think Jimi Hendrix honed his amazing skill on the guitar, and his amazing abilities as a musician, in the competitive chitlin circuit, where you were out if you didn't deliver. Jimi could easily and stylishly do the work of 2 or 3 musicians, rhythm, lead, singing, although the best falsetto singing came later (Have you ever been...). Lead guitar comes from the legacy of people like Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. Flashy and cutting edge, fast and furious. Check out "Blue N Boogie" by those two from 1953.
Before the Chitlin circuit he was already acknowledged as the best guitar player in Washington state. He played locally there in bands before joining the Army. Most of Hendrix's progression and skill was realized in his first 3 years playing.
What a fantastic period for the art of music & so many bands & so many expressions within it......alas it's all over now folks because popular music has been globalized.....all the freedom has been taken away.
Pete Townshend does not typically give accolades easily, so his favorable view of Jimi Hendrix carries some weight. Hendrix was the greatest performer of his time, doing things sonically that no one had done previously and still a mystery today. And, while Pete acknowledges that Jimi had playing ability that he himself did not have, I can't see Hendrix pulling off what Pete did with The Who. Try corralling Keith Moon and John Entwistle. Not sure Jimi could have done that. Pete's guitar work on Live at Leeds should be a thesis work on the "angry guitar".
I don't think Hendrix was on any drug for an early groundbreaking performance that could ruin his career. Too many exaggerated stories.
Whether on drugs or not, Jimi can still play guitar
Hendrix dropped acid before that show. I guarantee it. Listen to his set....
Very well documented that Hendrix and a lot of everyone else were on Owsley acid at Monterey..
Is you were not there and he was I suggest your analysis is a load of crap.
Jimi himself talked about it many times in interviews and said that he dropped acid before that show
"I'm slightly psychic, there's no question about that." lol
Magic Bus at Royal Albert Hall, is my personal favorite by The Who...
Townshend never wanted to have to follow Hendrix - probably the only reason he agreed to do Woodstock was he knew Hendrix was the headliner for that festival and he would be the final performer ..
I've heard earlier interviews where he said something else to Mama Cass when she said "Isn't he doing YOUR thing?" And Pete said to her, "Well... it's OUR Thing."
What he means is they couldn't follow Hendrix....
IMHO this interview shows that Pete's STILL trying to cope with the fact that as a guitarist Hendrix was simply at a level he could never reach--nobody ever has!!
Pete's blowing smoke in this interview....
We need to find Jimi and ask him about his exchange with Pete about who's on first at Monteray so we can know the truth about the matter...
Oh Wait!...
I guess the survivors do get to write history...huh?
Monterey.
God bless friends who respect friends and speak lovingly about them.
“He had very bad skin..” lol insane
The who's outfits at Monterey... the 1800 English knickers, silk, etc... classic.