Jimi Hendrix (the original recorded version)
Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Yngwie Malmesteem
Zakk Wylde, Slash
John Mayer
Stevie Ray Vaughan
Buddy Guy
Mato Nanji (Indigenous)
Kenny Wayne Shepherd
Henry Garza (Los Lonely Boys)
I apologize for the quality of the Los Lonely Boys performances. But that's not the point. The point is that all of these people are major recording artists and they all have their own version of the same song. They all have different styles and backgrounds, yet they all cover this song out of all the songs they could cover. This is the question I am trying to answer: why is this Jimi Hendrix song such a popular song to cover? Please comment below.
What I think makes this song stick out is because it it one of Jimi's finer works. Hendrix is revered as a guitarist because he is very innovative with his guitar sounds and tones and because he has so much raw blistering talent. This song displays a good balance between raw solos and tone manipulation. It really seemed to opened doors for both blues and rock guitar players for ages to come.
ReplyDeleteI look forward to checking out some of these covers (when I'm someplace where it's OK to crank the volume, or when I have headphones).
ReplyDeleteI think if I could magically possess anyone's guitar skills, it would be Jack White's. He's learned a lot from Jimi Hendrix, clearly, though his approach to the blues is more stripped down, which at times makes it seem even more raw. Though I appreciate a certain level of sheer sonic pyrotechnics, I'm usually more interested in the song itself than in long solos. But certain White Stripes songs ("Ball and a Biscuit," for example) definitely make me jealous.