(Credits: Bent Rej)
Sat 18 October 2025 17:09, UK
Even though the musical career of Jimi Hendrix was tragically cut short in 1970 when he died aged 27, the guitarist left a lasting legacy on the music industry.
Hendrix completely reinvented guitar playing and pushed the instrument’s boundaries, revolutionising rock and roll through his effortlessly innovative approach. With that, his recognisable outfits, including army jackets, silky blouses, and embroidered waistcoats, made him a 1960s icon, influencing future musicians in their approach to fashion and gracing the stage with a recognisable look.
It’s easy to remember Hendrix as an icon, a pioneer, and an innovator, but those often feel like just words. What’s better is listening to the guitar of artists and bands before and after he arrived on the music scene. Before, they were one of two things: functional or inspired by either jazz or blues. There were inflexions and moments of virtuoso brilliance, of course, but nothing like after he showed his stuff. After Hendrix found fame, the entire guitar world changed.
And it wasn’t just the guitar. Hendrix’s view of the world and how to create music was a lifestyle change for the entire industry. The great Bob Dylan, discussing the work of his contemporary, once told the Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel about the moment he first heard Hendrix’s version of his song ‘All Along the Watchtower’.
He said: “It overwhelmed me, really. He had such talent, he could find things inside a song and vigorously develop them. He found things that other people wouldn’t think of finding in there. He probably improved upon it by the spaces he was using. I took license with the song from his version, actually, and continue to do it to this day.”
(Credits: Far Out / Alamy)
Alongside ‘All Along the Watchtower’, Hendrix was also known for tracks such as ‘Foxy Lady’, which appeared on his 1967 debut album, Are You Experienced?. The musician’s biographer, Harry Shapiro, claims that Heather Taylor inspired the song, a London socialite who ended up marrying Roger Daltrey from The Who.
On the track, Hendrix sings provocative lines such as, “you know you’re a cute little heartbreaker/ Foxy/ And you know you’re a sweet little lovemaker” and “I want to take you home, yeah/ I won’t do you no harm, no/You’ve got to be all mine, all mine”. However, he would later state that he would never approach women with the same confidence that ‘Foxy Lady’ exudes. Of course, it’s a fantastic track, noted for its trembling opening note, blues-inspired solo and powerful guitar chords that evoke sleazy sensuality.
Although the song is one of Hendrix’s most well-known, the reality is that he actually hated playing it live. The discovery was made by Alice Cooper, a big fan of the musician, who even hung out backstage with Hendrix as a teenager. He told SDR Show: “I’m sitting there after the show. I went to see them [Hendrix’s band]. We were just a little high school band, but they said, ‘Hey, come on up to the hotel room’.”
Imagine being a young musician and connecting with the wondrous Jimi Hendrix before you even really found your own voice. The young future rockstar even had his first drug experience with the guitar legend, “Weed was the first drug, and it was [with] Jimi Hendrix.”
During another interaction with the musician, Cooper revealed that Hendrix told him about his distaste for playing ‘Foxy Lady’ live. “I was talking to Jimi Hendrix, and Jimi goes, ‘Man, if I have to play ‘Foxy Lady’ one more time, I’m going to go crazy.’ I was sitting there going, ‘If I was in the audience and he didn’t play ‘Foxy Lady,’ I would really feel cheated.”
It appears that Hendrix was one of many musicians who hated playing some of their songs live, although he never claimed why ‘Foxy Lady’ drove him crazy. Despite his contempt towards playing the song, he continued to perform it in his live sets, cementing it as one of his signature tracks.
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