History of Rock and Roll Lesson 2/11/15

Hard Rock didn't emerge as something cohesive, something planned, or something immediately obvious in its musical-historical importance. As the epigraph above suggests, it began with something as unlikely as a knitting needle in a speaker cone. Only in retrospect did it appear that significant events had taken place that together led to something deserving of a name. And the name it got was "Hard Rock." By that time, however, the Kinks, widely celebrated as having given the movement its birth moment with "You Really Got Me," were exploring other musical territories. They may have set things off, followed by the Who with "I Can't Explain," but another group represents Hard Rock's dramatic entrance better than either of those British acts: the Jimi Hendrix Experience.

This lesson presents Jimi Hendrix and his band as a Hard Rock case study. In contrast to British groups like Cream (which featured Eric Clapton, a former member of both John Mayall's Bluesbreakers and the Yardbirds, on guitar) and Led Zeppelin (featuring former Yardbird Jimmy Page), Hendrix came out of the American Rhythm and Blues scene. But as a member of that scene, he was not a solo artist or a celebrated member of a group (as were Clapton and Page) -- he was as true sideman, in the shadows. Hendrix, then Jimmy James, played guitar for the Isley Brothers, King Curtis, and Little Richard, among others.

Importantly, though Hendrix's later style would go well beyond what he did as an R&B sideman, he would always retain a little of his musical past in the rhythmic approach he took to "lead" guitar. In a song like "The Wind Cries Mary," one can hear a rhythm guitar player raised on Soul and R&B, no matter that the guitar is featured, front and center, in a way that would be unusual on a Soul or R&B recording.

This lesson will consider the manner in which Hard Rock pushed overdriven, distorted guitar to the front. It will contrast an R&B style, often driven by keyboards and horn sections, with Hendrix's "Purple Haze," where the guitar takes center stage, with only drums and bass as accompaniment. The lesson will also explore the way Hendrix was received -- not as a journeyman from the world of R&B, but as a phenomenon that seemed to arrive as if from nowhere.

1. Read Peter Jones' 1966 review of Jimi Hendrix and his band. Consider Jones describes what he hears and sees in the Jimi Hendrix Experience.
   • What adjectives does he use to convey a sense for what Hendrix's sound is like?
   • Is it loud? Is it dance music? Is it similar to that of any other performer?
   • If you don't know Jimi Hendrix's work, can you determine, based on the article, what it might sound and look like?
   • Do you get any sense for Hendrix's past as a sideman?
2. Watch a clip of the Jimi Hendrix Experience playing "Purple Haze."
3. Once the clip has played, answer  the following questions:
   • After seeing and hearing Jimi Hendrix play, would you suggest to Peter Jones anything he could do to make his review more accurate?
   • What are the featured elements in the music and in the performance?
   • How is Hendrix's approach with "Purple Haze" different from the approach of Steve Cropper, the guitar player with Sam and Dave?
   • If Jimi Hendrix had played and performed as he did here while backing Little Richard, what do you think Little Richard might have said?