Jimi Hendrix was an American musician and guitarist widely recognized as one of the most creative and influential musicians of the 20th century.
He pioneered the explosive possibilities of the electric guitar. We all know Jimi was a magician with the strat, but what about an acoustic guitar?
As it turns out, there is rare video of Hendrix playing “Hear My Train Comin’” on the acoustic guitar, and it’s a true gem among music videos.
There is not much recorded of Jimi playing acoustic guitar.
However, people stumbled upon two recordings and spliced them together in this video. Dressed in a signature colorful shirt with a hat on his head, Hendrix sits on a bar chair. There is a light background behind him, which emphasizes the vibrant colors he’s wearing even more than usual. With a guitar on his lap, he slowly tunes in.
The most memorable moment of the video is when Jimi says to the cameraman: “Let me try this one more time. Don’t waste all the film there!”
It says much about his humility. Hendrix wasn’t even aware that the video would be watched and treasured by millions decades later!
Jimi makes the acoustic guitar sound like an electric one.
The legend uses a pick when he plays, and the way he picks those strings makes it sound a bit like an electric guitar.
Then he drops his pick into his bottom fingers and smoothly switches to fingerpicking never missing a beat. That is impressive, and we kind of understand why he was considered the master at what he did. The video is probably touched up, but it’s great to have classic rock stars in this quality anyway.
What an amazing jam immortalized forever! Being able to watch Jimi Hendrix casually play something on his 12-string acoustic guitar turned upside down while being a little bit nervous in front of the camera is one of the reasons we praise the power of technology.
Still, it’s not the instrument that makes this awesome—it’s the musician.
Hendrix sounds like himself no matter what he’s playing on.
It turns out that his magnificent skills could make any instrument sound perfect. We must mention the ways Hendrix is nailing his blues roots, broken tempo and loose structure, and all in the service of the lyrics and the feel. This great guitarist made a beautiful song sound as if it was played in heaven.
Hendrix was left-handed, self-taught, and had an indescribable talent.
The second clip in the video was filmed in Jimi’s apartment in London.
He’s sitting on his bed and playing “Hound Dog” equally as great as in the first clip. Surrounded by his friends, he enjoys pure music—and we would have loved it if he’d recorded an acoustic blues album.
Even so, Hendrix is living on through his legacy.
It takes a lot of talent to withstand the test of time, and Hendrix did it.
With a lot of masterpieces he left behind, Hendrix’s story is still being read in music magazines and his music can still be heard on compilation albums. There is a famous line he once said, and people quote it quite often:
“When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace!”
With that in mind, let’s listen to some great music, and enjoy it profoundly!
Check out the full video in the link below:
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