Jimi Hendrix

Jimi Hendrixtheguardian.com“Music doesn’t lie. If there is something to be changed in this world, it can only happen through music.” That was a quote said by Jimi Hendrix and his career in music is proof that his quote is accurate. Jimi Hendrix was a guitarist in the 1960’s who was very experimental with his music.  Other bands of the time and present were inspired by his unorthodox music. He used his guitar playing to interpret and help with the issues of the 1960’s, such as the Vietnam War. Jimi Hendrix was able to step out of the musical norm and earned great success as a result. Jimi Hendrix is a hero because he possesses the traits of compassion and creativity, and inspires others along the way.

JimI Hendrix performing at Woodstockmorrisonhotelgallery.comJimi Hendrix is a hero because he showed great compassion towards others and the world around him. Hendrix showed compassion when he protested the Vietnam War, a large societal issue of the 1960’s. “In August 1969 Hendrix played at the Woodstock festival with an assemblance of fellow musicians and created a triumph of improvisation on ‘The Star Spangled Banner,’ complete with rockets, exploding bombs, and victims' shrieks, which many interpreted as a protest against the Vietnam War (JimiHendrix, Contemporary).” JimiHendrix was a musical voice of political activism against the Vietnam War and performed at the Woodstock music festival, playing his iconic version of the Star Spangled Banner. He played the Star Spangled Banner in protest of the Vietnam War because he wanted the soldiers to be withdrawn so America would stop losing valuable lives for a war that he believed was not meant to be fought. Hendrix could have ignored the issue of the war and could have gone on with his career without ever mentioning it, especially in light of the controversy of the issue; in spite of this, however, he decided to speak out and took a stand for what he believed in, inspiring others to do the same. He got involved not for personal gain, but to assist in finding a solution to the issue. As well as being compassionate with large issues in society, Hendrix was also sympathetic on a personal level. “As Dick states ‘you’re considered one of the best guitar players in the world' Jimi bashfully drops his head and says ‘aw…no’” (Lopez). Not only was Jimi kindhearted on a large scale, but he was also compassionate when talking to interviewers and peers. JimiHendrix was benevolent to all and showed how even if someone is extremely famous and talented, it doesn't mean that they can’t still be kind and humble. Hendrix showed sympathy through his music and through how he spoke and influenced others to also act this way towards not only large issues, but personally too.

The Jimi Hendrix Experiencewikipedia.comJimi Hendrix is a hero because of his innovation and creativity in his music. In his guitar playing he was very experimental with different sounds and effects that had not been heard before. “In a professional career that lasted less than a decade, he created music that still sounds as fresh and breathtaking today as it did when he took the pop world by storm in 1967 (Jimi Hendrix, Contemporary).” Jimi Hendrix had a relatively short music career, but with his creativity and innovation, his music is ageless and is just as good today as it was in the 1960’s. With Jimi Hendrix’s creativity, he reinvented pop music and completely changed music in general by inspiring future bands. In order for Jimi Hendrix to make timeless music, he  innovated and experimented with not only new sounds, but also sounds from existing genres.

“His music combined elements of blues, jazz, folk, pop, rhythm and blues, rock and roll, country, classical virtuosity, electronic experimentation and manipulation of noise, volume, feedback, sound delay, repetition, and other special effects in live and recorded performances (Henderson).”

Jimi Hendrix took sounds that already existed at the time and combined them in new ways, giving himself a distinct playing style and sound. As a result of Jimi Hendrix combining different genres, it led to inspiring  new guitarists of the time and guitarists today. Hendrix was creative with his music and combined elements together to make a distinct sound and style. Because of this, he was a great inspiration and still continues to be.

Jimi Hendrix is heroic because he possesses the traits of compassion and great creativity. Jimi Hendrix innovated and changed the traditional way of playing a guitar which inspired bands after him. Hendrix was compassionate on a small and large scale, from political and societal issues to a personal level with interviewers and peers. He possessed creativity and showed it by building his own sounds and techniques that have been recognized for decades. Jimi Hendrix left a lasting legacy and showed the world the true potential of the electric guitar. He inspires me to improve musically and as a person. I think I speak for the majority of guitarists when I say that we all want to play like Jimi Hendrix, but people like him only come once in a million musicians. He inspires me to keep playing and practicing because no matter how discouraged I am, that is the only way I can improve.  In order to achieve greatness, you must work hard to get there. Jimi Hendrix has become one of the most well known guitarists, and for good reason. If it were not for Jimi Hendrix and other guitarists like him, the music industry would be completely different. He truly shaped the world with his music and united millions of people. Jimi Hendrix never stopped playing guitar and working hard until the day he died. His life can be summed up by one phrase that he said: “You have to go on and be crazy. Craziness is like heaven”.

Works Cited

Henderson, David. "Jimi Hendrix." Encyclopedia of African-American Culture and History, Gale, 2006. Biography In Context

"Jimi Hendrix." Contemporary Musicians, vol. 2, Gale, 1989. Biography In Context

Lopez, Vincent. “Jimi's Most Memorable Interview: ‘I'm Not The Greatest Guitar Player.’” Society Of Rock, 19 Apr. 2017,