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Did dick (yes, with a small "d") Cavett show Hendrix proper respect?


Jkater

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Yeah, he was pretty dry and could definitely come off as being a pretentious prick but more in the 'elitist university professor' way rather than just a dismissive sort of way.


My guess is if you could have asked Jimi what he thought of Cavett three days after that show, he'd probably have responded, 'Seems nice enough on the tube but I've never met him so I don't really know.'


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I remember the Dick Cavett show from being a kid. Miss that type of 'dry' wit.


Looks like Jimi's playin' thru an Ampeg flip top Portaflex bass amp.


Dick's orchestra playing Purple Haze at Jimi's into at 7:05 is hysterical!

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Quote Originally Posted by Cobalt Blue

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Dick Cavett was very well-liked by musicians who considered Cavett cool--which is why so many musicians appeared on his show, even though they seemed to, otherwise, eschew appearing on TV.

 

Another cool appearance is a very young Frank Zappa on the Steve Allen show. While Allen definitely had fun with the idea of Zappa playing a solo on the bicycle, it was clearly with the understanding that Zappa was having fun with it himself, and there was never an air of condescension toward his guest. In fact, right after Zappa's performance, Allen mentioned that it reminded him of the work of Alwin Nikolais, describing him as a very gifted composer.
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Jimi's appearance on Dick Cavett is one of my earliest memories.


Dick Cavett comes across as high falutin', that's just who he is. He has a dry wit, but he comes across as pretentious at times.


Bob Costas is kind of like a milder version of Dick Cavett, today.


But Cavett could get out the rhetorical dukes, too. He had a notable on-air battle with Norman Mailer once, where he brought Mailer down a couple of pegs.

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Quote Originally Posted by GREC

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Dick's orchestra playing Purple Haze at Jimi's into at 7:05 is hysterical!

 

i think that would be foxy lady, band sounded great, drummer was brill and stuck right with jimi when they played , i think jimi may have pissed dick off by saying the art of words mean nothing.
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Quote Originally Posted by Foster Zygote

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While Allen definitely had fun with the idea of Zappa playing a solo on the bicycle, it was clearly with the understanding that Zappa was having fun with it himself, and there was never an air of condescension toward his guest.

 



Much unlike when he decided to be a total asshole and make Elvis wear a tux while singing "Hound Dog" to an actual basset hound.

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Quote Originally Posted by bruto

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American media in the 60s treated rock musicians with contempt - although Mike Douglass and Ed Sullivan were notable exceptions. Dick Cavett was always pretentious - not just to Jimi Hendrix, but to everyone.

 

Agreed. I'm at work now so I won't watch the vid, but Cavett often did come across smug or droll at best. With his demeanor, it always made me wonder, "Who is this smug twit?" I didn't much like him, but my sister did.


But for the most part, his guests seemed to "get him" and if you can believe it, he was considered somewhat hip for his time. He was at least opening the door for the "counter culture" to have a mouth piece. Ed Sullivan may have treated the acts with more respect, but to him, it really didn't matter if it was musicians, juggling plates or trained monkeys. His only concern was booking whatever people were willing to get into a long line to see. Cavett at least bucked the mainstream conservative media of the day and provided a forum for these people (Janis included) to come on and just be people. I think that's why his guests seemed to appreciate him even if he did come across a bit judgmental. I think he was trying to strike some balance for what the market audience expected of him during those rather conservative times. It wasn't that long before when Steve Allen had Elvis on his show but had him sing to a Basset Hound.

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i watched Cavett regularly, and agree he was somewhat dry and Uni prof, but his humor was at least 10 IQ points above the others. I saw no disrespect. Steve Allen was great too. Remember seeing Dylan for first time on his show, and Jack Kerouac. Plus Steve was a musician, a plus when musical types show up, eh?

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Quote Originally Posted by noisebloom

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But Cavett could get out the rhetorical dukes, too. He had a notable on-air battle with Norman Mailer once, where he brought Mailer down a couple of pegs.

 

That clip is AWESOME. Mailer was {censored}faced and tried to spar verbally with Gore Vidal (and failed miserably). When he tried to get some of his own back and told Cavett to ask the questions printed on the index cards, Cavett said, "Why don't you fold them five ways and stick them where the sun don't shine?"


There is nothing in the mainstream broadcast offerings today like Cavett's show. It was pretty remarkable back then, truth be told.


And I don't think Cavett was putting Jimi down. I just don't think they meshed.

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