Let's Speculate: What if Hendrix had lived and Clapton had died?

[Vito Corleone]

 

Eddie Van Halen Yngwie Malmsteen Ritchie Blackmore Allan Holdsworth Randy Rhodes

 

 

I'm not an expert on guitar-playing, and to say any of them "ripped off" Hendrix might be strong words, but I don't see how you get from Chuck Berry and George Harrison to Van Halen and Malmsteen without going through Hendrix.

[tim_7string]

 

I'm not an expert on guitar-playing, and to say any of them "ripped off" Hendrix might be strong words, but I don't see how you get from Chuck Berry and George Harrison to Van Halen and Malmsteen without going through Hendrix.

 

 

Right. Despite the fact that Yngwie proclaims that Richie Blackmore is his guitar idol, he said in an interview that when he saw Hendrix perform on television as a child, that inspired him to pick up a guitar in the first place. So, he is out.

 

Van Halen insists that he was a disciple of Eric Clapton (specifically Cream), but his dive-bombs and other effects suggest that he was at least aware of Hendrix's sonic innovations, but perhaps was not directly influenced by him.

 

Blackmore was more of a peer to Hendrix since Deep Purple came out in the late '60s, so I doubt he was influenced by him much either. So, I would probably agree with that assertion that he was not influenced by him.

 

No idea about Holdsworth and Rhodes, but I'm sure they were aware of Hendrix like Van Halen.

[Vito Corleone]

 

Right. Despite the fact that Yngwie proclaims that Richie Blackmore is his guitar idol, he said in an interview that when he saw Hendrix perform on television as a child, that inspired him to pick up a guitar in the first place. So, he is out. Van Halen insists that he was a disciple of Eric Clapton (specifically Cream), but his dive-bombs and other effects suggest that he was at least aware of Hendrix's sonic innovations, but perhaps was not directly influenced by him. Blackmore was more of a peer to Hendrix since Deep Purple came out in the late '60s, so I doubt he was influenced by him much either. So, I would probably agree with that assertion that he was not influenced by him. No idea about Holdsworth and Rhodes, but I'm sure they were aware of Hendrix like Van Halen.

 

 

Even for the guys who weren't directly influenced, there's a lineage and broader influence at play. VH might not have been sitting at home figuring out the licks to Purple Haze as a kid, but the influence of that on his playing is obvious nonetheless. What if Hendrix never lived at all? I think all rock guitarists that follow (and the playing of most of his contemporaries) are completely different. Like you said, the dive-bombs, and the use of feedback, etc are things that almost all rock guitarists have incorporated in some manner or another.

[MartinC]

I should have said infuenced by, not ripped off.

blackmore-same era as Jimi, he broke in the sixties.

EVH, his wammy bar stuff=Jimi influence. I'd be amazed if he said he wasn't influeneced.

Holdsworth-a jazz fusion dude-not really a rocker.

Malmsteen and Rhodes-I'll agree with you-not much jimi there

 

 

Eddie Van Halen Yngwie Malmsteen Ritchie Blackmore Allan Holdsworth Randy Rhodes

 

[3shiftgtr]

 

Eddie Van Halen Yngwie Malmsteen Ritchie Blackmore Allan Holdsworth Randy Rhodes

 

 

Every one of them has to pass thru Jimi to do what they do.

 

Hendrix was the first guitarist to use overdrive and distortion as a natural part of their tone, not as an effect. Nobody made a strat thru a cranked Marshall do what he made it do.

 

Musically, his use of jazz chords (7#9), sophisticated rhythms and timing, and guitar arrangements, not to mention his use of the whammy bar, guitar sounds as metaphor (the famous Star Spangled Banner), distortion based improvisation and tons of other stuff make him the guy you gotta go thru if you use a distorted or overdriven "rock" sound as your B&B.

 

Even if you don't steal a lick....

[3shiftgtr]

 

Even for the guys who weren't directly influenced, there's a lineage and broader influence at play. VH might not have been sitting at home figuring out the licks to Purple Haze as a kid, but the influence of that on his playing is obvious nonetheless. What if Hendrix never lived at all? I think all rock guitarists that follow (and the playing of most of his contemporaries) are completely different. Like you said, the dive-bombs, and the use of feedback, etc are things that almost all rock guitarists have incorporated in some manner or another.

 

 

This^^^^^+1

 

Hendrix influenced Clapton, and Clapton was VH's main early influence. Clapton has often said that without Hendrix's influence, Cream would not have been the same.

 

And VH influenced Rhodes.....see? It all goes back to Jimi....

[MartinC]

You said it better than I. Jimi remains the main man when it comes to electric guitar playing.

 

 

 

 

Even for the guys who weren't directly influenced, there's a lineage and broader influence at play. VH might not have been sitting at home figuring out the licks to Purple Haze as a kid, but the influence of that on his playing is obvious nonetheless. What if Hendrix never lived at all? I think all rock guitarists that follow (and the playing of most of his contemporaries) are completely different. Like you said, the dive-bombs, and the use of feedback, etc are things that almost all rock guitarists have incorporated in some manner or another.

 

[pickinatit]

 

I think alot of younger musicans think he was alot bigger than he actually was back in the day. His stuff was not main stream cover band material during the summer of love. If you played alot of hendrix , you were not a top band in the working band cover scene.

 

 

Not so true in my neck of the woods (Baltimore and the surrounding area). After Woodstock, The soul- Motown-BS&T-Chicago dance type bands were rapidly giving way to bands that covered Hendrix, The Who, The Doors, Led Zepplin. It was long hair and distortion instead of ruffled shirts and horns. (Not a change I was very happy about at the time). Problem was that most of the bands that tried to cover Jimi didn't have the guitarist (or the gear for that matter) to do it justice, but they tried anyway (including my band). listening and standing around going, "far out man" got to be more popular then dancing in all but the biggest clubs. That's how I remember it anyway.

[Scott Powell]

 

Not sure I've heard ANY band play Lay Down Sally for years and years, but if one did I would assume it was because people wanted to hear THAT SONG as opposed to "something from the Eric Clapton catalog, please..." That's the kind of oldie I would imagine my wife probably digs. I doubt she knows, or could care less, that it was an Eric Clapton song.

 

 

Lay down Sally has always worked for me in VFW halls or any other gig where i am playing Older Country . I have sandwiched it between hag And Waylon tunes more than once

[Vito Corleone]

 

Lay down Sally has always worked for me in VFW halls or any other gig where i am playing Older Country . I have sandwiched it between hag And Waylon tunes more than once

 

 

Yeah, I have no doubt it would work in a "Brown Eyed Girl", "Sweet Home Alabama" sort-of-way. Certainly not as strong as either of those tunes, but I think that a lot of the same people (girls) who like those two songs would also like dancing and singing along with "Lay Down Sally".

 

But I don't think the fact that Eric Clapton recorded it matters one iota. I'm pretty certain that if some girl came up and requested it and you tried to give her "White Room" or "Layla" instead, she'd be pissed. (Give her BEG or SWA instead, though, and she'd probably buy you a drink.)

[TIMKEYS]

 

Not so true in my neck of the woods (Baltimore and the surrounding area). After Woodstock, The soul- Motown-BS&T-Chicago dance type bands were rapidly giving way to bands that covered Hendrix, The Who, The Doors, Led Zepplin. It was long hair and distortion instead of ruffled shirts and horns. (Not a change I was very happy about at the time). Problem was that most of the bands that tried to cover Jimi didn't have the guitarist (or the gear for that matter) to do it justice, but they tried anyway (including my band). listening and standing around going, "far out man" got to be more popular then dancing in all but the biggest clubs. That's how I remember it anyway.

 

 

I was in the south bend indiana market then, playing in a 7 piece soft rock/ soul/ horn band. we made 6 to 8 times the money the hendrix/ cream/ deep purple etc bands made. None of them could get booked for anything decent. We had one guitar player in town that did a good job on hendrix and cream. He was outstanding. concert violinist, super musican. He was a {censored}ty singer. We actually had a band meeting about bringing him in to the band , since we didnt have a monster lead player. We voted that idea down. The guy didnt sing, and we were a very strong vocal band and didnt see his lead player as being worth bringing on another member. hendrix and cream were still garage bound band stuff in our area in 1969 and 70. They played 50 to 75 dollar gigs.

[Flogger59]

 

Leo Fender would've probably died the owner of Fender Guitars...

 

 

Wut?

 

Leo sold Fender on Jan 1, 1965. Jimi's first album was in 1967.

[Grandmasterwayn]

It would suck for me, cuz I don't really like hendrix, but I love Clapton...o.O

[sharkbait]

I love him, so I'd like to think all positive things...

 

He would get clean or get a handle on it.

 

He would get free of the exploitative management he worked under.

 

He would get out of the creative slump he was semi-in.

 

He would grow continually musically at the rate that we'd seen, that his intelligence and heart suggested he could.

 

He had talked about music as a healing force. Maybe (who knows?) he might have become someone holy, a sort of saint, maybe... to some?

 

I really, really don't see him as ever becoming some sort of commercial, mediocre sellout.

[mstreck]

I don't know... but "Petting Clapton" doesn't sound as sexy.

[New Trail]

 

I was in the south bend indiana market then, playing in a 7 piece soft rock/ soul/ horn band. we made 6 to 8 times the money the hendrix/ cream/ deep purple etc bands made. None of them could get booked for anything decent.....

 

 

It was that way here as well. The popular bands, the ones that got the good high paying gigs, were usually 6,7,8 piece with horns.

[rvschulz]

 

I'm not an expert on Hendrix... fascinated yes... expert no. I agree with you and Tim on this... His death (like alot of artists) was cemented by his early death and the potential of what could have been. I've never considered Hendrix overrated but I think like alot of artists his relevance would have been largely relegated to the 60's & 70's in terms of his popularity.

 

 

while i totally respect your opinion - i disagree. his expertise in playing and creating music is still evolutionary to this day. i have no personal consideration about when or how he died. i can;t imagine what he would have done by now, since i can;t completely get my head around some of the things he did then ... Little Wing and Castles in the Sand come to mind as ... well, to me, not 5 songs created since then can touch these. i'm a fan, i know ...

 

btw, great topic.