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The guitarist that Billy Gibbons called “a technical wizard”
ZZ Top co-founder, vocalist, and guitarist Billy Gibbons is one of the most influential musicians of his generation and had the chance to witness the evolution of Blues and Rock up close. He met many legendary artists over the decades, became good friends with them, and still cherishes the incredible moments he had the chance to share with some of them.
He was once even described by an old friend—whom he called a ‘technical wizard’ when it came to playing the electric guitar.
The guitarist that Billy Gibbons called “a technical wizard”
The guitarist praised by Gibbons was Jimi Hendrix, whom he had the chance to meet quite well, since his former band The Moving Sidewalks was the opening act of the Jimi Hendrix experience. “He was a real technical wizard. He was inventing things to do with the Stratocaster guitar I am confident the designers had no clue would unfold in later years. Jimi had the talent to make that work for him. His technique was very peculiar in that he was playing a right-handed guitar in a left-handed style, upside down. To look at it and try to figure out what he was doing was very daunting.”
“But we got to share opposing hotel rooms always at the end of the hall. The doors were always open. He had a record player delivered each and every afternoon, and he would motion to me, ‘Come on over here. Let’s see if we can figure this out’,” he told Rolling Stone.
Gibbons said Hendrix became a different person on stage
The ZZ Top guitarist also admired Hendrix’s personality, recalling the late musician was actually shy. But, of course, when he was on stage he would transform into another person. One of his favorite songs by the guitarist was “Red House”, which was part of his debut album “Are You Experienced” (1967)
“A buddy said, ‘There’s a song that you oughta hear.’ He was talking about ‘Red House,’ by Jimi Hendrix. That completely turned us upside down. It was Blues taken beyond. Then the Sidewalks got hired to join the Experience tour in 1968. We didn’t have enough material for 45 minutes, so we started doing ‘Purple Haze.’”
“I looked over and Hendrix was in the wings, wide-eyed, grinning. We had seen his showman antics from older blues guitarists. But he had a vision and aura. I remember him tiptoeing across the hall at the hotel: ‘Come in here. Do you know how this is done?’ He was learning chops off Jeff Beck’s first record, ‘Truth’,” he said to Rolling Stone.
Hendrix gave him a guitar he still has
They became really good friends during that tour and Hendrix even presented Gibbons with a Pink Stratocaster, which according to him is in safekeeping. But from time to time Billy Gibbons uses that guitar to record in the studio.
“Well, you know, suffice it to say, it’s a little predictable. But we still miss our buddy Jimi Hendrix, the Boy Wonder. And he took it from ground zero up to the stratosphere… That would be a real delight, but let’s leave it with Jimi. After all, he invented things on the Fender Stratocaster that the designers never had a clue could be done.”
“(I still have) the little pink Stratocaster (he gave me). It’s in safekeeping, and it still gets a good whoopin’ in the studio every once in a while. He was kind of a shy guy off stage. But when the lights came on, look out, he would tear things. He would tear it up, just a great showman. And he really enjoyed getting to do what he got to do, and that’s to play guitar. He had some great players on the stage with him, the Jimi Hendrix Experience stands as one of the great rocking blues bands ever; I mean, they really enjoyed playing,” Billy told Live Signing.
Hendrix tragically died in 1970 at the age of 27 after a short career with his own band. He was a sideman for many artists before he finally formed Jimi Hendrix Experience. The original power trio had the bassist Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell.
With that line-up, the band released three classic studio albums. Then in 1970, he recorded with other artists the album “Band of Gypsys”. Since then many unreleased Hendrix recordings were released by his estate and record companies.