Thursday, November 13, 2008
Mitch Mitchell
The last one of the Jimi Hendrix Experience to die. What does this have to do with the Cold War? Well, there was a lot of great new music back then (the late 1960s) that fed off and interacted with the tumultuous events of the time (Vietnam; the counterculture), but to me no sound is as representative for the heady, ominous atmosphere back then as that of this "band of gypsys." Mitchell was only 62 (and yesterday in London there were still three World War I veterans at the annual commemoration services) but his passing still is a reminder that while the 1960s, Vietnam, the Cold War remain defining eras in millions of people's lives today, they're also becoming--not yesterday, but the-day-before-yesterday, as in: over and done with; history, in other words. I can't claim truly to have been a participant back then, but I do remember the times, and I guess all this makes me kind-of old too.
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WMSE had a small tribute to Mitch Mitchell today; some early Hendrix that pre-dated Are You Experienced but featured both Redding and Mitchell. We suburban kids dabbled at the edge of the counter-culture; we shared a love of most of the music (I was a trend setter when it came to Hendrix, Cream, etc.), but lacked the angst that fueled the movement. I was sitting in the hospital after my motorcycle accident when Jimi died, and missed the memorial gathering for him on the east side.
Speaking of A Band Of Gypsys; Machine Gun still gives me chills...
do your kids care about this stuff, or is this really only something old guys talk about?
I think my son Evan appreciated Hendrix for both his skill, and his place in history. He ripped and burned to CD my entire Hendrix collection, and listened regularly. My youngest, Zach, is a guitarist (has a Fender Strat to boot!) but looks at Hendrix strictly as a skilled guitarist among so many others. He has seen the Filmore version of Hendrix doing "Machine Gun", and only commented on his use of the tremolo bar.
Looking at the collection of Hendrix music on YouTube, and seeing some of the posted comments makes me think there are plenty of "youngsters" that appreciate his place in history beyond his guitar work.
a genuine classic, it appears!
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