Frank Zappa explains Jimi Hendrix to the readership of LIFE (in June of 1968)

http://www.science.uva.nl/~robbert/zappa/interviews/life.html

>>The Jimi Hendrix Phenomenon
Hendrix is one of the most revolutionary figures in today's pop culture, musically and sociologically. His success is a curious paradox in view of the historical prejudices outlined earlier.

Hendrix is 24 years old. He dropped out of a Seattle high school in the 11th grade. He was raised strictly by his parents: "They taught me to have manners." He is reasonably sincere and humble: "We are lucky to be listened to." He is apparently very happy with his commercial success. Partly because it allows him to act out some of his childhood fantasies (in his clothing, for instance): "I always wanted to be a cowboy or a hadji baba or the Prisoner of Zenda..."

His strongest appeal is to the white female audience ranging in age from about 13 to 30, with the highest concentration of victims between 19 and 22. "I just carry advantages with me in my back pocket when I go off at a gig." His charisma also extends to a white male audience, 15 to 25.

He is realistic about his market appeal: "The black people probably talk about us like dogs... until we play." "When I see some of them in the street, they say, 'I see you got those two white boys with you.'... I try to explain to them about all this new music. I play them some records. First I play Cream and when they say, 'Hey that's great, who is that playing the guitar?', I tell them it's Eric Clapton and he's an Englishman. Then I might play them some of what we do. Sometimes they still think we're crazy."

Hendrix's music is very interesting. The sound of his music is extremely symbolic: orgasmic grunts, tortured squeals, lascivious moans, electric disasters and innumerable other audial curiosities are delivered to the sense mechanisms of the audience at an extremely high decibel level. In a live performance environment, it is impossible to merely listen to what the Hendrix group does... it eats you alive (He is concerned about his live performance image: "I don't want everybody to solely think of us in a big flash of weaving and bobbing and groping and maiming and attacking and...")

In spite of his maiming and groping, etc., the female audience thinks of Hendrix as being beautiful (maybe just a little scary), but mainly very sexy. The male audience thinks of him as a phenomenal guitarist and singer Boys will bring girls backstage for autographs. While signing their scraps of paper, shoulder blades, handbags and pants, Hendrix will frequently be asked: "Do you think of any particular girl while you're playing, or do you just think of sex itself?" Meanwhile, the boys will ask, "What kind of equipment do you use? Do you get high before you go on stage?"

The boys seem to enjoy the fact that their girl friends are turned on to Hendrix sexually; very few resent his appeal and show envy. They seem to give up and say: "He's got it, I ain't got it, I don't know if I'll ever get it... but if I do, I wanna be just like him, because he's really got it." They settle for vicarious participation and/or buy a Fender Stratocaster, an Arbiter Fuzz Face, a Vox Wah-Wah Pedal, and four Marshall amplifiers.<<

 

An interesting connection Jimi and Frank. Frank's autobio merely mentioned that Hendrix and Billy Cox came by Franks house (Tom Mix's old Hollywood cabin) one day. Gail Z sewed a rip in Jimi's pants and Billy snoozed.
In a way-back thread I mentioned that a luthier named Rex Bogue in my old neighborhood (San Gabriel, CA) had been commissioned by FZ to restore one of Jimi's burned sunburst Strats. Frank would often have it onstage and not necessarily even play it, so he was either very fond of the guitar, or the late Jimi.

 

I think he was fond of both. He seemed to be quite proud too of a painting from Jimi he had in their basement.

 

Now we know why Alan Douglas was taking direction from his teenage daughter while compiling Voodoo Soup.

 

.

 

Zappa sounds pretty enthused here...
He was equally enthsiastic about hearing Dylan's "Like A Rolling Stone" for the first time, which he reckoned of 'everybody' had 'got' it, would've upped society's intellect and awareness. Hendrix made that bridge too, one would think.

 

Very cool!

 

Great piece!

 

Wonderful article.

Really like you avatar--Howard and Sonia, delightfully unexpected here...!

 

Thanks bumbletort! Yes, taken on their wedding day.

I can't remember exactly where I first stumbled upon that article. I know it was not as originally printed in Life though. It might have been included in a weird little book I once bought featuring several other interesting rock music-related time period pieces like this one.

 

Wonder why Frank put those humbuckers in that strat if he didn't play it much, or did he play it much? Were the single coils too damaged or missing? Is that the original neck? It looks like a replacement.

 

The neck had been smashed by JH at Miami. Yes FZ did play it, but rarely played on anything stock. He was into preamps (Bogue created early, often unintentionally, heavily distorted, guitar pre-amps) and heavy EQ for those crazy tones of his, and this Strat was no exception. You can see that the pick-guards/pickups/neck differ in the 2 pics, and undoubtedly modifications continued.


from various sources;

FZ-Another one of my Strats is the one Hendrix burned at the Miami Pop Festival; it was given to me by this guy who used to be his roadie. I had it hanging on the wall in my basement for years until last year when I gave it to Rex and said, "Put this sucker back together," because it was all tore up. The neck was cracked off, the bodywas all fired, and the pickups were blistered and bubbled. That's the one that's got the Barcus-Berry in the neck. A lot of people thought I had Hendrix's guitar from Monterey, but it was from Miami; the one at Monterey was white and this one is sunburst.

Jim Wiliams (Guitar Centre Pasadena)-I did get to "re-assemble" the suburst Strat burned and busted by Jimi Hendrix at the 1968 Miami Pop Festival. It was given to Frank Zappa by Jimi, probably as a thank you for putting his pic on the Mother's 1967 album "We're Only In It For The Money".
Frank had me and Rex Bogue put it back together. It was featured on the cover of a 1970's Guitar Player magazine. I put a piezo pickup into the headstock and preamps on the guitar. Dweezil has it now.

Dweezil-Given to Zappa by a Hendrix roadie, this formerly sunburst Strat was mutilated by Hendrix at the 1968 Miami Pop Festival. Zappa had it hanging on a wall in his basement for years until Rex Bogue put it back together with Zappa-approved electronic delights, such as a Dan Armstrong Green Ringer and a Barcus-Berry pickup buried in its original replacement neck! This neck, however, is a fairly new addition, as is the tortoise shell pickguard.

 

Thanks for the info I love that!!!!

 

Actually Buddy Miles rather than Billy Cox. (Not positive but FZ may have moved out of the cabin before Hendrix got back in touch with Billy Cox.)

 

Good and rewarding catch! I went to the FZ book and the clarification reveals another FZ/JH tale/connection. There is a chapter about FZ moving into the cabin in 1968 when the MOI finished a residency in NYC (they'd lived in Laurel Canyon prior). The log cabin chapter mentions a '1st' visit from Mick Jagger (MJ got a splinter in his toe from the rough hewn floor, Zappa removed the splinter and they discussed European history), and some details about the notorious Plaster Casters (Jimi and Noel were immortalized, but FZ passed on a contribution).

The PREVIOUS chapter has anecdotes of the MOI 1967 NYC residency at the Garrick Theatre on Bleeker St, and FZ and Gail living nearby. FZ says he doesn't remember who introduced JH, but he'd probably met him at the Tin Angel and that he hadn't known him prior to that. He says Jimi SAT IN (!) with MOI (ya there, Chris M?), and subsequently Jimi and, yes, Buddy dropped by the FZ Charles St apartment to sew Jimi's green velvet pants which he'd torn demonstrating a dance move.

 

As with many such stories, here’s again a variation found on Zappa Wiki Jawaka (and an alledged wah-wah connection);

http://wiki.killuglyradio.com/index.php/Jimi_Hendrix

Sat in with the Mothers Of Invention while they were in New York. It was FZ that first introduced Hendrix to the "Wah Wah" effect pedal.

FZ recalls seeing Hendrix at the Cafe Au Go Go:
"I thought Hendrix was great. But the very first time I saw him perform, I had the incredible misfortune of sitting close to him at the Au Go Go in New York City and he had a whole stack of Marshalls. I was right in front of it. I was physically ill. I couldn't get out; it was so packed, I couldn't escape. And although it was great, I didn't see how anybody could inflict that kind of volume on himself, let alone other people. That particular show he ended by taking the guitar and impaling it in the low ceiling of the club. Just walked away and left it squealing."
–"Zappa's Inferno, Guitar World" (April 1987)

At the 1968 Miami festival Hendrix presented Zappa with the remains of his guitar. Zappa would subsequently rebuild the guitar and perform with it throughout the 1970's. In 2002 Dweezil put the guitar up for auction, hoping it would make one million dollars, but it failed to sell.

Pic; Zappa & Hendrix from the We're Only In It For The Money cover

 

jacksondownunda: >Good and rewarding catch! I went to the FZ book and the clarification reveals another FZ/JH tale/connection. There is a chapter about FZ moving into the cabin in 1968 when the MOI finished a residency in NYC (they'd lived in Laurel Canyon prior). The log cabin chapter mentions a '1st' visit from Mick Jagger (MJ got a splinter in his toe from the rough hewn floor, Zappa removed the splinter and they discussed European history), and some details about the notorious Plaster Casters (Jimi and Noel were immortalized, but FZ passed on a contribution).<

Good comments. But the splinter incident relation with Zappa and Mick Jagger has the roles reversed. :O)

 

The little girl on the cadboard cutout or something, held in Jimi's arms, is Herb Cohen's daughter. I'm surprised SHE isn't photoshopped out of that cover yet... (ref. here to the Hot Rats reissue LP's inner sleeve's history revision re. Cohen vs. Zappa)

 

Good point ParloFax, especially since they at least covered Herb's eyes on the CD reissue of Money. Always wondered about the continuing legal issues between Zappa and Cohen too, especially with Cohen briefly restarting Bizarre Records in the early nineties for that Lowell George/The Factory comp and the Tom Waits Early Years comps. Funny too since those Tom Waits comps earned Cohen another lawsuit from Waits himself.

By the way, to the original poster, thanks for digging this out! Great stuff!

 

Huh! I thought that guy looked familiar!

 

You're very welcome! I was expecting two or three positive reactions but not that much: I thought most fans here would have known the piece already, so I'm real glad I posted it!

About Herbie, exactly where is he on the cover of WOIIFTM? Is he the character with dark longuish hair and beard (and eyes already "censored" with a strip on the original LP cover), right over Nostradamus (...or is it Nostradamus?...), in the upper right section?

 

Yeah, thought I was hallucinating at first--HPL on the brain--as I'd just started re-reading some favorites like "The Rats in the Walls."

 

Great piece, thks for sharing.

 

A couple of years ago, my wife brought me from the library an excellent CD-book of The Rats - unfortunately I forgot all the details... The reading was exquisite, with a fine "British" accent, as befitting HPL's narrators, and a madness culmination scene showing great acting talent too!

...Now if only this thread was about Black Sabbath instead, and all their lovecraftian references!