Jimi Hendrix and John Henry?
Yes!
Yes!
We looked at the past and how different artists interpreted the legend of John Henry, but in this instance lets look at how the legend of John Henry left its mark on an artist who many consider the greatest of all-time. Hendrix in the song above is riffing off of a Muddy Waters version of a blues tune called "Catfish Blues" the song like many in the blues idiom is a standard of many musicians meaning many people who played the blues played it including Mississippi Fred McDowell. Lyrically, Hendrix changes the traditional blues tune and adds in African culture and religion, Voodoo. Hendrix incorporates what he learned playing guitar in the Chitlin Circuit in the American South and builds upon the masters of the Harlem Renaissance to create something entirely new, but rooted in something entirely old. Hendrix's influence was profound on one of the bebop jazz's masters, Miles Davis.
So Jimi Hendrix's legacy grows every year much like John Henry's did. Artists continue to cite Hendrix and his work as their inspiration. The legend, the myth, the legacy of Hendrix continues to bend as people interpret it, much like the real story of John Henry. Hendrix, like Henry, died at his zenith of his most profound accomplishment. This song, Voodoo Chile, was his last recorded song, his last work. Let's look at the lyrics for similarities to the fable of John Henry.
Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)
Well, I stand up next to a mountain
And I chop it down with the edge of my hand.
Well, I stand up next to a mountain,
Chop it down with the edge of my hand.
Well, I pick up all the pieces and make an island,
Might even raise just a little sand.
Cause Im a voodoo chile,
Lord knows Im a voodoo chile, baby.
I didn't mean to take up all your sweet time,
Ill give it right back to you one of these days.
I said I didn't mean to take up all your sweet time,
Ill give it right back one of these days.
And if I don't meet you no more in this world
Then ill, I'll meet you in the next one and don't be late, don't be late.
Cause Im a voodoo chile, voodoo chile,
Lord knows Im a voodoo chile, hey hey hey.
Im a voodoo chile, baby.
Is Jimi Hendrix with his guitar like John Henry with his hammer? Was Hendrix a steel driving man? Did John Henry chop down mountains with the edge of his hand/hammer?
So Jimi Hendrix's legacy grows every year much like John Henry's did. Artists continue to cite Hendrix and his work as their inspiration. The legend, the myth, the legacy of Hendrix continues to bend as people interpret it, much like the real story of John Henry. Hendrix, like Henry, died at his zenith of his most profound accomplishment. This song, Voodoo Chile, was his last recorded song, his last work. Let's look at the lyrics for similarities to the fable of John Henry.
Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)
Well, I stand up next to a mountain
And I chop it down with the edge of my hand.
Well, I stand up next to a mountain,
Chop it down with the edge of my hand.
Well, I pick up all the pieces and make an island,
Might even raise just a little sand.
Cause Im a voodoo chile,
Lord knows Im a voodoo chile, baby.
I didn't mean to take up all your sweet time,
Ill give it right back to you one of these days.
I said I didn't mean to take up all your sweet time,
Ill give it right back one of these days.
And if I don't meet you no more in this world
Then ill, I'll meet you in the next one and don't be late, don't be late.
Cause Im a voodoo chile, voodoo chile,
Lord knows Im a voodoo chile, hey hey hey.
Im a voodoo chile, baby.
Is Jimi Hendrix with his guitar like John Henry with his hammer? Was Hendrix a steel driving man? Did John Henry chop down mountains with the edge of his hand/hammer?