Upon leaving the military Hendrix performed as a session musician under the name Jimmy James, but it was while fronting his own group, Jimmy James and the Blue Flames in 1966 in New York, that Hendrix had a fortunate meeting that would forever change the course of his musical career.
"Hey Joe" is now known as one of Hendrix's signature studio recordings, but the importance of the song in getting Hendrix the attention his career desperately needed cannot be understated. As Ultimate Classic Rock puts it: "Jimi Hendrix was in the right place at the right time, playing the right song."
Chas Chandler, bassist for the classic rock outfit The Animals, was in New York when Hendrix and his band were active on New York's live music circuit. Chandler was in the audience at one of Hendrix's gigs at the behest of his friend, the model Linda Keith, who just the previous day had played him a new record by folk-rock singer Tim Rose, titled "Hey Joe." Chandler was impressed by the song, though it had not been a commercial hit. He later told Guitar Player, posted on Seattle Hendrix: "I said, 'Wow, I'm gonna find an act and record that song in England. That's going to be a hit.'"
Hendrix took to the stage with his Blue Flames and began his opening number. Can you guess was it was yet? Can you? Of course: it was, against all odds, "Hey Joe."
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