Jimi Hendrix is someone we rarely saw with an acoustic guitar in hand. The late ’60s were dominated by electrics, and the few impromptu acoustic performances Jimi gave were mostly unrecorded, witnessed only by his lucky friends. Unfortunately, Jimi left us far too early, so he never had the chance to fully explore acoustic sounds in the way some of his contemporaries, like Eric Clapton, did later in their careers. It’s easy to imagine that if Jimi had more time, he might have expanded his sound and picked up the acoustic guitar more often.
While researching Jimi’s gear for his Gear Page, I found only two recorded instances of him playing an acoustic guitar. Naturally, I had to dig deeper into both performances to uncover the stories behind them.
Jimi Hendrix Playing “Hear My Train a-Comin'” on a Zemaitis 12-String
This is the better-known of the two acoustic recordings. It was filmed by Peter Neal on December 19, 1967, while Neal was working on a documentary about the band, Experience, also known as See My Music Talking. According to Ultimate Hendrix, the footage was shot at Bruce Fleming’s London studio, the same studio where the band had been photographed for the British cover of Are You Experienced.
In the video, Jimi plays a Zemaitis 12-string guitar, which was tuned down two whole steps. The guitar was handmade by luthier Tony Zemaitis in London. This performance has become iconic for showing a different, more intimate side of Hendrix’s musicianship.
Jimi Hendrix Playing “Hound Dog” on an Epiphone FT79
The second instance of Jimi playing acoustic is less well-known, and I couldn’t find much solid information about it. If you happen to know more, feel free to leave a comment below! From what we can see in the footage, it seems like someone decided to grab a camera when they realized something amazing was about to unfold.
In this clip, Jimi is surrounded by friends, including a few girls, one of whom jokes about needing some acid, much to the amusement of the group. In the video, Jimi is playing an Epiphone FT79, a guitar his girlfriend Kathy Etchingham mentioned as one of his favorites.
According to Kathy:
Jimi used it for almost everything he composed in this country, as he didn’t use an amp until the move to Brook Street, and in any case Chas would never have allowed it in case we disturbed the neighbors because we’d upset them in Montague Square and Chas didn’t want to be chucked out of a second flat. Jimi would pick up and then play the acoustic, then pick up a Strat and play that unplugged, listening to it without an amp. He constantly played it to work out riffs and song arrangements including his own version of Dylan’s “All Along The Watchtower”
Kathy Etchingham – Bonhams: Jimi Hendrix: An Epiphone FT 79 acoustic guitar, 1951
Based on this quote, I suspect the woman with red hair sitting near Jimi in the video could very well be Kathy herself, and this footage might have been filmed in their Mayfair flat in late 1968 or early 1969.
If you’re interested in learning more about Jimi’s acoustic guitars or the rest of his gear and equipment, check out our Jimi Hendrix Gear Page for more detailed information.
Thanks very much for sharing these. As far as the second clip goes, i think it would be more accurate to say he is playing a sped-up version of Big Mama Thornton’s “Hound Dog” — the 1952 original backed by Johnny Otis (d) Pete “Guitar” Lewis (g), and Maurice Delgado (b), not the Elvis Presley arrangement. He closes by singing the first half of a famous U.S. Army Airborne running cadence: “Two old ladies lying in bed, one rolled over to the other and said …” As a former enlisted member of the 101st Airborne Division, he would have learned this cadence during his military service in 1961-62. The part he does not sing is, “I want to be an Airborne Ranger, live a life of sex and danger.” (See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYcjAWO8kPo ). Again, thanks for the web site.
That’s a fair point. Maybe seeing how often the song was covered, it’s probably best to just leave it at “Jimi playing Hound Dog”. But yes, when I think about it and listen to it, he was most likely playing inspired by the Big Mama Thornton version. You’re right.
Very good insight on the latter part. Not being from the US personally, the importance of the “two old ladies” lyrics added there by Jimi slipped under my radar. Thanks for pointing it out Catherine! Cheers.
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