Jimi Hendrix...What if he had lived?

Question

Whenever people compile a list of who they think is the greatest 'rock guitarist' of all time is, 99% of the people on that list came after Jimi Hendrix's time. This is because 'rock and roll' is now over 50 years old. Jimi died when 'rock and roll' was around 15 years old. Where do you think Jimi would be on that list had he of lived?
I realize some Hendrix fans already place him at the 'top of the list'.
What sort of twists and turns do you think his career might have taken during the 70's, 80's, 90's up to the present?
Before he died, he was trying to get in touch with the young black people of America, and considered working with several funk bands, and collaborating with Rashaan Roland Kirk and Miles Davis.
Or would his career have mimicked the other 60s guitar legends such as Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck? Do you think he might have covered versions of Bob Marley songs and dabbled with jazz fusion the was the two aforementioned artists have?
Here's a chance to get creative! What if?

Michael - I'm well aware of the fact that "nobody could ever know". That wasn't my question.
My question was "what do you think" might have happened with Jimi's career had he lived.
Use your imagination. It was meant to be fun, in the theoretical / hypothetical sense.

Maybe he'd be the leader of a 'late night talk show band' (God I hope not), who knows?

good gesser - Nice answer. I'm sure he would have been difficult to work, had he been performing with bunch of straight laced Christian rockers. But since the majority of people in the music industry (musicians especially) at that time were also drunk and drugged out, I don't anticipate that there would have been to many problems. Eddie Kramer says he was wonderful to work with.

kit walker - Great answer! Did you know that he also produced and played on the Welsh band 'Eire Apparent's album titled 'Sun Rise'. It was a very cool psych album. Also from what I seem to recall he also played on some of Stephen Stills 1st solo LP. Along with several other lesser known projects.
That 'Cat Mother' album you mentioned was great too...still have it!

Answer 1

I see him doing something similar to Carlos Santana, that is, working in tandem with younger artists, Lenny Kravitz and Prince in particular. Reggae hadn't quite taken off in 1970 when he died, though West Indian and specifically Jamaican pop and ska were already popular in Britain---I think he would have teamed up with Bob Marley, Burning Spear, or the Fugees to create a hybrid form of pan-African/Caribbean music. He was never into black nationalism, but I always thought he was a cultural bridge between the hard rock favored by whites in the 60s and Motown soul and jazz (I'm thinking Miles Davis and his "Bitches Brew" period).

I'd hate to think that today he'd be reduced to releasing his music on VH-1 "Best of" CDs or those ghastly Time-Life Collections (talk about raising the dead), as a number of old rockers have been doing lately. He was too conscientious an artist, but heck, you now hear songs by the Who and Led Zepplin shilling for pickup trucks and SUVs, and I never thought Pete Townshend would ever sell out. Must be the hearing loss and the cost of surgery these days....

Answer 2

Jimi Hendrix is the greatest guitarist of all time. Had he experimented more with jazz and funk, he would only be more critically acclaimed, which is hard to believe, seeing as how he garnered so much acclaim with only three studio albums (not counting posthumous albums) and a four year career.

But I don't think he would just try jazz and funk. He'd explore the blues more, possibly have a Dylan influence, and look into more genres. Hendrix would fuse everything he had learned and call it something that is related to earth and space. I think I heard somewhere that Eric Clapton looked up to Jimi Hendrix as a guitarist. If he lived, he would've just rose and rose and rose, until he reached a certain point of his career.

Some guitarist lists place people like Jimmy Page or Eric Clapton at the very top of the lists. They do deserve the position as much as Jimi Hendrix does, but if Jimi Hendrix had lived, it's possible that practically all greatest guitarist lists would place Jimi Hendrix at the top. He's someone who was good to begin with, yet he had a whole lotta potential.

Answer 3

I was thinking about this myself, I think the anniversary of his death is Sept 18th. As far as his playing, he was truly an innovator and an eager experimenter. He did try jazz, but I don't know if that was what he was really about. His unique guitar sound was groundbreaking. If he kept playing it is certain his new sounds and songs would have continued to influence the music world. His ability to re-arrange music gave him added artistic freedom. But he must have been difficult to work with. Drunk and drugged out all the time, god knows what he was like. But the sound, oh the sounds of that guitar! He had that so right and it was so different from anything out there. If he lived, (and cleaned up his act) I'm sure he would have continued to be an innovator, which possibly would have circumvented the whole disco craze!

Answer 4

70's: He makes widely popular and influential instrumental albums dabbling in rock, jazz, funk, reggae, and blues.
80's: With synth pop and arena metal as the two most popular music styles, his popularity declines and he almost fades away.
90's: He reunites with Noel and Mitch and records 3 new albums which are all critical and commercial successes.
00's: He doesn't record any new material with the Experience but still tours. Concentrates on collaborations with some old friends of his: Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Pete Townshed, etc.)
15: Dies and ascends into heaven. Teaches God how to play guitar.

Answer 5

Jimi would still be the best Rock and Roll guitar player if he were alive today. Most likely he would be playing more blues and jazz, that seemed to be the direction he was heading in before his demise. I think he would have made some great rock-jazz fusion, but he would also be playing tons of the old standards.

Answer 6

If Hendrix had lived he would be even more widely revered. His musical evolution is speculation but I can see him doing funk and jazz. Then in the seventies when he meets Eddie Van Halen he returns to more of a rock sound and would have probably developed entirely new styles of music which we have never and may never experience. He was truly amazing and could have accomplished much more than the incredible amount he already had.

Answer 7

Firstly,let's get a few things straight guys.As a producer,he produced (and played on 1 maybe 2 tracks) the eponymously titled "Cat Mother and the All-Night News Boys " ('68), a NYC rock and roll band he liked. Played sessions everywhere..including black political proto-rap group The Last Poets..Steve Stills to Martha Velez..etc etc not bothering to read contracts from cash-ins Ed Chalpin and own manager Mike Jeffrey who flogged him like dogfood and even had him kidnapped to show him who was Boss.Set to make a record with Miles Davis,Davis wanted 30,000 dollars up front,possibly sent over by taxi that day or night in case he was snowbound.Didn't eventuate.Hendrix was a lousy drunk,never drank that much,becoming violent,a legacy from his mother.Did not OD.Choked on his own vomit.Drank too much wine,dropped some barbs to slip into sleep,Big trap for young players..forgot he had,due to too much wine and 'doubled up'..the girl he was with was useless..and he died.He had visions of what he called "Sky Church Music"..something else he could hear in his head..he wanted clarity and I can imagine a not so chaotic Sun Ra thing happening with him over-lapping his guitars in place of all the horns..I bet he would pricked up his ears at the Santana/McLauglin collaboration "Flame Sky" off Santana's "Welcome" as well as Beck's first foray into fusion .I don't personally think he would be touring and playing "Hey Joe" with all the "clown town" guitar histrionics he loathed so much.I believe he would be ensconced in Electric Ladyland studios(much evolved) driving poor Eddie Kramer nuts with 'Take 69' of some 'tune' (much evolved) of the music that Hendrix made his own then and he would still be doing now..with a lotta jazz over the blues bedrock leading to...I wonder if Eddie wanted a holiday ..if Jimi saw fit to let Brian Eno have a crack as producer with some guests like Adrian Belew on guitar..Les Claypool on bass..one record, rock and another,ambient?From "1983" to "Evening Star" to...? Shite..I feel like choking the bastard myself.

Answer 8

That's all ways the question, isn't it?

If Jimi Hendrix had not overdosed, what would his music have become?

If Kurt Cobain hadn't killed himself, would grunge still be popular?

Would Keith Moon have been as good a percussionist if he had not all ways been wasted on horse tranquilizers?

The answer is, nobody can ever know. You couldn't predict a dead artist any easier than what path a current artist during the next ten years from.

Answer 9

a lot of people have put a lot of thought into this, but I'm just going to go with the first two thoughts that popped into my head

1. Jimi invents a new type of guitar-like instrument
2. "Clapton is God" becomes "Hendrix is God"

Answer 10

I would like to think that he would have gone on to create an impressive catalog of his music, dabbled in production and mentoring young guitarists, while remaining in demand for other musicians projects who wanted a Hendrix spin on their compostitions.