. . . guitarists had been using since T-Bone Walker and Guitar Slim - playing behind his head and with his teeth. He took exhibitionism to a new degree. He used to crash his guitar against his hip. It was a bold gesture, and he would get a roaring, fuzzy, feedback sound. His body motion was so integrated with his playing that you couldn’t tell where one started and the other left off. Many of his sounds were things that Jimi stumbled on, and a lot he shopped for. They became part of his musical language. It wasn’t something he could just tell you how to do. You had to understand the whole way he heard sound, the way he wanted to feel sound and get it out to create music. But it was no big thing for Hendrix to play melodies - he wanted to play like an orchestra. This is the crux of his music - it’s not just lead guitar; it’s orchestral guitar, like Andres Segovia, Chet Atkins, Wilburn Burchette, Ry Cooder ,and George Van Eps. Jimi Hendrix was the most orchestral of all. Have you ever heard “The Star Spangled Banner” on Rainbow . . .

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