I must’ve been sixteen or seventeen when “Purple Haze” came out. I remember thinking, “Now we’re getting radio from Mars.” The guitar sounded like a monster coming out of the speakers. Once in a while, somebody comes along and moves the instrument ahead, but not in the way Hendrix did. Jimi took it from black and white to multicolor. I always think of this old picture of him - I think he was playing background for King Curtis. He was wearing a suit, and, I don’t know, he just kind of looked like a geek. A few years later, he was in Monterey, lighting his guitar on fire.