November 27, 2021

Jimi Hendrix would have turned 79 today.

I've sometimes thought about what might have happened had the guy lived, and it's easy to say that he would have just continued to be a huge star, would have continued to be, for example, the number one rock concert draw in the world, etc., but most times, the world is not simple like that.

Like, what happens to Hendrix' star as disco and punk come around? What kind of record does Jimi make in 1984, for Pete's sake? The world, and music, went away from the kind of thing that Jimi had done. Sure, he would have evolved, but would he have evolved well? I'm not so sure.

Maybe instead of ill-conceived efforts to match the times, I imagine a sabbatical. Whether it would have been likes Miles', or like John Lennon's, I'm not sure, but when it ends, and he's out of the limelight, I'm guessing a series of low key blues albums, tours with his idols Buddy Guy and Albert King, niche stuff like that. Maybe at its best, a career arc like Jeff Beck's.

OK, the greatest electric guitar player in the world, but that doesn't always sync up with sales, or even talk.

But I am guessing that, had he reached the age of 79, he'd have been the kind of artist who was happy with the way it had gone, as he'd always had the opportunity--and the will--to put out what he wanted to.