Want to learn how to play Jimi Hendrix songs?

James Marshall “Jimi” Hendrix was the greatest instrumentalist in the history of rock music, according to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He was one of the pioneers of utilizing guitar amplifier feedback artistically, and helped to popularize tone-altering pedals like fuzz distortion, wah-wah, and Uni-Vibe. 

Here are some Jimi Hendrix songs you can learn with Fret Zealot. 

Hey Joe

This three-part lesson will walk you through the intro, chords, and solo for “Hey Joe”. “Hey Joe” was one of the first songs Hendrix performed regularly with his group “Jimmy James and the Blue Flames”. It was the last song he played at Woodstock in 1969, and was the final song of the whole festival.

Purple Haze

This 1967 classic includes Hendrix’s inventive playing, including his signature “Hendrix chord”, also known as a 7#9 chord.

Wild Thing

This song was originally released by American band The Wild Ones and more famously covered by The Troggs. However, The Jimi Hendrix Experience took their version of “Wild Thing” to the next level at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967, when Hendrix set his guitar on fire at the end of the song.

Foxey Lady

This track, one of Hendrix’s best known songs, also features the “Hendrix chord”, as well as amplifier feedback. 

All Along the Watchtower 

The Jimi Hendrix Experience’s cover of this Bob Dylan song took on a life of its own. In 1995, Dylan said that Hendrix’s interpretation of his song inspired him. “It overwhelmed me, really. He had such talent, he could find things inside a song and vigorously develop them. He found things that other people wouldn’t think of finding in there. He probably improved upon it by the spaces he was using. I took license with the song from his version, actually, and continue to do it to this day.”

Little Wing

According to a 1999 biography, the idea for “Little Wing” came about when the Jimi Hendrix Experience played the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967. “I got the idea like, when we were in Monterey and I was just looking at everything around. So I figured that I take everything I see around and put it maybe in the form of a girl maybe, somethin’ like that, you know, and call it ‘Little Wing’, and then it will just fly away,” Hendrix explained. “Everybody’s really flyin’ and they’re really in a nice mood, like the police and everybody was really, really great out there. So I just took all these things and put them in one very, very small little matchbox, you know, into a girl and then do it. It was very simple, but I like it though.”

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