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Essential Question
In what ways did Jimi Hendrix help create a new "Hard Rock" sound while retaining a connection to the Blues and R&B of his past?
Overview
Ray Davies wrote “You Really Got Me” on the piano in the front room of the Davies family home, stabbing out that insistent two-chord riff in two-finger chords. His guitarist brother Dave, at 17 five years Ray’s junior, transferred the riff to guitar, playing it through a tiny, battered 5-watt amp, its natural propensity for distortion when cranked to the max exaggerated by the holes Dave had poked into the speaker’s cone with a knitting needle.
— Charles Shaar Murray on Hard Rock
Hard Rock didn’t emerge as something cohesive, something planned, or something immediately obvious in its musical-historical importance. As the epigraph above suggests, it began with something as unlikely as a knitting needle in a speaker cone. Only in retrospect did it appear that significant events had taken place that together led to something deserving of a name. And the name it got was “Hard Rock.” By that time, however, the Kinks, widely celebrated as having given the movement its birth moment with “You Really Got Me,” were exploring other musical territories. They may have set things off, followed by the Who with “I Can’t Explain,” but another group represents Hard Rock’s dramatic entrance better than either of those British acts: the Jimi Hendrix Experience.
This lesson presents Jimi Hendrix and his band as a Hard Rock case study. In contrast to British groups like Cream (which featured Eric Clapton, a former member of both John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers and the Yardbirds, on guitar) and Led Zeppelin (featuring former Yardbird Jimmy Page), Hendrix came out of the American Rhythm and Blues scene. But as a member of that scene, he was not a solo artist or a celebrated member of a group (as were Clapton and Page) — he was as true sideman, in the shadows. Hendrix, then Jimmy James, played guitar for the Isley Brothers, King Curtis, and Little Richard, among others.
Importantly, though Hendrix’s later style would go well beyond what he did as an R&B sideman, he would always retain a little of his musical past in the rhythmic approach he took to “lead” guitar. In a song like “The Wind Cries Mary,” one can hear a rhythm guitar player raised on Soul and R&B, no matter that the guitar is featured, front and center, in a way that would be unusual on a Soul or R&B recording.
This lesson will consider the manner in which Hard Rock pushed overdriven, distorted guitar to the front. It will contrast an R&B style, often driven by keyboards and horn sections, with Hendrix’s “Purple Haze,” where the guitar takes center stage, with only drums and bass as accompaniment. The lesson will also explore the way Hendrix was received — not as a journeyman from the world of R&B, but as a phenomenon that seemed to arrive as if from nowhere.
Written in 1966, Peter Jones’ featured review (linked to on the chapter home page) puts it thus: “NOW hear this — and kindly hear it good! Are you one of the fans who think there’s nothing much new happening on the pop scene? Right… then we want to bring your attention to a new artist, a new star-in-the-making, who we predict is going to whirl round the business like a tornado. Name: Jimi Hendrix. Occupation: Guitarist-singer-composer-showman-dervish-original. His group, just three-strong: The Jimi Hendrix Experience.” From the writer’s position in 1966, it all looked new. But like all musicians, Hendrix came from somewhere. This micro lesson looks into the situation, exploring both the artist’s musical past and his ultimate place of arrival in the emerging Hard Rock scene.
Objectives
Upon completion of this lesson, students will:
- Know (knowledge):
- The importance of Jimi Hendrix as an innovator in the emerging Hard Rock scene of the mid-1960s
- The guitarist’s past as a sideman for Little Richard, the Isley Brothers, and King Curtis, and the influence of that past on his Hard Rock recording
- Be able to (skills):
- Extrapolate arguments about music by assessing sound, mood, tone, instrumentation
- Draw connections among various print, audio and visual texts
- Write creatively for personal and/or small group expression
- Compare and contrast texts, arguments and ideas
Activities
Motivational Activity:
- Show the video of Sam and Dave performing “Hold On, I’m Comin’” in 1967. Ask students to write down answers to these questions as they listen:
- What are the featured instruments?
- What gives the song its energy?
- What do you think the group wanted the audience to focus on?
- What melodies, other than the lead vocal, are emphasized?
- How important is the guitar to the overall sound?
- To the instructor: Explain that Sam and Dave’s band was a Soul/R&B group from Memphis, Tennessee. Further, once they’ve had a chance to respond, explain that this ensemble’s configuration was typical of what you’d find in 1960s R&B: three horns, a drummer, a bass player, a keyboard player, and a guitar player, all backing the lead vocals that are the most obviously featured part of the act.
- Explain to them that Jimi Hendrix, when he was still called Jimmy James, was the guitar player in a few different R&B bands. In one of them, he backed Little Richard. Of that experience, Hendrix said this: “Like, once with Little Richard, me and another guy got fancy shirts ’cause we were tired of wearing the uniform. Richard called a meeting. ‘I am Little Richard, I am Little Richard,’ he said, ‘the King, the King of Rock and Rhythm. I am the only one allowed to be pretty. Take off those shirts.’ Man, it was all like that. Bad pay, lousy living, and getting burned.”
Procedure:
- Divide students into groups of three. Distribute copies of Peter Jones’ 1966 review of Hendrix and his band. Ask them to consider, as a group, how Jones describes what he hears and sees in the Jimi Hendrix Experience.
- What adjectives does he use to convey a sense for what Hendrix’s sound is like?
- Is it loud? Is it dance music? Is it similar to that of any other performer?
- If you don’t know Jimi Hendrix’s work, can you determine, based on the article, what it might sound and look like?
- Do you get any sense for Hendrix’s past as a sideman?
- Now ask the class, remaining in groups, to watch a clip of the Jimi Hendrix Experience playing “Purple Haze.”
- Once the clip has played, ask the groups to consider the following questions:
- After seeing and hearing Jimi Hendrix play, would you suggest to Peter Jones anything he could do to make his review more accurate?
- What are the featured elements in the music and in the performance?
- How is Hendrix’s approach with “Purple Haze” different from the approach of Steve Cropper, the guitar player with Sam and Dave?
- If Jimi Hendrix had played and performed as he did here while backing Little Richard, what do you think Little Richard might have said?
Summary Activity:
Ask each group to make a list of the differences they see and hear between the performances of “Hold On, I’m Comin'” and “Purple Haze.” Have the groups compare their results, and make some general conclusions about the changes that Hard Rock brought to guitar music.
Extensions:
- Have students do a rewrite of Peter Jones’ 1966 review. Be sure they explain why they made the changes they did.
- Have students design and create cover art for the single of “Purple Haze.”
- Assign students to research three significant events relating to race that happened in 1966. Ask students to explain, with those events as a backdrop, why Jimi Hendrix may have wanted to leave his work as a sideman to front his own band. How does that choice relate to personal expression, and why was personal expression an important issue for an African-American man in 1966?
Standards
Common Core State Standards
College and Career Readiness Reading Anchor Standards for Grades 6-12 for Literature and Informational Text
- Reading 4: Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including determining technical, connotative, and figurative meanings, and analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone.
- Reading 6: Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text.
College and Career Readiness Writing Anchor Standards for Grades 6-12 in English Language Arts and Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science and Technical Subjects
- Writing 5: Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach.
- Writing 7: Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects based on focused questions, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.
College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for Speaking and Listening for Grades 6-12
- Speaking and Listening 2: Integrate and evaluate information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally.
- Speaking and Listening 3: Evaluate a speakers point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric.
College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for Language for Grades 6-12
- Language 3: Apply knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different contexts, to make effective choices for meaning or style, and to comprehend more fully when reading or listening.
Social Studies – National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS)
- Theme 1: Culture
- Theme 4: Individual Development and Identity
- Theme 5: Individuals, Groups, and Institutions
National Standards for Music Education
Core Music Standard: Responding
- Analyze: Analyze how the structure and context of varied musical works inform the response.
- Interpret: Support interpretations of musical works that reflect creators’ and/or performers’ expressive intent.
- Evaluate: Support evaluations of musical works and performances based on analysis, interpretation, and established criteria.
Core Music Standard: Connecting
- Connecting 11: Relate musical ideas and works to varied contexts and daily life to deepen understanding.
National Core Arts Standards
Responding
- Anchor Standard 7: Perceive and analyze artistic work.
- Anchor Standard 8: Interpret intent and meaning in artistic work.
- Anchor Standard 9: Apply criteria to evaluate artistic work.
Connecting
- Anchor Standard 10: Synthesize and relate knowledge and personal experiences to make art.
- Anchor Standards 11: Relate artistic ideas and work with societal, cultural and historical context to deepen understanding.
Career Technical Education Standards (California Model) – Arts, Media and Entertainment Pathway Standards
Design, Visual and Media Arts (A)
- A1.0 Demonstrate ability to reorganize and integrate visual art elements across digital media and design applications.
A1.1 View and respond to a variety of industry-related artistic products integrating industry appropriate vocabulary.
A1.4 Select industry-specific works and analyze the intent of the work and the appropriate use of media.
A1.5 Research and analyze the work of an artist or designer and how the artist’s distinctive style contributes to their industry production.
A1.9 Analyze the material used by a given artist and describe how its use influences the meaning of the work. ia, and Entertainment |
A3.0 Analyze and assess the impact of history and culture on the development of professional arts and media products.
A3.2 Describe how the issues of time, place, and cultural influence and are reflected in a variety of artistic products.
A3.3 Identify contemporary styles and discuss the diverse social, economic, and political developments reflected in art work in an industry setting.
A4.0 Analyze, assess, and identify effectiveness of artistic products based on elements of art, the principles of design, and professional industry standards.
A4.2 Deconstruct how beliefs, cultural traditions, and current social, economic, and political contexts influence commercial media (traditional and electronic).
A4.5 Analyze and articulate how society influences the interpretation and effectiveness of an artistic product.
A5.0 Identify essential industry competencies, explore commercial applications and develop a career specific personal plan.
A5.2 Explore the role of art and design across various industry sectors and content areas.
A5.3 Deconstruct works of art, identifying psychological content found in the symbols and images and their relationship to industry and society.
Performing Arts (B)
- B2.0 Read, listen to, deconstruct, and analyze peer and professional music using the elements and terminology of music.
B2.2 Describe how the elements of music are used.
B2.5 Analyze and describe significant musical events perceived and remembered in a given industry generated example.
B2.6 Analyze and describe the use of musical elements in a given professional work that makes it unique, interesting, and expressive.
B2.7 Demonstrate the different uses of form, both past and present, in a varied repertoire of music in commercial settings from diverse genres, styles, and professional applications.
B7.0 Analyze the historical and cultural perspective of multiple industry performance products from a discipline-specific perspective.
B7.3 Analyze the historical and cultural perspective of the musician in the professional setting.
B8.0 Deconstruct the aesthetic values that drive professional performance and the artistic elements necessary for industry production.
B8.4 Use complex evaluation criteria and terminology to compare and contrast a variety of genres of professional performance products.