Before there was Woodstock, there was Monterey International Pop Festival. A groundbreaking moment in music history, the festival took over the Monterey County Fairgrounds in Monterey, California, in June 1967. Over the course of three days, the festival was home to the first major public performances of Jimi Hendrix and the Experience, Janis Joplin, The Who, Otis Redding and sitarist Ravi Shankar, and served as one of the first major displays of hippie culture.
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When Hendrix took the stage on June 18, he quickly established himself as an icon in the making with his incomparable guitar playing and decadent stage outfit that included a ruffled yellow shirt layered with a black and white lace vest, complete with his signature bandana wrapped around his forehead. One of the standout performances from his memorable set was that of “Hey Joe,” his cover of the rock standard that he’d released six months prior.
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From the opening guitar notes to the sound of his deep voice, Hendrix was in his element from start to finish. It’s almost as if it’s an out-of-body experience for the rocker as he gets lost in the music. At one point, Hendrix shockingly starts to play his electric guitar with his teeth, remarkably without missing a note. But that wasn’t the only surprising moment, as Hendrix ended the performance by playing the guitar on his back, his skill level proving to be next level. Hendrix brought his set that also included “Foxey Lady,” “The Wind Cries Mary,” “Purple Haze” and a cover of The Troggs’ “Wild Thing” to a truly epic finish when he lit his guitar on fire.
“The worst thing about Monterey was we found out from one of our ex-roadies that Hendrix was gonna steal our act,” The Who’s Peter Townshend recalled in an interview regarding how the band famously smashed their guitars onstage during the festival. “Jimi was out of his brain on acid and wouldn’t discuss who would go on first,” claimed Townshend’s bandmate Roger Daltrey. “It wasn’t that we didn’t want to follow him, we just wanted to get our act done first,” Townshend added.
“Hey Joe” was a rock standard Hendrix frequently covered in his live show before officially recording and releasing it as a single. Despite its failure to make an impression on the charts in the U.S., “Hey Joe” is regarded as one of the legend’s best and signature songs. His performance of “Hey Joe” at the festival was included in the 2002 box set, The Complete Monterey Pop Festival.
Photo by Doug McKenzie/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
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