Jimi Hendrix - Curtis Mayfield Influence?

[Fretz]

Hey Guys

I've heard it said a lot that Jimi Hendrix got his rhythm style from Curtis Mayfield.
Any of you guys got a good example of this? I mean, Curtis Mayfield
playing that sort of rhythm style.

I checked out a few vids on youtube, but didn't really hit on anything.

[wingsdad]

Dont' know about Mayfield, but he worked in the Isley Brothers backup band, and others like this one, as he was paying his dues on the Chitlin' circuit in the early 60's before heading off to England and fame in his own right...in this version of 'Shotgun', you might hear the same rhythm vamp as Mayfield's 'Superfly' tht came along about 10 years or so later...easy to spot the lefty gp with big hair:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2wBPix-nmg&feature=related

And just for cannon fodder, here's early Hendrix work covered later by Stevie Ray:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jd6rFkSnYUs&feature=related

[msteeln]

If you know Curtis' understated style you'll hear it surface frequently in Jimi's music, especially when he wilds down and get's soulful or dreamy in parts, or moreso in full songs like Drifting, Angel, Little Wing. Jimi took from everybody.
Here's a music lesson incorporating Jimi and Curtis' similarities http://markweinguitarlessons.com/forums/blog.php?1-Mark-Wein&tag=curtis+mayfield

[Iago]

Finally I took some time to research on this and got myself a couple albums by the Impressions. I wanted to focus on Mayfield's earliest works, before Hendrix's 1967 album.
I've found those "typical" licks in the songs "I'm The One Who Loves You", "Gypsy Woman", "You've Come Home" and "As Long as you Love me" from The Impressions 1963 album (their debut, I believe). Mayfield was the lead singer and guitarist in the group. The songs must be available for a free listening in Youtube :)

A certain guitarist said "Hendrix was Mayfiled, only louder", what I've found to be an enourmous exaggeration. Many soul guitarists of the early 60's played in that style, using those major scale hammer-ons and pull-offs (Cropper, per example). Maybe Mayfield was the first to do that often in a soul record though. Usually these licks appear in the Impressions songs quite briefly, I mean, they are usually not up front and are quite short, you have to pay attention or you might miss them.

I'll start listening to their 3rd album now and I'll report what I find.

[msteeln]

'Jimmy' sat all day at the studio Cropper worked at hoping to meet him, finally the secretary told Steve a guy was across the street, he then met Jimi and was excited to hear that Jimi was the guy who played a certain little riff on a single by Don Covey that he loved, and they became good friends.

The new-ish book by Steve Roby, Becoming Jimi Hendrix, is a great read.

[Earle G]

Well Jimi was infruenced by Curtis on his chording but thing there were some
others that never hit the internet in their life. They were guys that played
clubs and gospel on Sundays. They most often used chord substitutions
like playing an Am7 over a CMaj chord with an arpeggios line of note
movements.

[msteeln]

It can probably be counted as true that most of the greatest players were never heard by the masses. Jimi's own family say there were better guitarists than Jimi in Seattle's hot bed of 50s/60s talent alone. Jimi had the goods, and timing finally was on his side in '66, the year he'd actually been dreaming would be 'his year'.

[otaypanky]

C2wBPix-nmg


mK4GrUd4xJw&feature=related

[Iago]

I listened to all the "One by One" album by The Impressions today and the only report I'll make is about the song "Need to Belong to Someone" - classic "Mayfield-Hendrix-esque" rhythm playing, even the leslie speaker is there (or what seems to be one). All the other songs are too orchestrated, not really my favorite style of soul music, though "Is Not Unusual" is a classic.

You guys wanna hear some more great rhythm playing? Listen to the guitar in Al Green's "Too Tired of Being Alone" and "I'm in Love" by Wilson Pickett, recently I got Pickets' A Man and a Half double CD edition but I still have to take a deep listen.

I think I'm getting some early Al Green as well soon.

[inscribed]

@msteeln...

"Jimi's own family say there were better guitarists than Jimi in Seattle's hot bed of 50s/60s talent alone."

I've read about Seattle's music scene of the 50's and 60's that hendrix came up in from here: http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&file_id=8415

So I'm definitely interested in your tidbit of info. Any links or sources from the Hendrix family you can post? Would love to hear about these "lost guitarists" so to speak.

[msteeln]

That's an overview that can often be duplicated accross the country, there's usually other's that can cut the local-boy-made-good (Deliverance..., anyone?). Seattle happened to be one of the areas where really good guitar was prominant but not promoted, it was happening but we didn't know about it, you had to be there and in the know. There's a direct quote addressing my statement in the book (title?) by Steve Roby, it covers Jimi's pre-Hendrix life and is a killer read.

[inscribed]

Hey thanks for the reply! Good point about local music scenes, didn't really think of it that way. The book you mentioned looks great, will definitely check it out.

[amature]

Hey Guys

I've heard it said a lot that Jimi Hendrix got his rhythm style from Curtis Mayfield.
Any of you guys got a good example of this? I mean, Curtis Mayfield
playing that sort of rhythm style.

I checked out a few vids on youtube, but didn't really hit on anything.

I remember being in a record store in the 70's and buying an album called JIMMY HENDRIX PLAYS-CURTIS MAYFIELD SINGS. it was a very good album and I wish I had not lost it!

[amature]

I remember being in a record store in the 70's and buying an album called JIMMY HENDRIX PLAYS-CURTIS MAYFIELD SINGS. it was a very good album and I wish I had not lost it!