Part and parcel of being one of the most outstanding guitarists of his generation meant that Billy Gibbons rubbed shoulders with some of the finest ever to do it. Perhaps the greatest of them all was the late Jimi Hendrix, a man whose life was as mythical as the music he produced.
Notably, Gibbons’ playing impacted Jimi Hendrix so much that he was one of his favourite guitarists and one of his closest friends. Naturally, the ZZ Top legend was in awe of Hendrix the first time they met. He recalled in The Express: “We hit it off in a rather unexpected manner.”
This meeting came when Gibbons’ pre-ZZ Top band, The Moving Sidewalks, opened four shows for The Jimi Hendrix Experience. Describing what the first encounter was like, he told the publication: “Our contract required us to play for 45 minutes, and at that time, the only way we could complete the run was to include two numbers by Jimi Hendrix. Which was kinda chancy, I must say.”
“I remember wrapping up the set, coming off the stage, there was Jimi in the shadows – off to the side with his arms folded. But he was grinning, and as I passed by, he grabbed me and said, ‘I like you. You’ve got a lot of nerve,’” Gibbons also told Ultimate Classic Rock about their first meeting. He found a kindred spirit in Hendrix, as both men were unafraid to let rip on the fretboard and move into new areas, spitting in the face of tradition.
Gibbons got to know Hendrix so well that he associates one classic album with him. Speaking to Classic Rock in 2022, Gibbons remembered that there was one record the ‘Purple Haze’ musician used to play all the time, as he was “totally OTT” about the guitarist behind it. This was former Yardbirds man Jeff Beck and his 1968 offering Truth, which spawned rock classics such as ‘Beck’s Bolero’, ‘You Shook Me’ and ‘Hi Ho Silver Lining’.
Explaining that Beck’s guitar playing bewitched Hendrix, Gibbons said of Truth: “The one I really remember him playing the ass off was the first Jeff Beck Group album, Truth. Hendrix was mad about it, totally OTT about Jeff’s playing. Oddly enough, Hendrix was all too willing and ready to include blues licks in his arsenal of guitar offerings, which had fallen out of favour in the States with most black entertainers.”
“I got to play on stage with him at the time, which is quite well documented. But it was what went on behind the scenes that really captured the magic of the moment,” Gibbons concluded.
