Jimi Hendrix Week: Best Of YouTube special

The late great Jimi Hendrix
The late great Jimi Hendrix

As is inevitable for someone who died 38 years ago, there's not as much flawless Jimi Hendrix footage out there as we'd like. But there are some stunning/weird clips you should see.

Here's a collection of some of MusicRadar's favourites, from superb original performances to piss-takes, from cover versions to painting, to 'mouthing' Jimi. Enjoy…

Original Jimi Hendrix

Earliest film of Jimi Hendrix
Here's Jimi backing Buddy And Stacey on TV show Night Train in 1965, playing Shotgun. Nice dancing.

Killing Floor at Monterey
It's 1967, and you're about to hear the mother of all guitar intros. Minds are duly blown. Nice boa.

Jimi plays The Beatles' Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
"Watch your ears, watch out for your ears!"

The JHE at London's Royal Albert Hall
Get My Heart Back Together/Hear My Train A Comin' - played sloppy as hell, yet funky as f**k - plus rare on-tour footage and 'happening' visuals. Ten minutes of pure '60s-ness. Woozy.

Hear My Train A Comin' acoustic version
Rare footage of Jimi playing a Zemaitis 12-string acoustic.

Jimi interviewed on the Dick Cavett Show
A rare but classic colour-footage interview. Then Jimi plays Izabella. Nice shirt.

Jimi plays Hound Dog on acoustic
He might be doin' it for the ladies in this clip, but this is proof Hendrix could play acoustic blues like a badass.

Crazy covers

Buckethead covers Stone Free
The man sacked from Guns N' Roses for being too weird - are you sure, Axl? - does his KFC-headed mad thang on a cover of Stone Free.

Roomful Of Mirrors covered by… The Pretenders?
The Pretenders were good. But this is possibly a bad idea.

Stevie Ray Vaughan covers Little Wing and Third Stone From The Sun
And still the guitarists argue: who's better? Maybe they were both good?!

Weirdness!

Performance artist Denny Dent paints a Hendrix portrait in 2:59
Now that's clever.

Or!

Copycat artist paints Jimi Hendrix upside down while 'dancing'
You'll see what we mean. Derivative, but also very clever.

Hendrix vs the ukulele
Purple Haze murdered by a 'comedian' on the uke. Led Zeppelin aren't spared either.

Ninja guy from Police Academy 'mouths' Jimi
No, it's not rude. It's just bizarre. And funny.

Is this some of the best of Jimi on YouTube? Or have you got better?

MusicRadar Team

MusicRadar is the number 1 website for music makers of all kinds, be they guitarists, drummers, keyboard players, djs or producers...

  • GEAR: We help musicians find the best gear with top-ranking gear round-ups and high- quality, authoritative reviews by a wide team of highly experienced experts.
  • TIPS: We also provide tuition, from bite-sized tips to advanced work-outs and guidance from recognised musicians and stars.
  • STARS: We talk to musicians and stars about their creative processes, and the nuts and bolts of their gear and technique. We give fans an insight into the actual craft of music making that no other music website can.