On this day (September 2) in 1968, the Jimi Hendrix Experience released “All Along the Watchtower” as a single from Electric Ladyland. The song peaked at No. 20 on the Billboard Hot 100, giving Hendrix his first and only top 40 hit in the United States. Not only did Hendrix’s cover popularize Bob Dylan’s original, but it also impacted the way Dylan performed it in future concerts.
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Henrdrix might be one of the best-known and most influential rock guitarists of the 20th century. His innovative approach to the instrument changed the way musicians looked at the guitar and has influenced generations of musicians across multiple genres. The music he made was popular among rock fans as well as members of the larger counterculture. However, he didn’t see much chart success in the United States.
[RELATED: How Jimi Hendrix’s Cover of “All Along the Watchtower” Overwhelmed Bob Dylan]
Jimi Hendrix Forever Changed “All Along the Watchtower”
To say that Jimi Hendrix changed “All Along the Watchtower” when he covered it would be an understatement. Written and originally recorded by Bob Dylan for his album John Wesley Harding, it started its life as a folk song. The album was a return to form for the fold singer/songwriter after his electric phase, and “Watchtower” was a perfect fit for the album. The Jimi Hendrix Experience transformed it into an extended psychedelic rock jam, and Dylan loved it.
Dylan told the Chicago Tribune that the cover blew him away. “He had such talent, he could find things inside a song and vigorously develop them,” he said of Hendrix. “He found things that other people wouldn’t think of finding in there. I took license with the song from his version, actually, and continue to do so to this day,” he added. Earlier this year, Dylan played the song for the first time in more than five years and leaned heavily on Hendrix’s version.
“All those people who don’t like Bob Dylan’s songs should read his lyrics. They are filled with the joys and sadness of life,” Hendrix said. “I am as Dylan, none of us can sing normally. Sometimes, I play Dylan’s songs, and they are so much like me that it seems to me that I wrote them. I have the feeling that ‘Watchtower’ is a song I could have come up with, but I’m sure I would never have finished it,” he added.
Featured Image by David Redfern/Redferns
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