“I Used To Be A Guitarist”: How Jimi Hendrix Almost Intimidated A Fellow Rocker Out Of A Career

Some people warn against never meeting your idols because the idols will never live up to your expectations, but others, like in the case of Jimi Hendrix almost intimidating a fellow rocker out of a musical career, the more pressing problem for some people is that they’ll never live up to their idols. In the few short years that Hendrix enjoyed the height of his fame before his tragically premature death, he certainly adopted the role of “idol” for many musicians.

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That included musicians who already had successful careers of their own.

How Jimi Hendrix Almost Intimidated A Fellow Rocker Out Of A Career

The best kinds of musical rivalries inspire either party to be the best instrumentalist, performer, and writer they can be. But in some cases, the intimidation of going head-to-head with peers can convince some musicians that the potential rockstar rewards aren’t worth the mental and emotional turmoil. At least, that’s what Yardbirds founder Jeff Beck was beginning to think when Hendrix first burst onto the U.K. rock ‘n’ roll scene.

Beck recalled seeing Hendrix at one of the guitarist’s earliest shows across the pond in a 2016 interview with Rolling Stone. “It was in a tiny downstairs club in Queen’s Gate,” he said. “It was a fashion club—mostly girls, 18 to 25, all dolled up, hats and all. Jimi wasn’t known then. He came on, and I went, ‘Oh, my God.’ He had the military outfit on and hair that stuck out all over the place. They kicked off with “Like a Rolling Stone,” and I thought, ‘Well, I used to be a guitarist.’” However, Beck was no slouch himself.

The Yardbirds were cutting their teeth long before Hendrix released his debut album, meaning that Jeff Beck’s group was the first to inspire Hendrix, not the other way around. Hendrix had even admitted to swiping a Beck riff for one of his songs in the past, further emphasizing the symbiotic relationship between the two musicians. Nevertheless, Hendrix’s arrival was a sharp sting for Beck in the beginning—made no less painful by the fact that it was Beck’s girlfriend who first brought Hendrix to his attention.

Jeff Beck Remembers Fateful Phone Call From His Girlfriend

Jeff Beck arrived at Blaise’s, a tiny basement club in Queen’s Gate, on the advice of his girlfriend, who had called him with a rather, er, unsettling phone call first thing in the morning. “Some girlfriend rang up and said, ‘You gotta hear this guy Jimi Hendrix.’ I went, ‘Oh, really?’ [She] said, ‘Yeah, I was at a club last night. It’s unbelievable.’ And I went, ‘Oh, thanks.’ [pretends to hang up the phone] That’s all you wanna hear first thing in the morning. Someone’s outrageous guitar playing.” Beck described seeing Hendrix at Blaise’s as “unbelievable,” “great,” and “like a bomb blowing up in the right place.”

Speaking to Guitar Player, Beck used another adjective: “horrible.” “Not because of him,” Beck added. “But because of the fact that he swept us all aside and put us in a bin. I think that was more the case for us than for the public at large, who were happy to have us all. I was having trouble with relationships and getting by on a little money. It was rough all the time. I knew when I was beat. I sat back for a year asking myself if I had anything left in me.

Ultimately, Beck and Hendrix were able to connect over their mutual appreciation and respect for rock ‘n’ roll and, more specifically, each other. Although Hendrix’s death in 1970 would cut their time together short, these guitarists’ effect on each other—and the musical world in general—is undeniable.

Photo by David Redfern/Redferns