The 5 Highest-Charting Jimi Hendrix Songs Ranked

So, you know how Jimi Hendrix is widely considered the greatest guitar player of all time? How it’s just something people know practically from birth. That thanks to songs like “Foxy Lady” and “All Along the Watchtower,” his legacy is in tact. Well, during the brief time he was writing and releasing new music before he passed, Hendrix didn’t have a single song that charted above No. 20.

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Here below, we wanted to explore the artist’s five highest-charting tracks. Those songs that made the biggest commercial impact while he was still alive. Indeed, these are the five highest-charting Jimi Hendrix songs ranked.

[RELATED: 3 Songs that Showcase Jimi Hendrix’s Singing Voice (and Not Just His Guitar)]

5. “Crosstown Traffic” from Electric Ladyland (1968)

This song, which hit No. 52 on the Billboard Hot 100, is a perfect example of blues rock. Jimi Hendrix’s guitar chords are thick and jagged. And his lyrics are powerful but lamenting, too. He uses the metaphor of traffic to illustrate how dense the person is who he’s addressing. Besides, he has better things to do on the other side of town than to keep honking his horn in this mess! Indeed, he sings,

You jump in front of my car when you, you know all time
That 90 miles an hour, girl, is the speed I drive
You tell me it’s alright, you don’t mind a little pain
You say you just want me to take you for a drive

You’re just like (crosstown traffic!) so hard to get through to you
(Crosstown traffic) I don’t need to run over you
(Crosstown traffic) all you do is slow me down
And I’m trying to get on the other side of town

4. “Freedom” from The Cry of Love (1971)

This song, which hit No. 59 on the Billboard Hot 100, opens with a blistering guitar solo. It’s like you’re looking into the light at the end of the tunnel. This song was released on Hendrix’s first posthumous album release, The Cry of Love from 1971. And on the song, Hendrix sings simply about being free. It’s a beautiful blues jam and on it, he belts,

You got my pride
Hanging out of my bed
You’re messin’ with my life
So I brought my lead
You even mess with my children
And you’re screamin’ at my wife, baby
Get off my back,
If you want to get outta here alive

Freedom,
That’s what I want now
Freedom, that’s what I need now
Freedom to live
Freedom, so I can give

3. “Foxy Lady” from Are You Experienced (1967)

This song, which hit No. 67 on the Billboard Hot 100, might just be the first grunge song. After all, Hendrix is from the city where grunge was born. It’s heavy and sludgy at times, thick like mud. It’s also a lusty love song about wanting to hook up with some beautiful person. Between the rugged riffs, Hendrix sings famously,

Now you know you’re a cute little heartbreaker
You know you’re a sweet little lovemaker
Hey

I wanna take you home
I won’t do you no harm, no
You’ve gotta be all mine, all mine
Aw shucks, foxey lady

2. “Purple Haze” from Are You Experienced (1967)

This song, which hit No. 65 on the Billboard Hot 100, is often assumed to be about drugs. Like Hendrix ingested something and now all of a sudden he’s in some colorful fog. But he’s claimed the song is a love song. And the lyric Whatever it is, that girl put a spell on me would seem to back that up. But no matter what, the song is about entering into something. It messed up Hendrix’s mind and it continues to mess with ours decades later. He sings,

Purple haze all in my brain
Lately, things just don’t seem the same
Actin’ funny but I don’t know why
‘Scuse me while I kiss the sky

Purple haze all around
Don’t know if I’m comin’ up or down
Am I happy or in misery?
Whatever it is, that girl put a spell on me

1. “All Along the Watchtower” from Electric Ladyland (1968)

This song, which hit No. 20 on the Billboard Hot 100, just sounds like the Vietnam War at this point. The track, which is a cover of a Bob Dylan song, has been used in so many war movies since its release. But with good reason. It’s an incredible recording. It’s ominous and somehow also defines a generation. It’s as if you’re tossed into a battle with the first guitar strum. And then Hendrix sings about escape,

There must be some kind of way outta here
Said the joker to the thief
There’s too much confusion
I can’t get no relief

Business men, they drink my wine
Plowmen dig my earth
None will level on the line
Nobody offered his word
Hey, hey

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