The First Time Hendrix Set His Guitar on Fire

03/31/2011
. (Gibson) On this day in 1967 Jimi Hendrix sets fire to his guitar live on stage for the first time. Gibson takes a look back: It was the spring of 1967 and Jimi Hendrix, while the darling of London's rock and roll jet set, still hadn't broken through to the mainstream when he embarked on his first U.K. tour on this day in 1967.

Crazy as it may seem in hindsight, Hendrix was due to open for Cat Stevens, Engelbert Humperdinck and The Walker Brothers. Then again, everything had happened so fast that while London's hipsters and musician set knew all about Hendrix's prowess, the public barely had been introduced to this new American guitar genius.

It was the fall of 1966 when Chas Chandler, on a tip from Keith Richards, brought Hendrix to England where he played the hippest clubs in London, picking up rave reviews form his peers. Management found him a flat in Montagu Square (it belonged to Ringo Starr) and that was his base for this vital period in developing as a showman, as much as a guitarist. more on this story

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