When Jimi Hendrix Stunned Cream

On 1 October 1966, just one week after arriving in London, Jimi Hendrix joined Cream on stage – and left some of Britain’s leading guitarists wondering what they had just witnessed.

Sixty years ago today, Cream were performing at the Regent Street Polytechnic in London when Chas Chandler asked if the recently arrived American guitarist he was managing might sit in with the band.

Eric Clapton agreed. Hendrix plugged into Jack Bruce’s bass amplifier and launched into Howlin’ Wolf’s ‘Killing Floor’ – a song Clapton admired but considered too difficult to perform live.

What followed became one of the defining stories of Hendrix’s arrival in Britain. Here was a virtually unknown guitarist playing with extraordinary speed, confidence and showmanship before members of London’s close-knit musical community. Within minutes, Hendrix had announced himself.

‘I couldn’t believe how good he was. Part of me wanted to run away and say, “Oh no, he’s everything I want to be – I can’t handle this,” and part of me just fell in love. It was a really difficult thing for me to deal with, but I just had to surrender and say, “This is fantastic.”’
– Eric Clapton

Hendrix’s effect upon the musicians who encountered him during those first months in London was immediate. Jeff Beck later recalled the sense of disbelief among his fellow guitarists:

‘Then Jimi came on. They were all in disbelief and so was I. I just thought, what do I do now?’
– Jeff Beck

Pete Townshend was similarly astonished by the combination of musical ability and physical performance that Hendrix brought to the stage:

‘He was playing the guitar with his teeth, behind his back, on the floor. It was unbelievable.’
– Pete Townshend

For Ronnie Wood, Hendrix’s arrival also brought a more personal, and characteristically unexpected, memory:

‘In the autumn of 1966, I shared a house for a week with Jimi Hendrix and P.P. Arnold. When Jimi left to go on tour, he gave me his basset hound, called Loopy.’
– Ronnie Wood

The jam with Cream took place during an extraordinary autumn. Hendrix had arrived in London on 24 September 1966. Within weeks, the Jimi Hendrix Experience had been formed and the group had recorded its first single, ‘Hey Joe’. Released that December, the record marked the beginning of a career that would transform popular music.

These first-hand recollections appear in Classic Hendrix, the Genesis limited edition bringing together more than 250 photographs and the testimony of Hendrix’s friends, collaborators and fellow musicians.

To commemorate 60 years since Hendrix’s career took flight, Genesis recently announced the final release of 90 copies from the publisher’s archive. More than half were ordered during the first week.

Just 13 Anniversary Copies remain, each accompanied by an original framed photographic print signed by Rolling Stone’s first chief photographer, Baron Wolman. A further 30 Collector Copies remain available from the numbered edition.

No further copies of Classic Hendrix will be created.

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