‘Riding With The Wind . . .’

 by whiteray

To this day, Jimi Hendrix remains an enigma to me. And that’s my fault, I suppose. 

There’s no doubt about his prodigious talent; when one talks about great rock guitarists, his name is – and should be – one of the first to be laid on the table. (I’d also include Eric Clapton and Duane Allman among those first named; maybe Derek Trucks, Stevie Ray Vaughan. Who else?) But I never got into Hendrix when he was alive. At the time of his death in September 1970, I was still sifting through music that was much more accessible and less challenging: the Beatles, CSN&Y, Chicago. 

And I didn’t really dig into Jimi’s music until I began collecting LPs seriously in the late 1980s. Over the years, I gathered seven Hendrix albums, from 1967’s Are You Experienced? through Experience Hendrix, a 1997 two-LP anthology. The LPs are gone now, but all of that music is on the digital shelves. And I have a couple of things on CD as well.

So I know the music – and I like most of it – but I’m not certain I’ve ever given it the attention it deserves. (There is always too much music and not enough time, of course.) So Hendrix’ work has never really brought me to that “wow” factor that other listeners have told me about over the years. That doesn’t negate the brilliance of what Hendrix accomplished in a very short time; all it means is that I haven’t paid enough attention. So when I put together a playlist of favorites sorted one way or another, there are very few Hendrix songs that would show up: “Red House,” “All Along the Watchtower,” “The Wind Cries Mary” and “Little Wing” are the most likely. 

I suppose that I might have heard Hendrix’ version of “All Along the Watchtower” when it was getting a little bit of airplay in 1968 (it went to No. 20 that autumn). I might have heard some Hendrix as I wandered the residence halls at St. Cloud State during my freshman year. But my first verifiable exposure to Hendrix’ work came in the spring of 1972 through a cover version of his song “Little Wing.” Derek & the Dominos’ version of “Little Wing” was included on Clapton At His Best, a two-LP set that included highlights of the single Blind Faith album [1969], Clapton’s first solo album [1970] and the Derek & the Dominos’ album Layla & Other Assorted Love Songs [1970].

That first hearing is probably one of the reasons why “Little Wing” remains one of my favorite Hendrix songs. Beyond familiarity, though, it’s a great song: It’s got a strong melody and chord structure, and the lyrics – enigmatic and evocative – are among the best that Hendrix ever put on paper. Here they are as presented on the inside cover of Axis: Bold As Love: 

Well, she’s walking through the clouds,
With a circus mind that’s running wild,
Butterflies and Zebras,
And Moonbeams and fairy tales.
That’s all she ever thinks about.
Riding with the wind.

When I’m sad, she comes to me,
With a thousand smiles she gives to me free.
It’s alright, she says, it’s alright,
Take anything you want from me,
Anything.
Fly on, little wing. 

Of course, given the song’s quality, cover versions of “Little Wing” abound. The website Second Hand Songs lists more than 150 covers, ranging in time from the first version, done by the Racket Squad in February 1969 (on the album Corners Of Your Mind and available at YouTube) to the most recent version listed, a live 2019 recording of the tune by the Tedeschi Trucks band with Trey Anastasio of Phish sitting in, released on Layla Revisited (Live at Lockn’) and also available at YouTube. 

I have some favorite covers of “Little Wing,” of course. They start with the Derek & the Dominoes version from 1970 but also include versions by the Corrs from Unplugged [1999], by Danish performer Sanne Salomonsen from her album In A New York Minute [1998], and by the late Toots Thielemans, the harmonica genius, who recorded his cover of “Little Wing” with the London Metropolitan Orchestra for the album In From the Storm: Music of Jimi Hendrix [1995]. 

Here's Thielemans’ version: