Jimi Hendrix Plays “Hey Joe” With His Teeth

Hey Joe, I Gotta Go Now!

Jimi Hendrix isn’t just popular for his mind-blowing guitar skills but also for his unique techniques. For the first single of The Jimi Hendrix Experience, they chose “Hey Joe” which was an original recording by The Leaves. The first time they performed this live was during the Monterey Pop Festival. Though his version is probably the most popular, this song has been covered by about 400 music artists.

The liner notes for Are You Experienced? say this song is “A blues arrangement of an old cowboy song that’s about 100 years old.”

In this video, Jimi is seen with one of his distinctive guitar showmanships which is playing with his teeth. His other trademarks include playing the right-handed guitar upside down and even playing behind back. I’ve read this a couple of times before but seeing him actually do the stunts is incredible!

Hendrix learned to play with his teeth, he commented: “The idea of doing that came to me … in Tennessee. Down there you have to play with your teeth or else you get shot. There’s a trail of broken teeth all over the stage.”

Looking at him as he shreds with his teeth sent chills down my spine. What a dude!