By: Dale Y the Green Guy
The immortal band Cream, with Eric Clapton on lead, Jack Bruce on bass and Ginger Baker on drums, is considered the first super group of rock and roll. They were a power trio that inspired the likes of Led Zepplin, The Allman Brothers, Black Sabbath and others. Cream left a legacy that few can match.
In late September of 1966, Cream was playing a gig at the Regent Street Polytechnic, a university in the middle of London with a big hall and seating for about 3000 people. The place was packed, mainly because Cream was about the hottest band going, in part because Eric Clapton was such an incredible guitar player. At that time, he was considered, no less than, the god of the guitar.
That night, and after only being in London for one week, a lanky, black, 23 year old blues guitarist from the U.S. was offered a chance, through his manager, to jam with Cream on stage. In the annals of rock and roll, this was akin to a mere mortal sitting in on Easter dinner with the Pope. Clapton contemplated who this black guy might be, decided to give him his 15 minutes worth of fame, then vanquish him to the land of the has-beens right there on stage with his own superior guitar playing skills. The deal was done, and the guitarist from America walked up on stage to play with Cream.
He brought with him only a guitar and plugged into Jack Bruce’s bass amplifier. From there, the incredible happened. The unknown guitarist launched into a rendition of a blues song called “Killing Floor,” and began to shred his axe as none had done before. Clapton himself had attempted to master this very same song, but was having difficulties with finger positions and chords. But the wild man before him was having no difficulties at all, and even at a faster tempo than the original, he was playing the guitar behind his head, between his legs, using his teeth and even humping the guitar with an animal-like passion that coincided with every wail that came off the strings.
Clapton let his own hands go limp at his sides as this force of nature named Jimi Hendrix, dazzled him, and the crowd, beyond reality. If Clapton had been the best guitar player in the world, he had just met the best guitar player in the universe. Walking off stage, the torch had been passed. While standing back stage trying to light a cigarette with shaking hands, he said to Hendrix manager, “You didn’t tell me he was THAT good!” After Hendrix finished playing, a murmur came up from the crowd. They were whispering that “Hendrix had just killed God,” and the sound of rock would never be the same.
Give a view and a listen to the song that killed God. Killing Floor—Hendrix
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_742k-ExYwA