Classic Pop Icons

The Jimi Hendrix Experience’s third single “The Wind Cries Mary” is Song of the Week on Classic Pop Icons. “The Wind Cries Mary” was released on single on May 5, 1967 in the UK, backed with “Highway Chile”. The song debuted in the US in August 1967 on the album “Are You Experienced”. It did not feature on the earlier UK version of the album.

The Jimi Hendrix Experience had been together only a few months when they recorded “The Wind Cries Mary” at the sessions that would produce the band’s debut album “Are You Experienced”. Jimi had spent the previous couple of years as a session musician and stage guitarist for the likes of the Isley Brothers, Little Richard, Curtis Knight and the Squires, and King Curtis, before forming his own band in early 1966 called The Blue Flame. Keith Richard’s girlfriend, Linda Keith, had seen Jimi and the band play live in New York and passed on her enthusiasm for the guitarist to the Rolling Stones management and to bassist Chas Chandler, who was leaving The Animals and looking for artists to produce and manage. It was Chandler who recognised Jimi’s potential and signed him to a management contract in the summer of 1966. Jimi moved to London in September and very quickly began to build a reputation within the London music community as a talented and unique artist. This was helped by wise management decisions, such as Chandler’s request for Cream to let Jimi sit in with them during a live performance at the Central London Polytechnic on 1 October 1966. Eric Clapton’s appreciation of Hendrix’s unconventional and innovative guitar style was soon shared by many of the top British rockers, including The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and Pete Townshend, who would attend Jimi’s early club performances.

Chandler also wasted no time in getting Jimi in the studio with his newly formed band, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, featuring Noel Redding on bass and Mitch Mitchell on drums. Their first single, “Hey Joe,” was released in December 1966 in the UK and would reach number six on the singles chart. The follow-up, released in March 1967, was the classic “Purple Haze”, which would peak at number three.

The next single, “The Wind Cries Mary,” was in stark contrast to the hard rock of “Purple Haze.” It’s perhaps best described as psychedelic blues rock, with a spacey, highly memorable intro that Band of Gypsys (Jimi’s later band) bassist, Billy Cox, says was inspired by Curtis Mayfield. The song is a good illustration of how quickly and how well The Experience jelled as a band, with the drum and bass perfectly complementing Jimi’s expressive guitar licks. Mitch Mitchell’s jazz background is very evident in the way that he shadows Jimi’s moody guitar solo with his jazzy drum fills.

The song was written by Hendrix while home alone after an argument with his girlfriend Kathy Etchingham, whose middle name was Mary. The pair had met on Jimi’s first night in London several months before and would be together until 1969. Given that Etchingham had reportedly hit him with a frying pan before storming out, you might expect the song to have an angry tone, but the startlingly creative, Dylanesque lyrics, are communicating regret and remorse, not anger. Mary so dominates the singer’s thoughts that he hears the whisper, cry and scream of her name in the howl of the wind, as his emotions fluctuate.

Jimi Hendrix and Kathy Etchingham

The lyric “The traffic lights they turn up blue tomorrow” reinforces the idea that the world is both sadder and makes less sense without Mary by his side. Jimi rightly receives most plaudits as a groundbreaking guitarist, but tracks such as “The Wind Cries Mary” highlight that he was also a gifted and creative lyricist.

Kathy Etchingham was also Hendrix’s inspiration for the songs “Foxy Lady” and “Gypsy Eyes.” In an interview, Hendrix said of her:

“The Wind Cries Mary” – The Jimi Hendrix Experience

One month after “The Wind Cries Mary” was released in single in the UK, it was one of the songs played by the Jimi Hendrix Experience at their legendary gig at the Monterey Pop Festival.

“The Wind Cries Mary” (Monterey Pop Festival) – The Jimi Hendrix Experience

Authorship

The words and music for “The Wind Cries Mary” were written by Jimi Hendrix.

Recording date/location

“The Wind Cries Mary” was recorded on January 11, 1967 at De Lane Lea Studios in London, England.

Musicians

The Jimi Hendrix Experience were:

• Jimi Hendrix – lead vocals, guitar
• Noel Redding – bass guitar
• Mitch Mitchell – drums.

Mitch Mitchell was a busy session drummer before joining the Experience, playing with bands such as Georgie Fame and The Blue Flames. Noel Redding was originally a guitarist, but invited to audition for the bass guitar role by Chas Chandler after he’d already auditioned for Eric Burdon’s New Animals.

Noel Redding, Jimi Hendrix and Mitch Mitchell

Chart performance

“The Wind Cries Mary” peaked at number six on the UK singles chart.

Though not released as an A-side in the US, “The Wind Cries Mary” was the B-side of “Purple Haze,” which reached number 65 on the Billboard Hot 100.

The American edition of the “Are You Experienced” album, which featured “The Wind Cries Mary,” reached number five on the Billboard album chart.

Notable covers

“The Wind Cries Mary” – Richie Sambora

Richie Sambora’s cover of the song was a bonus track on his album “Stranger In This Town” and the B-side of his “Ballad Of Youth” single. The song begins with an unusual intro that nods to Hendrix’s classic “Star Spangled Banner” rendition, before launching into what at first seems like a conventional cover that isn’t going to deviate much from the original. Before long though, the intensity of both Sambora’s guitar work and vocals rises and the song moves into hard rock territory, with an extended solo that incorporates elements of Hendrix’s “Hey Joe”. This is an accomplished performance from Sambora, but the ambitious production lacks the ambience of the original and tends to detract from the lyrics. Sometimes, less is more.

“The Wind Cries Mary” – John Mayer

John Mayer has featured “The Wind Cries Mary” as part of his live act, incorporating the signature guitar riffs from the original Hendrix recording, while adding his own jazzy touches. A Hendrix fan, Mayer has also included “Bold As Love” and “Wait Until Tomorrow” in his live show, and recorded the former for his 2006 studio album “Continuum”.

The Jimi Hendrix Experience’s “The Wind Cries Mary” is available on the 2010 North American and UK editions of “Are You Experienced,” which included a bonus DVD, and on various compilations, including “Experience Hendrix – The Best of Jimi Hendrix”.

Title
Are You Experienced (CD/DVD)	Buy Now	Buy Now	Buy Now
Experience Hendrix – The Best of Jimi Hendrix (CD)	Buy Now	Buy Now	Buy Now