{"id":595969,"date":"2026-08-17T11:52:16","date_gmt":"2026-08-17T11:52:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/595969\/"},"modified":"2026-08-17T11:52:16","modified_gmt":"2026-08-17T11:52:16","slug":"jimi-hendrix-believed-guitars-were-possessed-by-spirits-and-he-smashed-them-up-to-set-the-spirit-free","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/595969\/","title":{"rendered":"Jimi Hendrix believed guitars were possessed by spirits, and he smashed them up to \u201cset the spirit free\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

We often hear guitarists talk about the \u2018soul\u2019 of an instrument, but Jimi Hendrix<\/a> apparently took the idea quite literally. The guitarist believed that different guitars carried different spirits, and according to his former roadie Eric Barrett, he would sometimes smash an instrument to \u201cset the spirit free\u201d once it had given him everything it could.<\/p>\n

In a new interview with Uncut<\/a>, Barrett \u2013 who earlier this month released his memoir Experienced: On the Road with Jimi Hendrix and Beyond \u2013 recalls one particularly memorable example. Asked about Hendrix\u2019s belief that the spirit of a guitar could depend on the wood it was made from, Barrett explains that the guitarist had certain instruments he would never destroy.<\/p>\n

\u201cJimi believed that. Certain guitars he\u2019d never smash because of the wood they were made from. One time, he smashed up a beautiful brand-new guitar. After the show I said, \u2018Why that one, Jimi?\u2019 He told me he couldn\u2019t squeeze one more note out of it. It had given him everything it could<\/a>, so he smashed it to set the spirit free.\u201d<\/p>\n

As dramatic as Hendrix\u2019s guitar-smashing habit was onstage, it also led to some rather amusing moments when the band took its collection of instruments through customs.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we travelled we had to fill out a carnet,\u201d Barrett explains, referring to the document used for transporting equipment across international borders. \u201cYou\u2019d write down whatever you were taking out of the country. One time we were coming back into America and the customs official said he could only count 12 guitars but there were 22 on the carnet.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI opened a case and it was full of pieces of guitar. I said, \u2018There\u2019s your other 10.\u2019 I\u2019ll never forget his face.\u201d<\/p>\n

The spirit of Hendrix\u2019s guitars wasn\u2019t the only thing Barrett remembers from life on the road. The roadie also has some less-than-glowing memories of Woodstock, despite the festival\u2019s legendary status.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was not crazy about Woodstock. It was not The Jimi Hendrix Experience,\u201d he says. \u201cWe had to put up with some attitude from one or two of the new musicians, who looked down on Gerry and I \u2013 we were just the help. That left a bitter taste in the mouth.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe also went on so late,\u201d Barrett continues. \u201cAfter the show we were due to play The Dick Cavett Show. The band got some sleep in the house in Woodstock while I set up at the TV studio. I got a call saying that Jimi\u2019s not coming. Mitch told me that the network sent a helicopter. Jimi had looked at the chopper and said, \u2018I can\u2019t get on that, it doesn\u2019t have enough blades,\u2019 and went back to bed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Released on 4 August, Experienced: On the Road with Jimi Hendrix and Beyond offers a firsthand account of Barrett\u2019s years alongside Hendrix during the guitarist\u2019s rise in the late \u201860s.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"We often hear guitarists talk about the \u2018soul\u2019 of an instrument, but Jimi Hendrix apparently took the idea…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":595970,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[1484,93,61,60,278],"class_list":["post-595969","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-artist","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-music"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/595969","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=595969"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/595969\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/595970"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=595969"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=595969"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=595969"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}