His introduction to the British music scene quickly became the stuff of legend. Beck has said Hendrix changed the game<\/a>; Paul McCartney has recalled watching the then-unknown guitarist play to an empty club<\/a>; and Robert Fripp considered him something more<\/a> than a mere guitarist.<\/p>\n \n The Jimi Hendrix Experience. (from left) drummer Mitch Mitchell, Hendrix, bassist Noel Redding, circa August 1967. (Image credit: Ivan Keeman\/Redferns)<\/p>\n By the time of his death four years later, Hendrix had released four landmark albums, written some of the most iconic riffs<\/a> and solos<\/a> ever committed to tape, and helped kickstart an electric-guitar<\/a> revolution. Yet Clapton\u2019s assessment of the trajectory of his career makes for interesting reading.<\/p>\n I felt from the first that he should have had at least an American band, whether they were white or black didn\u2019t matter, as long as they knew the music they were playing.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2014 Eric Clapton<\/p>\n \u201cI think the best I knew him was at the beginning,\u201d Clapton said in a 1973 interview uploaded to YouTube by Quentin Melson.<\/p>\n You may like<\/p>\n Upon the recommendation of the Rolling Stones\u2019 Keith Richards, the Animals\u2019 bass<\/a> guitarist Chas Chandler became Hendrix\u2019s manager and brought him to London. Chandler had ambitions of creating a backing band that would spotlight Hendrix\u2019s virtuosity while introducing him to a British scene that was becoming increasingly adventurous and technically accomplished.<\/p>\n The result was the Jimi Hendrix Experience, completed by bassist Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell. But Clapton didn\u2019t believe the lineup was necessarily the best possible vehicle for Hendrix\u2019s talents.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought it was a bit of a mistake,\u201d he said. \u201cI thought it was a hype really; I felt from the first that he should have had at least an American band, whether they were white or black didn\u2019t matter, as long as they knew the music they were playing.\u201d<\/p>\n Eric Clapton Interview on Jimi Hendrix (1973) – YouTube Watch On <\/a><\/p>\n Hendrix\u2019s approach to the blues was indeed different from what British audiences \u2013 and many British musicians \u2013 were accustomed to hearing. But Clapton believed Chandler had assembled the Experience in a hurry.<\/p>\n \u201cI felt that Chas had really just picked up two free musicians who were in the rock field loosely,\u201d Clapton explained. \u201cI think Mitch, before that, was playing with Georgie Fame and was more into the jazz thing,\u201d while Redding had been playing pop and rock in bands including the Loving Kind.<\/p>\n What to read next<\/p>\n It\u2019s easy to understand why Clapton felt Chandler might have been trying to put square pegs in round holes in a bid to capitalize on Hendrix\u2019s extraordinary talents. But, as Clapton acknowledged, the results quickly spoke for themselves.<\/p>\n \n The Jimi Hendrix Experience perform in Hamburg Germany, March 17, 1967. (Image credit: Peter Timm\\ullstein bild via Getty Images)<\/p>\n \u201cThey really got into it very quickly,\u201d he said. \u201cI thought at first that it could have been a better band, or a bigger band. But it worked in the end, obviously. He\u2019d been in London for about a week when he got the Experience together, and he had the whole club on its feet. They couldn\u2019t believe it. He could have been up there on his own; he didn\u2019t need anyone else.\u201d<\/p>\n Hendrix had crossed the Atlantic to make his name after struggling to establish himself in the United States. His early career had included stints backing Little Richard<\/a>, although his relationships with the singer and other bandleaders were complicated by his growing reputation as a ladies\u2019 man.<\/p>\n \n Clapton with Cream bandmates Ginger Baker (center) and Jack Bruce, November 1966. (Image credit: Getty Images)<\/p>\n Clapton, ultimately, wanted the best for Hendrix because he understood just how high the guitarist\u2019s ceiling was. In that same 1973 interview, he compared Hendrix to Howlin\u2019 Wolf. And years later, he recalled one of the first times he saw the guitarist play.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were playing at the London Polytechnic the day Jimi arrived in England, and Chas Chandler brought him to see us,\u201d Clapton told Uncut<\/a> in 2012. \u201cHe got up and played Howlin\u2019 Wolf\u2019s \u2018Killing Floor\u2019. Even today I don\u2019t know many people who can play that. It\u2019s a very, very tough piece of music. But Jimi did it, and then he put the guitar behind his back, and I thought, \u2018My god, this is like Buddy Guy on acid.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Hendrix\u2019s dazzling showmanship actually scuppered Clapton\u2019s plans for a \u201csolo odyssey<\/a>,\u201d forcing him to focus instead on life in a band.<\/p>\n I thought, \u2018My god, this is like Buddy Guy on acid.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n \u2014 Eric Clapton<\/p>\n Yet while Beck was reportedly so overwhelmed by Hendrix\u2019s arrival that he briefly considered retiring<\/a>, Clapton\u2019s response was far less apocalyptic.<\/p>\n \u201cI fell in love with him,\u201d he said. \u201cI think Ginger [Baker] and Jack [Bruce] felt threatened because they could see he was going to corner the market, for sure. But I felt an incredible sense of relief that there was somebody else on the planet who was as devoted to that music as I was. Of course, he was a showman. 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