{"id":607354,"date":"2026-09-06T04:44:11","date_gmt":"2026-09-06T04:44:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/607354\/"},"modified":"2026-09-06T04:44:11","modified_gmt":"2026-09-06T04:44:11","slug":"voodoo-chile-slight-return-by-jimi-hendrix-the-story-behind-the-song","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/607354\/","title":{"rendered":"Voodoo Chile (Slight Return) by Jimi Hendrix: The Story Behind The Song"},"content":{"rendered":"

The wah-wah guitar pedal was a relatively new invention in 1968, when Jimi Hendrix<\/a> used it to devastating effect on the unforgettable introduction of Voodoo Child (Slight Return), and while that intro is the song\u2019s most memorable feature, Hendrix treats the entire composition as a vehicle for expression.<\/p>\n

He alternates between rhythm and lead playing at the blink of an eye, and both riffs and solos frequently pan from left to right to add to the swaying, hypnotic nature of the performance. His guitar parts are backed up by the solid, unwavering playing of bassist Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell, who allow him the breathing space he needs to take the dynamics down and up.<\/p>\n

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“If you listen to Voodoo Child, you can hear the way the room just resonates,” engineer Eddie Kramer told The Recording Engineer’s Handbook. “That\u2019s because I had mics everywhere, and the fact that Jimi was singing live too! I wasn\u2019t afraid of recording an artist in the room live as he was cutting. To me, anything that was in the room was fair game to be recorded. Don\u2019t forget that I had an artist who was an absolute genius, so it made life a lot simpler.”<\/p>\n

Latest Videos From Louder<\/p>\n

The Jimi Hendrix Experience – Voodoo Child (Slight Return) (Live In Maui, 1970) – YouTube
\n\"The<\/p>\n

Watch On <\/a><\/p>\n

Released in a format somewhere between a single and an EP \u2013 Voodoo Child (Slight Return) was backed with Hey Joe<\/a> and Hendrix\u2019s immortal cover of Bob Dylan<\/a>\u2019s All Along The Watchtower <\/a>\u2013 the song remains another reason for Hendrix\u2019s reputation as a man for whom a guitar was not simply an instrument.<\/p>\n

As his devotees believe, his iconic Fender Stratocaster was a vehicle for the expression of his essential soul. Which legendary guitarist hasn\u2019t played at least part of this song at some point or other in their career? It has been hailed as an all-time classic by Joe Satriani<\/a> among many others, who praised it as the very peak of guitar creativity, and has been covered by players as varied as Yngwie Malmsteen, Stevie Ray Vaughan<\/a> \u2013 who employed it to quell a bottle-throwing crowd at the Reading Festival in 1982 \u2013 and Mick Mars of M\u00f6tley Cr\u00fce<\/a>.<\/p>\n

You may like<\/p>\n

Other bands who have taken a shot at the track include Extreme, Pearl Jam, <\/a>Earth, Wind & Fire, Neal Schon, Tom Morello and Pride And Glory, the last of whom featured Hendrix devotee Zakk Wylde<\/a>. In the world of hip-hop, it’s been sampled by a plethora of A-listers including Mos Def, 2 Live Crew, the Beastie Boys, Schoolly D, Ice-T and Del the Funky Homosapien.<\/p>\n

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\"Jimi\n<\/p>\n

Hendrix onstage at the Culture House in Helsinki, Finland (Image credit: Hannu Lindroos \/Lehtikuva\/Alamy)<\/p>\n

Note that this song is not to be confused with Voodoo Chile, a much longer and more freeform blues workout played alongside the great Steve Winwood<\/a>. Both songs are found on Electric Ladyland (1968), the third and final album recorded by The Jimi Hendrix Experience. Indeed, \u2026Child was based on \u2026Chile, as a shorter, more succinct song that grew from the longer original, with the addition of several key parts such as that heavily wah-wah\u2019ed introduction.<\/p>\n

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Just to add to the complexities, Voodoo Child was actually released as a single after Hendrix\u2019s death in 1970 under the title Voodoo Chile, without the distinguishing (Slight Return). As the man himself said, was this love or just confusion?<\/p>\n

Fittingly, Voodoo Child (Slight Return) was the last song Hendrix sang, at the Love + Peace Festival<\/a> on the Isle of Fehmarn, off the coast of northern Germany in the Baltic Sea. Ironically, the final lines of the song \u2013 the final lines that Hendrix would ever sing in public \u2013 almost preshadowed his death: \u2018If I don\u2019t see you no more in this world\/I\u2019ll meet you in the next one and don\u2019t be late, don\u2019t be late.\u2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The wah-wah guitar pedal was a relatively new invention in 1968, when Jimi Hendrix used it to devastating…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":607355,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[146,85,46,409],"class_list":["post-607354","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-entertainment","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-music"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/607354","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=607354"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/607354\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/607355"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=607354"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=607354"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=607354"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}