(Credits: Far Out / Jim Summaria / Alamy)
Sat 11 October 2025 15:30, UK
Jealousy is an affliction which affects virtually all artists, and guitarists are particularly susceptible to its grasp. Whether you’ve just picked up a six-string for the first time or you’re one of the greatest players to ever grace the Earth, it’s difficult not to compare yourself disparagingly to others; something Jimi Hendrix came to face at Woodstock, of all places.
It’s difficult to envision Jimi Hendrix looking upon any of his fellow artists with envy. After all, his trailblazing playing style set the standard for the entirety of the 1960s’ psychedelic age, impacting everybody from Eric Clapton to Paul McCartney along the way. What’s more, his attitude towards the musical realm was one of unending fearlessness and individuality.
If he even paid attention to the records being released by other artists, it was only to use them for one of his iconic psych-pastiches – famously, he performed ‘Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’ in front of The Beatles mere days after the album was released.
Nevertheless, when Hendrix arrived at Woodstock Festival in 1969 – the definitive moment of the counterculture age – even he could not help but be intimidated by the line-up of the weekend. From the acid-riddled rock of Jefferson Airplane to the pioneering funk sounds of Sly and the Family Stone, the Woodstock line-up was essentially a who’s-who of colossal names in rock and roll back in the 1960s, and the swathes of tripped-out hippies populating those rolling green fields back in 1969 would soon become the envy of virtually every subsequent generation.
Now, you don’t need us to tell you that Hendrix’s set at Woodstock was arguably the weekend’s ultimate stand-out. In fact, the image of the guitarist setting his Stratocaster alight is probably among the most iconic images in rock and roll history. There isn’t a rock guitarist in the world who does not owe something to that legendary performance, and its distinctive energy has yet to be replicated by anybody else.
Still, an uncharacteristically self-affacing Hendrix was keen to divert the spotlight onto his fellow performers that weekend. Following the festival comedown and, presumably, a vigorous wash, Hendrix declared, “I dug the Woodstock festival – especially Sly [Stone] and Richie Havens,” per Ultimate Classic Rock. The core of his compliments, however, was pinned to Nottingham’s finest, Alvin Lee. “And the guy from Ten Years After, yeah, I was just a little bit jealous when I saw him play.”
Again, Jimi Hendrix being jealous of any other guitar player seems utterly paradoxical, but if he was going to choose anybody as the icon of his envy, Alvin Lee is a solid choice. Although Ten Years After were rarely given the mainstream recognition they so deserved for their unparalleled dedication to blues-rock mastery, Lee was one of the standout stars of Woodstock, owing to the band’s performance of ‘I’m Going Home’.
Captured on the festival cameras, Lee’s playing style blew virtually every other guitarist out of the water that weekend, playing with the kind of speed that would make even the most dedicated of death metal guitarists blush. It was for that skill and speed that Hendrix found himself looking upon with envy – one of rock and roll’s ‘the grass is always greener’ situations, it would appear.
Related Topics