{"id":665592,"date":"2026-06-30T06:29:16","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T06:29:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/665592\/"},"modified":"2026-06-30T06:29:16","modified_gmt":"2026-06-30T06:29:16","slug":"jimi-hendrixs-five-best-riffs-according-to-ritchie-blackmore","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/665592\/","title":{"rendered":"Jimi Hendrix\u2019s five best riffs, according to Ritchie Blackmore"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Ritchie<\/p>\n

Credit: Far Out \/ Gladstone~dewiki<\/p>\n

Mon 29 June 2026 17:45, UK <\/p>\n

Jimi Hendrix<\/a> continues to be one of American rock\u2019s most celebrated guitarists, having honed his effortless, electric fusion of soul, jazz, and rock as the backing guitarist for The Isley Brothers and Little Richard.<\/p>\n

After forming the Jimi Hendrix Experience alongside Mitch Mitchell and Noel Redding, the guitarist shot to stardom, becoming one of the most celebrated artists of the 1960s. The songs he composed with the band were a source of inspiration for countless musicians, including Rainbow guitarist Richie Blackmore<\/a>, who had seemingly endless praise for the \u2018Voodoo Chile\u2019 vocalist.<\/p>\n

It was the rich riffs of Hendrix that the musician loved most, naming his five favourites over the years. \u2018Stone Free\u2019 was an example of a Hendrix hit Blackmore loved that didn\u2019t translate to popularity on the American charts, never breaking the Billboard Hot 100. <\/p>\n

Still, Blackmore described the 1967 single as \u201cexceptional\u201d during an interview with Vintage Guitar<\/a> in 2017. \u201cHe always tuned his guitar half a step down, which helped him to have a very strong vibrato, since the strings became looser,\u201d Blackmore explained. This gave him a uniqueness that the Deep Purple man always greatly appreciated in his peers.<\/p>\n

In a separate interview in 2010, Blackmore again praised Hendrix\u2019s unique tone on \u2018Manic Depression\u2019, also taking time to consider his vocal ability. \u201cWhat makes him a genius is his phrasing and his originality: his construction of songs, his very innovative riffs, like those of \u2018Purple Haze\u2019 and \u2018Manic Depression\u2019,\u201d he said. \u201cBut, oddly enough, one of the things that I think made him so special was his voice, since he never wanted to be a vocalist.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Jimi<\/a>Credit: Alamy<\/p>\n

On the fuzzy brilliance of \u2018Purple Haze\u2019, Blackmore added: \u201cIt\u2019s a fantastic record. The riffs are so good. Did you know he hits a false harmonic right in the middle of this by pulling a string. It\u2019s very hard to do. But he was brilliant, wasn\u2019t he?\u201d Blackmore, amazed by his ability to play a wrong note, adored how Hendrix could bend it until sitting perfectly within a composition.<\/p>\n

Naturally, and particularly for a late \u201860s star of psychedelic rock, a lot of Hendrix\u2019s appeal wasn\u2019t just his technical chops but his stage presence<\/a>. \u201cHe had the music down, he had the composing down, he had the singing down, plus the showmanship,\u201d said Blackmore on his wild live rendition of \u2018Hey Joe\u2019.<\/p>\n

Further reading: From The Vault<\/p>\n

Adding: \u201cNobody can compete with something like that. I don\u2019t think really anybody can come up to what he could do. Because he could do everything.\u201d He did it all with liberated joy, too.<\/p>\n

The 1967 track \u2018Burning of the Midnight Lamp\u2019 was another firm favourite for Blackmore, who only had the chance to meet Hendrix once but had the opportunity to share how many of his songs impacted him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI only met him once. It was in the Whiskey in Hollywood,\u201d he said. \u201cI was going into the toilet, and he was playing with his hair or something. That was the only time I met him. We kind of nodded to each other and that was it. So I never really got to know him. Yet he certainly set the world on fire.\u201d<\/p>\n

And he did so in a way that was thrillingly imperfect. In fact, Blackmore thinks that the imperfection that Hendrix boldly peddled was the apex of his talent. \u201dJimi Hendrix used to play lots of wrong notes,\u201d Blackmore explained, \u201dbecause he was searching all the time, \u2018where the hell is that correct note\u2019.\u201d <\/p>\n

He added, \u201cWhen he did find that right note\u2026 wow, that was incredible, but if you are always playing the correct notes, there is something wrong, you\u2019re not searching, you\u2019re not reaching for anything.\u201d Well, on a lot more than five glorious occasions, Hendrix reached and found mythical magic, but for now, we\u2019ll bask in the handful that Blackmore champions above any others.<\/p>\n

Ritchie Blackmore\u2019s five favourite Jimi Hendrix riffs:\u2018Purple Haze\u2019 (Are You Experienced, 1967)\u2018Hey Joe\u2019 (Are You Experienced, 1967)\u2018Burning of the Midnight Lamp\u2019 (Electric Ladyland, 1968)\u2018Manic Depression (Are You Experienced, 1967)\u2018Stone Free\u2019 (1966)<\/p>\n

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