{"id":840055,"date":"2026-09-08T01:06:16","date_gmt":"2026-09-08T01:06:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/840055\/"},"modified":"2026-09-08T01:06:16","modified_gmt":"2026-09-08T01:06:16","slug":"58-years-ago-jimi-hendrix-released-the-definitive-version-of-a-bob-dylan-classic-that-became-his-only-us-hit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/840055\/","title":{"rendered":"58 Years Ago, Jimi Hendrix Released the Definitive Version of a Bob Dylan Classic That Became His Only US Hit"},"content":{"rendered":"

On this day (September 2) in 1968, the Jimi Hendrix<\/a> Experience released \u201cAll Along the Watchtower\u201d as a single from Electric Ladyland. It peaked at No. 20 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Hendrix\u2019s only top 40 hit in the United States. Moreover, Bob Dylan wrote a glowing review of the cover. In fact, Dylan liked this version so much that it informed how he approached the song in future concerts.<\/p>\n

Dylan recorded \u201cAll Along the Watchtower\u201d for John Wesley Harding. The album dropped on December 27, 1967. Hendrix began working on his version in January 1968. After months of remixing and overdubbing, he released it as the lead single from Electric Ladyland on September 2. Dylan issued it as a single, backed with \u201cI\u2019ll Be Your Baby Tonight,\u201d that November.<\/p>\n

\t\t\tVideos by American Songwriter\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\tPlay video<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\"Play\"\/<\/p>\n

An Arduous Recording Process<\/p>\n

According to Songfacts,<\/a> recording \u201cAll Along the Watchtower\u201d was a months-long ordeal that caused serious friction within the Jimi Hendrix Experience. Bassist Noel Redding was frustrated with how many retakes Hendrix demanded while working on the song. At the same time, he was working with his other band, Fat Mattress. Eventually, he left before they finished the song. Traffic guitarist Dave Mason took his place. Later, Hendrix replaced Redding with Billy Cox.<\/p>\n

The process also caused friction between Hendrix and his longtime producer Chas Chandler. He, too, was frustrated with the number of retakes Hendrix wanted to do. Additionally, the musician liked to pack the studio with friends and family while recording. Chandler didn\u2019t just walk out on the \u201cAll Along the Watchtower\u201d sessions. He excused himself from Electric Ladyland entirely. Although he had worked on previous sessions, he wasn\u2019t credited as a producer on the album. This widened the rift between them.<\/p>\n

[RELATED: On This Day in 1967, Jimi Hendrix Released a Single Inspired by a Novel With Lyrics That Have Been Debated for Decades]<\/a><\/p>\n

Hendrix didn\u2019t like the mixes Chandler did for the song. He also didn\u2019t like the overdubbed guitar parts played by sound engineer Tony Bongiovi. As a result, he spent three months remixing the song himself. When he was done, Hendrix mixed 16 tracks to create the final version of the single.<\/p>\n

Bob Dylan Praised Jimi Hendrix\u2019s Cover<\/p>\n

Bob Dylan usually preferred covers of his work that stayed close to the original versions. For instance, he was a big fan of Johnny Rivers\u2019 1968 cover of \u201cPositively 4th Street.\u201d He said<\/a> Rivers \u201c\u2026had the mandate down\u2013the attitude, the melodic sense to complete and surpass even the feeling that I had put into it.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Jimi Hendrix changed almost everything about \u201cAll Along the Watchtower,\u201d Dylan still praised his cover. \u201cI liked Jimi Hendrix\u2019s record of this, and ever since he died I\u2019ve been doing it that way,\u201d he wrote. \u201cStrange how when I sing it, I always feel it\u2019s a tribute to him in some kind of way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Featured Image by Doug McKenzie\/Hulton Archive\/Getty Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On this day (September 2) in 1968, the Jimi Hendrix Experience released \u201cAll Along the Watchtower\u201d as a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":840056,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[24911,50998,2617,88,41759,216],"class_list":["post-840055","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-1960s","tag-bob-dylan","tag-classic-rock","tag-entertainment","tag-jimi-hendrix","tag-music"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/840055","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=840055"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/840055\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/840056"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=840055"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=840055"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=840055"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}