Hendrix' 'Voodoo Child' chosen as best guitar riff

What's rock music without a guitar to set things up?

Rock has been a haven for fast-fingered guitarists since Chuck Berry, and many of the guitar riffs stick in a person's mind decades after the song was first laid down on vinyl. From the relatively-primitive Berry and Bo Diddley riffs, the music has evolved in the decades since. But you can listen to part of a song, hear someone on guitar, and identify the song at 50 paces. Eric Clapton's “Layla” (which featured Duane Allman on the out solo), Lynrd Skynrd's “Freebird,” and Deep Purple's “Smoke On The Water” are among the most easily-recognized tunes just from the guitar licks.

But Jimi Hendrix' “Voodoo Child (Slight Return)” was recently chosen as the song with the best guitar riff by a poll at musicradar.com – edging out “Sweet Child O'Mine” by Guns N'Roses.

According to The London Telegraph:

When the site's sister magazine Total Guitar last conducted the survey five years ago, the list was headed by the G N'R song ... the list shows that the older riffs are the best. Just two from the past decade make it into the top 20 - Muse's Plug In Baby at 11 and The White Stripes' Seven Nation Army at 15 ... Michael Jackson's Beat It, with its Eddie Van Halen guitar part, props up the top 20 ... Voodoo Child - with its distinctive 'wah-wah' opening - was first released on Hendrix's Electric Ladyland album and led on from an earlier track, Voodoo Chile, which was a 15-minute blues jam ... confusingly, by the time it was released as a single in 1970 it too had been named Voodoo Chile.

No surprise there. Hendrix was a monster, and Voodoo Child was just part of his body of work.

A few years ago, Guitar Player Magazine chose Hendrix the best guitarist ever, beating out the Claptons, the Stevie Ray Vaughans, the David Gilmours, and the Eddie Van Halens. So many choices, so many choices ...

Hendrix was an oddball in the guitar-playing world. A southpaw, he played a guitar strung for a right-hander – meaning he had to flip his guitar upside down and use his thumb to form part of his chords – something no sane guitar teacher would allow. But, like fellow lefty blues guitarist Albert King, he had his own immediately-recognizable sound that, I think, could only be done on an upside-down guitar.

Really, the only one I can think of who came close to Hendrix's sound was Ernie Isley of the Isley Brothers (a really underrated guitarist – check out some of his stuff in the late 1970s and early 80s). But there's a reason for that. One of Hendrix' first regular gigs was as a touring guitarist with the Isley Brothers. It wasn't Isley building his sound from what he heard Hendrix play, but it might have been the other way around.

Some years ago, a band I was in played “Little Wing,” one of my favorite Hendrix songs. It's a heavy, bluesy piece, with lots of sustain and serious note-bending. We did it in E minor, and our guitarist (Stef Rodman) took his solo on it. Then signaled me to take a lead. Man, I remember telling myself, you don't know what you're getting into here.

Apparently I didn't screw it up too badly; that song became a staple of our set list. Years later, I did “Little Wing” with local guitarist Everette Bigbee at a jam session. Ol' Ev is a real beast on guitar and has probably heard everything twice, but he blew his mind at the thought of someone “doing Hendrix” on harmonica.

One hoary Internet rumor I've heard floating around was that, shortly before he died in 1970, Hendrix came friendly with jazzman Rahsaan Roland Kirk, and they played together informally a few times. Now, this is entirely plausible. Hendrix was definitely headed in a jazz direction, and Rahsaan was, well, Rahsaan. A totally singular performer who could play three saxophones at one time, sing over the mouthpiece of his flute, and shift from Dixieland to avant-garde without using a clutch. Jimi had often cited Rahsaan as his favorite musician, so such a meeting was not only possible -- but likely.

Shoot, if the two recorded anything together – even a tape of them tuning up in someone's apartment, it would be worth moving heaven and earth to get.

Check out: The musicradar.com site -- cool slideshow!

Hendrix on last.fm, All Music Guide.

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You tell me: What was your favorite guitar lick? Have you ever been able to “do Hendrix” successfully? Use the comment section for feedback.