In the late 1960s, Jimi Hendrix soared to the very pinnacle of rock ‘n’ roll stardom in just a few short months following his arrival in London under the management of Chas Chandler. His knack for innovative songwriting that blended psychedelia with classic R&B and jazz was only rivalled by his virtuosic guitar stylings. Jaw-dropping fretboard command and incendiary stage shows rapidly gained Hendrix a rightful place among the era’s immortal legends.
Since his untimely death in 1970, aged just 27, Hendrix has become almost mythical in status, much like his contemporary and fellow “27 Club” member Jim Morrison. Aside from the strange rock ‘n’ roll romanticism of premature death, Hendrix has remained an elusive icon because his stage presence was so far removed from his ostensibly subdued and introverted off-stage persona.
In an interview with Classic Rock, Dave Davies of The Kinks once appraised Hendrix’s personality: “In real life, Jimi Hendrix was nothing like the wild guy that he portrayed on stage. He was a quiet, introverted guy like Ray [Davies] was. He was explosive on stage but very softly spoken off it.”
Velvert Turner, the American guitarist and frontman of the psychedelic rock band The Velvert Turner Group, was one of the lucky few who saw both sides of Hendrix. One of Turner’s close friends and fellow guitar innovators of the 1970s was Richard Lloyd of the New York new wave group, Television.
Reflecting on his late friend’s unique relationship with Hendrix in a 2023 interview with Guitar Player, Lloyd revealed that Turner first experienced Hendrix’s stage persona on television. “According to Velvert’s mother,” Lloyd remembered, “He was standing in front of the television one day and saw Jimi performing. And he started jumping up and down saying, ‘I have to meet that guy!’ And apparently he sought out Jimi, and Jimi took Velvert under his wing as, like, his little brother.”
“I mean, that’s the story I’ve heard,” he added. “And knowing Velvert, who passed on in 2000, I believe it because he was a wacky kinda guy – a magical-thinking kind of fellow. I was, too. I am, still.”
“They said he was lying, that he must be out of his mind and nuts, that nobody of his age would know Jimi Hendrix,” Lloyd said of his faith in Turner during a previous interview with KEXP. “And the first time he walked in the room, I knew he did. It was undeniable to me, to my eye. “People often ask me why I knew, and I can’t explain it, except that I have that kind of perception. I can usually tell the truth from nonsense.”
As their friendship developed, Hendrix gave Turner, who was nine years younger, guitar lessons. In turn, Turner imparted his guitar knowledge to Lloyd, making the Television guitarist a student of Hendrix, once-removed.
Thanks to his friendship with Turner, Lloyd met Hendrix in the recording studio and saw him perform several times in New York City before his untimely death in September 1970. “In my mind, it was like looking into a nuclear reactor,” Lloyd said of watching Hendrix on stage.
Later in the conversation, Lloyd remembered unintentionally insulting Hendrix backstage at a show billed as the ‘Black Roman Orgy’. Lloyd recalled: “[Hendrix] smacked me in the face, the stomach and the face again. I thought to myself, ‘He punches a pretty good punch for a scrawny black guy.’”
At that moment, Lloyd also remembered thinking, “How can I absorb this energy?” Ostensibly, Lloyd hoped he would gain some of Hendrix’s powers from the blows. Unlike Harry Potter, Lloyd doesn’t have a scar to show for the occasion, but his seminal guitar prowess could certainly vouch.
Watch Television perform ‘In World’ live in 1992 below.
