Born in Seattle, Washington, Hendrix began playing guitar at the age of 15. In 1961, he enlisted in the U.S. Army and trained as a paratrooper in the 101st Airborne Division; he was granted an honorable discharge the following year. Soon afterward, he moved to Clarksville, Tennessee, and began playing gigs on the Chitlin' Circuit, earning a place in the Isley Brothers' backing band and later with Little Richard, with whom he continued to work through mid-1965. He then played with Curtis Knight and the Squires before moving to England in late 1966 after being discovered by Linda Keith, who in turn interested bassist Chas Chandler of the Animals in becoming his first manager. Within months, Hendrix had earned three UK top ten hits with the Jimi Hendrix Experience: "Hey Joe", "Purple Haze", and "The Wind Cries Mary". He achieved fame in the U.S. after his performance at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967, and in 1968 his third and final studio album, Electric Ladyland, reached number one in the U.S.; it was Hendrix's most commercially successful release and his first and only number one album. The world's highest-paid performer, he headlined the Woodstock Festival in 1969 and the Isle of Wight Festival in 1970, before his accidental death from barbiturate-related asphyxia on September 18, 1970, at the age of 27.
Hendrix was inspired musically by American rock and roll and electric blues. He favored overdriven amplifiers with high volume and gain, and was instrumental in utilizing the previously undesirable sounds caused by guitar amplifier feedback. He helped to popularize the use of a wah-wah pedal in mainstream rock, and was the first artist to use stereophonic phasing effects in music recordings. Holly George-Warren of Rolling Stone commented: "Hendrix pioneered the use of the instrument as an electronic sound source. Players before him had experimented with feedback and distortion, but Hendrix turned those effects and others into a controlled, fluid vocabulary every bit as personal as the blues with which he began."
Hendrix was the recipient of several music awards during his lifetime and posthumously. In 1967, readers of Melody Maker voted him the Pop Musician of the Year, and in 1968, Rolling Stone declared him the Performer of the Year. Disc and Music Echo honored him with the World Top Musician of 1969 and in 1970, Guitar Player named him the Rock Guitarist of the Year. The Jimi Hendrix Experience was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992 and the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2005. Rolling Stone ranked the band's three studio albums, Are You Experienced, Axis: Bold as Love, and Electric Ladyland, among the 100 greatest albums of all time, and they ranked Hendrix as the greatest guitarist and the sixth greatest artist of all time.
Long Tall Sally
Jimi Hendrix Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
He claim he has the misery but he's havin' a lot of fun,
Oh baby, yeah baby, woo, baby
Havin' me some fun tonight yeah
Well long, tall Sally
She's built for speed, she got
Everything that Uncle John need, oh baby,
Havin' me some fun tonight yeah
Well, I saw Uncle John with long tall Sally
He saw Aunt Mary comin' and he ducked back in the alley oh baby,
Yeah baby, woo baby,
Havin' me some fun tonight, yeah ow
Well, long, tall Sally
She's built for speed, she got
Everything that Uncle John need oh baby,
Yeah baby, woo baby,
Havin' me some fun tonight yeah
Well, I saw Uncle John with bald head Sally
He saw Aunt Mary comin' and he ducked back in the alley oh baby,
Yeah baby, woo baby,
Havin' me some fun tonight, yeah
We gonna have some fun tonight,
We gonna have some fun tonight, woo
Have some fun tonight, everything's all right,
Have some fun, have me some fun tonight
The lyrics to Jimi Hendrix's song Long Tall Sally are about a man who is having an affair with a woman named Sally. This man, Uncle John, is experiencing a lot of pleasure in this relationship despite claiming to be miserable. The singer of the song is complicit in Uncle John's infidelity as he plans to tell Aunt Mary, Uncle John's wife, about the affair. However, before he can do so, he sees Uncle John with Sally and decides not to say anything. The song's chorus describes Sally as being "built for speed" and having everything that Uncle John needs.
The lyrics are straightforward in their depiction of infidelity and the pleasure that can come from it. The singer is enjoying the excitement of the situation but is conflicted about the morality of it. The use of music as a means of exploring taboo subjects is a common theme in rock and roll. The fast-paced beat of the song reflects the excitement of the situation and the urgency of the singer's dilemma.
Line by Line Meaning
Gonna tell Aunt Mary 'bout Uncle John,
I am going to inform Aunt Mary about Uncle John
He claim he has the misery but he's havin' a lot of fun,
Uncle John says he is distressed, but he is actually enjoying himself
Oh baby, yeah baby, woo, baby
Expressing excitement and enjoyment
Havin' me some fun tonight yeah
Having a good time tonight
Well long, tall Sally
Introducing a woman named Long Tall Sally
She's built for speed, she got
Sally is physically fit and attractive
Everything that Uncle John need, oh baby,
Uncle John desires Sally and finds her desirable
Yeah baby, woo baby,
Reiterating excitement and enjoyment
Havin' me some fun tonight yeah
Having a good time tonight
Well, I saw Uncle John with long tall Sally
Narrator witnessed Uncle John with Sally
He saw Aunt Mary comin' and he ducked back in the alley oh baby,
Uncle John is hiding from Aunt Mary
Yeah baby, woo baby,
Reiterating excitement and enjoyment
Havin' me some fun tonight, yeah ow
Having a good time tonight with enthusiasm
Well, long, tall Sally
Introducing Sally again
She's built for speed, she got
Reiterating Sally's physical attractiveness
Everything that Uncle John need oh baby,
Uncle John desires Sally
Yeah baby, woo baby,
Expressing excitement and enjoyment
Havin' me some fun tonight yeah
Having a good time tonight
Well, I saw Uncle John with bald head Sally
Uncle John was with a different woman named Bald Head Sally
He saw Aunt Mary comin' and he ducked back in the alley oh baby,
Uncle John is hiding again
Yeah baby, woo baby,
Expressing excitement and enjoyment
Havin' me some fun tonight, yeah
Continuing to have a good time with enthusiasm
We gonna have some fun tonight,
We are going to enjoy ourselves tonight
We gonna have some fun tonight, woo
Reiterating excitement and enjoyment
Have some fun tonight, everything's all right,
Having a good time and everything is fine
Have some fun, have me some fun tonight
Enjoying oneself tonight
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Entoris Johnson, Richard Penniman, Robert Blackwell
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
juha vesanen
Love this some way, not for Hendrix bur 'cause simplicity is the base of everything. It's not Tutti Frutti, it tries to be like Long Tall S
Phil Silverman
It’s really “long tall sally “, probably recorded April of 1971.
walter carlos alania poma
My gad hasta que lo encontré
lo máximo
Phil Silverman
Probably cut April , 1971 and it’s Long Tall Sally . No Hendrix .
It’s funky enough but who decided on the Mickey Mouse lead guitar ?
Casey Van
I used to have two Hendrix related recordings, one was a cassette tape that had Hendrix songs, but they were not by Hendrix (false advertising) and another one said it was Hendrix with Little Richard, but it was a bunch of cheezy instrumental guitar tracks, and not a hind of the later Hendrix styles.
Phil Silverman
Hendrix cut about 20 sides w Richard . Not the above .
Phil Silverman
Jimi is w Richard most importantly on the 4:48 pressing of I don’t know what you got and the alternate take at 4:04. Plus dancing all around the world (originally dance a go go) and you’d better Stop plus at least 9 of the tracks done in New York for the Vee - Jay album called Little Richard - His greatest Hits w good to awful recuts of his ‘50s hits.
TheDJGrandPa
Uhm... isn't this Long Tall Sally?
olli8c
Long Tall Sally
Und non Jimi Hendrix!