Bassist Billy Cox - "There's Only Two Types Of Guitarists Around Today - Those Who Admit Being Influenced By JIMI HENDRIX And Those Who Try To Pretend They Aren't"
March 12, 2010, 14 years ago
Ron Wynn from Nashvillescene.com spoke with legendary JIMI HENDRIX bassist Billy Cox while he was participating in the current Hendrix Experience tours alongside such admirers as JOE SATRIANI, ERIC JOHNSON, KENNY WAYNE SHEPHERD and JONNY LANG.
With former Hendrix bandmates Noel Redding, Mitch Mitchell and Buddy Miles deceased, Cox is keenly aware of his position as a keeper of the Hendrix torch.
"The first thing that's really important when it comes to me and Jimi Hendrix is the fact we were friends," Cox says. "We did everything together - bowling, hanging out, just talking with each other. He was totally about music, and he was also the most brilliant person I've ever been around when it comes to almost any subject. I used to say he came from a portal to another galaxy. He was so more advanced in so many areas than someone in their 20s."Besides the newly released Valleys O Neptune and the Band of Gypsys LP, the list of other Hendrix albums featuring Cox includes South Saturn Delta, Live At Woodstock, Live At The Fillmore East, Nine To The Universe and First Rays Of The New Rising Sun, the release that came from Hendrix' final sessions.
"Jimi and I would talk about music all the time, and I mean, in great detail," Cox says. "He'd work out arrangements beforehand, then when we got in the studio he would expand it.""There's only two types of guitarists around today," Cox adds. "There are those who admit being influenced by Jimi Hendrix, and those who try to pretend they aren't. We will never again see anyone like him, and I was blessed and privileged to know him and have played with him for the time that I did."
Read the entire interview here.
