Although Paul McCartney plays bass rather than his more traditional guitar, it is obvious that he still adores the instrument. Long before he ever dared to pick up a bass guitar, he had dreams of playing like his idol Eddie Cochran. He never came close to realizing that vision, but he never stopped admiring people who could wield an axe. The only appropriate response when asking McCartney who his favorite player of all time is is Jimi Hendrix.
In the summer of 1967, McCartney witnessed Jimi Hendrix perform a magic track at London’s Saville Theatre, which led to the two becoming closer friends. The guitarist chose to cover the album’s name track even though Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band had only recently been released when he discovered that George Harrison and Macca were in the crowd.
“Brian Epstein used to rent it when it was usually dark on the Sunday,” McCartney revealed to Stephen Colbert. “Jimi opened, the curtains flew back and he came walking forward, playing ‘Sgt. Pepper’, and it had only been released on the Thursday so that was like the ultimate compliment.”
The Beatles believed he could walk on water after that, so if Hendrix was using this as a diversionary tactic to win their favor, it was a success. McCartney believes that no guitar player has ever come close to Hendrix, and the live performance will always hold special memories for him.
He has discussed Hendrix in-depth on numerous occasions. When asked about his favorite guitarist during a live audience Q&A, McCartney mentioned the late axeman and related how he first saw him perform live at the London club Bag of Nails.
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