As the film -- starring Andre Benjamin (Outkast) -- shows, musicians in London in the late ’60s were constantly soaking up each other’s songs and influences. In the film, Hendrix goes from blues songs to jumping on stage with Eric Clapton’s band Cream.
The dynamism of the era is exemplified at the climax of the film, when Hendrix rushes into the dressing room before that pivotal show at the Saville Theater in London with a copy of the latest Beatles record, released two days prior and tells his band to start rehearsing the title track, “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band,” knowing that Paul McCartney and George Harrison are in the audience that night. In this playlist, hear Hendrix covering songs by Chuck Berry, Albert King, Van Morrison’s earlier band called Them, The Troggs, Big Mama Thornton, The Beatles, and Bob Dylan.
