Hendrix himself said, on Dick Cavett that “All I did was only it. I’m an American, so I played it. They made me sing it in school, so it was a flashback.” Cavett then points out that Hendrix is likely to find himself on the receiving end of a barrage of hate mail because of his decision to cover the national anthem in an unorthodox manner, to which Hendrix proudly stated, “It’s not unorthodox, I thought it was beautiful. But then, there you go.”
I spoke to Juma Sultan, who was onstage with Jimi at Woodstock. Juma said Jimi was definitely against the war, but he was honoring America. Btw, Juma is really a free jazz cat and his music is worth a listen. He’s still active in Florida and New York - in fact he posted on his Facebook the story about the black dude walking out of a trans dance video shoot - see https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/4153738/posts. He may not be a Deplorable, but he sure doesn’t seem like an enemy.
Jimi never torched a flag, never called servicemen baby killers, and FWIW Vietnam WAS a s-—show; LBJ et al wasn’t in it to win it, and just like with Ukraine it’s not our war. If conservatives/leftists were/are worried about the Viet Cong/Russians, then THEY should have picked up a rifle, fly to Saigon/Donbas, and go play GI Joe/Cisgen.
Jimi wasn’t opposed to war as much as how it was being fought. Hard to disagree. If we really fought it to win, it could have been over quickly, even before people started to get upset about it.
Jimi was pretty solid. Paratrooper. I sat down with Jimmy Vaughan one night at Dave’s Coffee Hose in Deep Ellum. He loved Hendrix. Traded a wahwah pedal for something or other as I recall...
At Will Rodgers Auditorium....
I played guitar there at 17 for Johnny High’s Country Music Review. Met LeAnn Rhimes there when she was a little fart.
Fun times.
Then I went to trade school in Bellmead and hung out with Billy Joe Shaver’s kid Eddie. We tore it up. Met Willie and Jerry Jeff and Ray W. Hubbard.
I stayed in the trades, but I have had a good time.
My hands are about beat,but I still jam. My wife likes me playing Townes Van Zandt songs and my originals.
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I agree with you.