Posted on 12/29/2025 5:49:52 PM PST by nickcarraway
Chicago had a loud, and profane, reaction when Jimi Hendrix invited them on tour.
It was 1969 and the band, then known as Chicago Transit Authority, was turning heads with a style that infused a dynamic horn section with rock. In a recent appearance on the Broken Record podcast, co-founding members Lee Loughnane and Jimmy Pankow recalled crossing paths with Hendrix.
“We were at the Whisky a Go-Go on the Sunset Strip,” Pankow remembered. “We were opening for Albert King. And we were in the dressing room waiting to go back on. There was a knock on the door. And we opened the door and Hendrix is standing there. And we're going, ‘Whoa, is that Jimi Hendrix?’”
Like many fellow rockers, Chicago adored Hendrix, even mixing covers of “Purple Haze” and “Foxy Lady” into their sets. Coming face-to-face with the guitar god was exciting, yet unexpected. To their surprise, Hendrix was familiar with their music.
“He came to the dressing room," Pankow continued. “He said, ‘You guys have a guitar player that's better than me and a horn section that sounds like one set of lungs. Do you guys want to go on the road?”
The band responded with two words: “XXXX yeah!”
“Next thing you know, we opened for his summer tour,” Pankow recalled, adding that the experience gave Chicago a “foot in the door to the business." “And we never took our foot out of the door.”
A Chicago and Jimi Hendrix Collaboration?
Asked what Hendrix was like behind the scenes, Pankow was forthright.
“He was very introspective, very shy, quiet," he explained. "And it was funny because, you know, we traveled together. Terry [Kath, Chicago’s guitarist] was nervous around him and he was nervous around Terry. They didn't know how to approach each other. Eventually, they got comfortable and they started trading ideas.”
“Terry would love to have played with him,” added Loughnane. “He would have joined Jimi Hendrix’s band in a flash and left us.”
At one point, it even looked like Chicago and Hendrix may join forces.
“There was actually some chatter amongst us about maybe doing a project together with him, with Jimi,” Pankow revealed. “And of course, he left us too early. And then Terry left us too early.” Hendrix died in 1970, while Kath passed away in '78.
Dear FRiends,
We need your continuing support to keep FR funded. Your donations are our sole source of funding. No sugar daddies, no advertisers, no paid memberships, no commercial sales, no gimmicks, no tax subsidies. No spam, no pop-ups, no ad trackers.
If you enjoy using FR and agree it's a worthwhile endeavor, please consider making a contribution today:
Click here: to donate by Credit Card
Or here: to donate by PayPal
Or by mail to: Free Republic, LLC - PO Box 9771 - Fresno, CA 93794
Thank you very much and God bless you,
Jim
Hendrix, Chicago ping
Hendrix said Kath was one of best guitarists he had ever seen play. There are several YouTube videos with Kath just shredding it on Chicago tunes.
I think a person had to be high on dope to appreciate his so called music. I rate that crap in the same toilet as Janis Joplin’s screeching.
I suggest you drop some acid (3 microdots) and try again...let me know if your opinion changes.
Bite your tongue.
"Dolly Dagger" by Jimi Hendrix
Here comes Dolly Dagger
Her love's so heavy, gonna make you stagger
Dolly Dagger, she drinks her blood from a jagged edge
(Drink up, baby)
Been riding broomsticks since she was fifteen
Blow out all the other witches on the scene
She got a bull whip, just as long as your life
Her tongue can even scratch the soul out of the devil's wife
Well, I seen her in action at the Player's Choice
Turning all the love men into donut boys
Hey, red hot momma, you'd better step aside
This chick's gonna turn you to a block of ice
Look out
Here comes Dolly Dagger
Her love's so strong gonna make you stagger, baby
Dolly Dagger
She drinks the blood from a jagged edge
Right on
Drink up, baby
Hey!
Yeah, look at old burnt-out Superman
Tryin' to shoot his dust on the sun
Captain Comic is the man on the run
On the words of love
Do they ever touch Dolly Brown?
Better get in some highway and clear outta town
Here comes Dolly Dagger
Her love's so heavy, gonna make you stagger
Dolly Dagger
She ain't satisfied 'til she gets what she's after
She drinks the blood from the jagged edge
Better watch out, baby, here comes your master
Alright
Watch out there, baby
Gonna give a little bit of that
Dolly, heavy mama
Get it on, get it on, get it on
Dolly, heavy mama
Get it on, get it on, get it on
Dolly, heavy mama
Get it on, get it on, get it on
Dolly, heavy mama
Get it on, get it on, get it on, get it on
Get it on, get it on, get it on, get it on
Ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh
Yeah, yeah, yeah...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-E2A60WslXg&list=RD-E2A60WslXg&start_radio=1
Terry Kath was a great guitarist. He was also remarkably talented at composing music.
He was a bit like Rock and Roll’s Mozart.
Chicago’s first seven albums rank among the greatest albums of the rock era. The rest, not so much.
yep. hendrix was a pioneer and game changer. the beatles and eric clapton respected him.
Terry improvising while drummer adjusts his drums. Middle of song he goes into a blistering solo with his eyes shut. Just unbelievable....
********************************************
Just.... Dayum
Thanks.
Chicago is in my top 5 all-time favorite rock groups, saw them in Seattle 1972 & 73.
Thanks nickcarraway.
Kath was an amazing guitarist, unfortunately he wasn’t smart enough to keep from blowing his brains out.
YW
I once read an interview with a musician who played in high school with Prince, and he said Prince could play every Terry Kath solo by heart.
i just never got the whole “Hendrix” thing.
i agree..Hendrix himself stopped doing the “pyschadelic” stuff at the time he died.
Terry should have been more nervous around guns.
“I think a person had to be high on dope to appreciate his so called music.”
You’re not alone. I turn the channel every time they play his music on the radio.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.