Red House (song)
| "Red House" | |
|---|---|
| Song by The Jimi Hendrix Experience from the album Are You Experienced | |
| Released | May 12, 1967 (UK) |
| Recorded | CBS Studios, London December 13, 1966 |
| Genre | Blues |
| Length | 3:44 |
| Label | Track (Cat. no. 612 001 (UK)) |
| Writer | Jimi Hendrix |
| Producer | Chas Chandler |
"Red House" is a song written by Jimi Hendrix and originally recorded by The Jimi Hendrix Experience in 1966. The song, a slow twelve-bar blues, "is one of the most traditional in sound and form of all his official recordings".[1] It was developed during his pre-Experience days while Hendrix was performing in Greenwich Village and was inspired by earlier blues songs. Hendrix recorded several studio and live versions during his career; later, "Red House" has been recorded by a variety of blues and other artists.
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[edit] Background
"Red House" has "the twelve-bar structure, the lyrics, the accompaniment, and the arrangement [that] are more or less conventional"[2] with Hendrix's guitar performance setting it apart. Billy Cox described "Red House" as "Jimi's way of using his musical roots, everything he knew and understood best, in a pop context".[3] The song is a slow twelve-bar blues, usually notated in 12/8 time in the key of B (although played in fingered key of B, Hendrix usually tuned his guitar 1/2 step lower resulting in a pitch of B♭).[4][5]
The theme of "Red House" is "as old as the blues itself—the singer's woman doesn't love him any more and has moved".[6] According to Noel Redding, Hendrix told him "the song was written about his old high school girlfriend Betty Jean Morgan",[7] although her house was reportedly brown. It has been suggested that Linda Keith's (who brought Hendrix to the attention of Chas Chandler) friend's New York apartment with "the red velvet walls and decor influenced Jimi's writing".[8] However, for Billy Cox "As far as I know, 'Red House' didn't have any significance in reference to a particular person, place or thing. It was just a blues number that Jimi put together".[9]
According to Hendrix biographers, "Red House" was inspired by blues songs that Hendrix was performing while he was with Curtis Knight and the Squires in 1965 and 1966. One calls the Knight/Hendrix version of Albert King's "Travelin' to California" (from his The Big Blues album, later re-recorded as "California" for Door to Door) as "a dead ringer, both in structure and mood, for his 1967 perennial 'Red House'".[10] The song (sometimes listed as "California Night"[11]) featured an early vocal performance by Hendrix and in one version he reminded the band "B♭" before counting off the song. Another calls Knight's/Hendrix's arrangement of Jimmy Reed's "You Got Me Running" (also known as "Baby What You Want Me to Do") "closely parallel[ing] that of 'Red House', down to the parallel-harmony bass part and the loping rhythmic feel".[12]
[edit] Original song
"Red House" was one of the earliest songs recorded by the Experience. The song opens with a diminished 7th chord frequently found in blues songs, as "heard at the start of Robert Johnson tunes like 'Dead Shrimp Blues', 'Kind Hearted Woman', and '32-20 Blues'".[13] After the four-bar intro, Redding and Mitch Mitchell come in while Hendrix solos up to the vocal at bar thirteen. After two twelve-bar vocal sections, Hendrix solos for twelve bars, then finishes up with another vocal section. The song's most prominent characteristic is Hendrix's guitar. John Lee Hooker commented "That 'Red House', that'll make you grab your mother and choke her! Man, that's really hard, that tears you apart. He could get down, he could mash it, yeah, Lord! He had so many blues".[14]
The song was recorded with Noel Redding playing the bass part on an electric guitar (tuned down 1/2 step), with the tone controls set to resemble a bass guitar.[15] According to Redding, "I had borrowed a terrible old hollow-body electric guitar from someone at the studio...because I liked to play along on rhythm to familiarise myself with a sequence, not being quite at home on the bass yet".[16]
A monaural recording from December 13, 1966 at the CBS Studios in London was issued on the UK version of Are You Experienced. Despite Hendrix's complaints, the song was omitted from the US release of the album, because the recording company reportedly argued that "America does not like blues".[17] However, a second take of the song with additional overdubbing by Hendrix in early 1967 was issued on the 1969 American Smash Hits compilation. This stereo version was later released on the 1984 Kiss the Sky compilation, making it available outside the US. The original mono take became available in the US and Canada when it was released (minus most of the chat at the end) on the 1994 Blues album.
[edit] Later versions
"Red House" was a staple of Jimi Hendrix's concerts, however, he usually performed much longer versions of the song at a slower tempo with Redding playing his signature Fender Jazz bass. Several versions were collected on Variations on a Theme: Red House, a music reference with analyses and transcriptions; others were released on various live and compilation albums. "Red House" was one of few songs that Hendrix sometimes used a guitar other than a Fender Stratocaster, choosing mostly a Gibson Flying V and occasionally a Gibson SG Custom. Later versions of "Red House" include (all live, except where noted):
- October 9, 1967 at L'Olympia Theatre in Paris from Paris 1967/San Francisco 1968.
- January 29, 1968 also at L'Olympia from Stages and Live in Paris & Ottawa 1968. For this version, Redding played the bass part on a Gibson Les Paul Custom guitar, borrowed from Keith Richards.[18]
- March 1968 at a jam at The Scene Club later released on Woke Up This Morning and Found Myself Dead. Unlike his other versions, Hendrix used a guitar figure similar to Cream's "Crossroads".[19]
- October 29, 1968 at TTG Studios in Hollywood from Blues. The song was performed in the style of "Voodoo Chile" with organist Lee Michaels.[20]
- February 17, 1969 at Olympia Studios in London from Valleys of Neptune.
- May 14, 1969 at the San Diego Sports Arena from Hendrix in the West and The Jimi Hendrix Experience box set.
- August 18, 1969 at Woodstock from Woodstock and Live at Woodstock.[21] The song did not appear in the theatrical film release.
- July 17, 1970 at Randall's Island from The Jimi Hendrix Concerts and Voodoo Child: The Jimi Hendrix Collection.
- August 30, 1970 at the Isle of Wight from Blue Wild Angel: Live at the Isle of Wight.
[edit] Versions by other artists
"Red House" has been performed by many blues and other musicians. Albert King, whose "Travelin' to California" has been cited as inspiring Hendrix, recorded a version for his last studio album, Red House. Buddy Guy recorded it for Stone Free: A Tribute to Jimi Hendrix. A version by John Lee Hooker in his own style appears on Variations on a Theme. Live versions include those by Johnny Winter, Leslie West, Boz Scaggs with Slash, Paul Gilbert, Ben Harper, Walter Trout and Gary Moore.
[edit] Notes
- ^ Shadwick 2003, p. 93.
- ^ Wheeler 1992, p. 3.
- ^ Fairchild 1994, pp. 21–22.
- ^ Wheeler 1992, p. 3.
- ^ Shapiro 1991, p. 172.
- ^ Cross 2005, p. 175.
- ^ Cross 2005, p. 175.
- ^ Roby 2010, p. 148.
- ^ Fairchild 1994, p. 22.
- ^ Murray 1991, p. 139.
- ^ Sometimes misidentified as "Every Day I Have the Blues"; both have "Nobody loves me" as the opening verse.
- ^ Shadwick 2003, p. 67.
- ^ Fairchild 1994, p. 21.
- ^ Fairchild 1994, p. 18.
- ^ Black 1999, p. 67.
- ^ Redding 1990, p. 45.
- ^ Fairchild 1994, p. 12.
- ^ Hendrix introduced the song as featuring Redding on guitar, leading one commentator to wrongly conclude that Redding played lead while Hendrix played bass.
- ^ Murray 1991, p. 220.
- ^ The TTG version is actually a composite of two songs, with an earlier recorded TTG jam named "Electric Church" serving as the intro (Variation on a Theme includes an extra 1:15 of the intro jam).
- ^ Hendrix snapped his high E-string in the middle of the performance and kept playing the second half of the song with just five strings.
[edit] References
- Black, Johnny (1999). Jimi Hendrix – The Ultimate Experience. Thunder's Mouth Press. ISBN 1560252405.
- Cross, Charles R. (2005). Room Full Of Mirrors – A Biography Of Jimi Hendrix. Hyperion Books. ISBN 0786888415.
- Fairchild, Michael J. (1994). Jimi Hendrix: Blues (liner notes). MCA Records. MCAD-11060.
- Murray, Charles Shaar (1991). Crosstown Traffic. St. Marten's Press. ISBN 0312063245.
- Redding, Noel; Appleby, Carol (1990). Are You Experienced?. Pan Books. ISBN 033031923X.
- Roby, Steven (2002). Black Gold – The Lost Archives of Jimi Hendrix. Billboard Books. ISBN 082307854X.
- Roby, Steven; Schreiber, Brad (2010). Becoming Jimi Hendrix. Da Capo Press. ISBN 9780306819100.
- Shadwick, Keith (2003). Jimi Hendrix – Musician. Backbeat Books. ISBN 0879307641.
- Shapiro, Harry; Glebbeek, Cesar (1991). Jimi Hendrix – Electric Gypsy. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0312058616.
- Wheeler, Tom; Gore, Joe (1992). Variations on a Theme: Red House. Bella Godiva Music.
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