Jimi Plays Monterey (1987)
October 16, 1987
Documentary, Music
50m


Jimi Hendrix's debut American set at 1967's Monterey Pop Festival is generally considered one of the most radical and legendary live shows ever. Virtually unknown to American audiences at the time, even though he was already an established entity in the UK, Hendrix and his two-piece Experience explode on stage, ripping through blues classics "Rock Me Baby" and Howlin' Wolf's "Killing Floor," interpreting and electrifying Bob Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone," debuting songs from his yet-to-be-released first album and closing with the now historic sacrificing/burning of his guitar during an unhinged version of "Wild Thing" that even its writer Chip Taylor would never have imagined. Hendrix uses feedback and distortion to enhance the songs in whisper-to-scream intensity, blazing territory that had not been previously explored with as much soul-frazzled power.
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Cast & Crew
- Director
- D. A. Pennebaker
- Narrator (voice) John Phillips
- Self (archive footage) Jimi Hendrix
- Self (archive footage) Noel Redding
- Self (archive footage) Mitch Mitchell
- Self (archive footage) Art Garfunkel
- Self (archive footage) George Harrison
- Self (archive footage) Mick Jagger
- Self (archive footage) Brian Jones
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Keywords
- concert film
- monterey pop festival
- woman director