if they had lived.

[gorham]

the idea of this thread is to say what a guitarist would be doing now if they had not died. i think that if Randy Rhoads had lived, he would have obtained his degree in classical guitar, made a few classic albums and then spearheaded a whole new style of guitar playing incorporating fast, electrical classic guitar playing mixed with traditional 80's metal sounding band.

with all due respect to all those we admire who have died -=RIP=-

[gruzzy]

Jimi. He would have recorded a kick *** album with Miles Davis.

[Stray Dog]

OMG thats weird... I was about to say what I thought Jimmy Page would be doing.... then remembered he's still alive!

[crowbarr]

I can't help but think about this whenever I listen to Hendrix :(

Nice to be able to appreciate we still have long term guitarists with huge catalogues of work like Clapton though.

[Its_Me]

But if Jimi hadnt died he wouldnt be the legend that he is today.

[ForReal]

a whole new style of guitar playing incorporating fast, electrical classic guitar playing mixed with traditional 80's metal sounding band.


There's this one guy, Yngwie, and he has been known to do some of that.:p





Something tells me if Randy lived he would pull a Jake E. Lee and just disappear.

[Etingi]

But if Jimi hadnt died he wouldnt be the legend that he is today.

It's sad, but it has truth to it. Part of becoming a legend is dying while you're still at the top. Or staying at the top your whole life until you die of natural causes, but it's technically still the same concept. If Jimi, or anyone of his status who died early for that matter, had lived but slowly faded away until they weren't a household name anymore they probably wouldn't be who they are today.

It's kind of like old musicians and bands who play at casinos and other small gigs. They might've once been very famous, but when you try to milk every cent out of your career by playing gigs that are below you, you run the risk of being considered a sell-out, as compared to if you just stopped at, say, age 40 and called it quits before you had to resort to playing casinos and stuff.

As for my answer to the original question, I think if Bonzo (John Bonham) hadn't died music would be very different today.

[phingerboard]

"But if Jimi hadnt died he wouldnt be the legend that he is today"

Please.

Elvis too? John Lennon?

Mick and Keith (surprisingly) aren't dead yet, and they're not washed up or faded into oblivion and cruise ship gigs.

Ozzy Osbourne is a living parody of himself, and a total waste of human life, yet he continues to be a legend and a hero to many.

Jimi Hendrix would be the living godfather, no, make that the living GOD of rock/blues and probably funk too.

The studio outtakes from shortly before his death provided very clear glimpses of very big and very interesting things to come.

[0.1 watts]

If SRV had lived it would be blues not 80's indie going back into fashion now!

He would have worked his way up to 19 gauge strings by now, and his beat up strats would probably be a bit more beaten up.

[ShiggityShwa]

As for my answer to the original question, I think if Bonzo (John Bonham) hadn't died music would be very different today.

Yeah, exactly what I thought.

[BluesSG]

He would have worked his way up to 19 gauge strings by now

haha

[Ranger]

If SRV had lived it would be blues not 80's indie going back into fashion now!

He would have worked his way up to 19 gauge strings by now, and his beat up strats would probably be a bit more beaten up.

Haha... he'd never break a string though... It'd be the necks. :D

[Slashman11]

But if Jimi hadnt died he wouldnt be the legend that he is today.


no, he woulda gone from legend to god. ive started thinkin that jimi was at his peak... and was gonna manage to get even better (even though that would then be his peak). im not sure how he could improve but had he lived another 4 albums he woulda ascended into god status or somethin

and randy rhoads woulda made some great music that only guitarists would listen to

[Audiocide]

Jimi, but he's been covered... there's just more to it.

Jimi, at the age of 23, had very very little real musical experience. This man was green, and he was completely new to doing anything but jamming out in bars. He had been backing people since he was a teenager, and eventually, every band he got into kicked him out for being wild on stage and flying off into some crazy solo.

at the agre of 23, Jimi Hendrix was flown to Britian, immediatey formed a band with a guitarist turned bassist and a skeptical drummer, and in four years he took what people knew as just a guitar and turned it into the guitar.

he completely changed how people would approach the instrument from that day on, his death would inspire yngwie malmsteen to put effort into his practice, and he made me pick up a guitar and play. four years and he turned from an intermediate-amateur to what most people will consider the first true king of the six string.

you can hear jazz influences in his later albums and you can also hear a lot more tonal experimentation on stage and some in the studio in spring '70 and on. he was going in new driections and he was sure to, had he not died, evolved music into something far different from what we have today. when the beatle mania died down, when elvis wasn't such a bright light, and when guitar had mellowed out for awhile, jimi hendrix grabbed it by the balls and said "hey, listen to me for awhile."

if he had lived longer, he would be not only the founder of tonal experimentation, he would most likely be the founder and ruler of a new and completely heavy genre, even more distinct than the 80 songs worth of this genre he had begun to build.

hendrix would be even more legendary had he lived, because there was no stopping him. the only thing that could seperate hendrix and his music did so.

so yeah.

i guess i'm done.

--mic

[badboy]

I seen Jimi in Concert at Hunter in New York. He blew me away. I followed in his footsteps & went into the Army became a Paratrooper like he was, so yea he was a idol of mine. I do beleive he still would of been popular today. Those days you only heard music like his from underground stations as we called them then. Today the music & the gap closed up big time. If you were only 2-3 years older then someone in the 60's they were considered a kid to you. I only wish that I can go back to that concert, was glad I got to see him, badboy

[Cassidy]

I'm gonna toss out some thoughts... they may not make as much sense as they did over beer or scotch or whatever, but I'll try.

I'm not sure I agree that Jimi would be a living guitar god . I'll try and relate my thoughts so you get my point, and most of these points are more "devil's advocate" discussion thoughts anyhow.

Okay, with all respect to Jimi and his great talent... I never liked his music much. I still don't. Yeah yeah... blasphemy!!! Sorry, it doesn't appeal to me. I'm not a big fan of SRV either, or Beethoven, or Brahms, or Glenn Miller... even though they're all music legends, but my taste lies in different directions.

Anyhow, there was a long article once by some Doctor that said our psyche only has room for a limited number of heroes. And 98% of all the music acts that ever achieved stardom eventually faded into oblivion. (Unusually, we've now reached an era where the old rock and roll guys outnumber the young rock and roll guys, and the old guys mostly hate the new rock and roll... so, for a while anyway, we have the "classic rock circuit". And most of the old bands, recognizing an opportunity for big cash, are back in business and playing their hearts out.)

But still... each of us only likes ____ many bands. How many? It varies for each of us. And only ____ many liked Jimi. To some, he was a rock and roll god. To others, Randy was the god... to others, it was Eddie, and Stevie, and Eric, and B.B. and Jimmy and on and on. And if you really look at it, and write down all the years, and assign each great artist to those years that he had his most output... you discover a pattern... that for the most part, only 10 or 12 of the great ones really did much each year. Why? Because our "psyche" can only let a few in at a time... and by "WE" I mean all of us. At my radio station we have boxes of CD's that we consider junk... songs that never made it. There are songs by Mick Jagger, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, ZZ Top, George Harrison, and many many others that never made it. Zilch... nothing... zip. Because we only let so many through the door at a time. Sure they have their years... but those years there was somebody else that didn't make it. Even look at the TRUE legends like Dylan, McCartney, Jimmy, and a few others, and you'll find there are years that they had nothing.

It's like a space/time continuum... and people move in and out... regardless of their great talent. I think Jimi would have followed the pattern too... but I also think he would have tired of certain directions and gone other ways... and we might not have gone with him. Some of his fans may have accused him of selling out and abandoned him... who knows?

I just think there are too many factors to accurately predict...

Maybe this made more sense with lots of beer... and BTW, the big reason I'm not a big SRV or Jimi fan... I don't like their singing.


Cassidy :smoke:

[xtcgo]

Hendrix recorded a record shortly before he died with John Mclaughlin. Man I wish they would release that one!!!!

[Slashman11]

audiocide said exactly what i wanted to say. what jimi was doing was just so amazing and so unique, i can only describe where his music would take us as "god like" cause hes not here so we dunno where it woulda gone. and ya he may not have always been a hero to everyone at all times but to most he would be the best ever and thats pretty damn good

[xbeckisgodx]

When you say if Jimi would of lived on he would of been the most unbelievable musician in the world...probably true. He probably would of invented some weird techniques, almost impossible to pull off unless you were jimi himself, or maybe even create a new style of music himself?

But I believe partly the reason why he is great, is because he was really good..

Now that he is dead, all he has left is his music, and his memories that he gave many fans, which inspired lots of music to this day.

But what makes us really remember him is thinking of the possibilities. He could of evolved the entire music scene, and create something humongous, or he could of slowly gone down the drain and later become a sell out..nobody knows...which is the reason which makes him even more interesting

[xbeckisgodx]

Its not all really about who is the best musician...

Sure there is a point where you can say someone who only knows power chords, and someone who has the ability to mezmerize a crowd where you could say one is better, but when you think about it..nobody is the best.

Cassidy doesnt like hendrix, and many others dont.. yes he was a great guitarist, but you cant really judge who is the best..

its more to what your in the mood to listening to, jimi was good at blues, funk, psychedelic, rock but so were others...and they all sound different( unles they copied exactly what hendrix did, then they werent)

Every guitarist is different, they think different, act different, speak different, and like different sounds.. As far as im concerned theres equally 50 or more guitarist who equal in skill to hendrix, and are just as good but like I said, its all in what type of music you like, and how they play that type of music

[Martyr's Prayer]

Its not all really about who is the best musician...

Sure there is a point where you can say someone who only knows power chords, and someone who has the ability to mezmerize a crowd where you could say one is better, but when you think about it..nobody is the best.

Cassidy doesnt like hendrix, and many others dont.. yes he was a great guitarist, but you cant really judge who is the best..

its more to what your in the mood to listening to, jimi was good at blues, funk, psychedelic, rock but so were others...and they all sound different( unles they copied exactly what hendrix did, then they werent)

Every guitarist is different, they think different, act different, speak different, and like different sounds.. As far as im concerned theres equally 50 or more guitarist who equal in skill to hendrix, and are just as good but like I said, its all in what type of music you like, and how they play that type of music

Very well said, I couldn't have agreed with you more. Music has always been about personal preference.

[AZshredder]

I think jimi , he would have loved all the new technology and would make some genious things with all of it

[Sixstring]

I don't think Jimi was at his full potential when he died. He had grown tired of the antics and people coming to see him burn his guitar and trash his amp and play behind his head. So, he stopped. Check out Isle of Wight footage. especially "Red House"; man, he just stood still, no circus act, and played absolutely blistering lines. He was bound and determined to put the music center stage, and he did just that. And man, did he play!

I think the "show" would have ended and he'd have gone deeper into the music and explored areas others were scared of. Because he was a leader, an innovator, a creator. And when his audience got sidetracked by the act, he wasn't afraid to call it all off and just play.

Now, back on topic...

Buddy Holly. I think he would have survived the changing of styles and remained relevent to an entirely new audience, because he, too, was a risk taker. He'd have probably had some flops, like all musicians stretching out, but I believe he'd have found a niche in modern music and I think he'd have found it closer to home than expected.

[PhantomLord]

as much as a lot of people think jimi was a great guitarist...i can't see it. sure he was innovative and did a lot of new things, but his playing, technique, abilities, they aren't close to some people. i don't respect guitarists as much for their music, as for their technique. i think when the 80's hit, and people like hammet, EVH, rhoades, and yngwie came in, jimi would have tried to compete with them, but i doubt that he would hold up during that period. just my honest opinion. nothing to do with disliking or liking him or his music.

[Plstrcast]

Jim Morrison would have completely retired from music & become a horse farmer somewhere in the Pacific North West...

http://www.rodeoswest.com/

[TheReal7]

Cliff Burton would have kept Metallica in line and they'd still be on top of thier game. IMO

[Plstrcast]

Cliff Burton would have kept Metallica in line and they'd still be on top of thier game. IMO
AMEN!!!!

[gorham]

AMEN!!!!

nuff said!!!

[Robot_Boy]

Cliff Burton would have kept Metallica in line and they'd still be on top of thier game. IMO

true dat!

if Dimebag were alive today, hed be drunk. pure and simple.

[MortalMadMan]

as much as a lot of people think jimi was a great guitarist...i can't see it. sure he was innovative and did a lot of new things, but his playing, technique, abilities, they aren't close to some people. i don't respect guitarists as much for their music, as for their technique. i think when the 80's hit, and people like hammet, EVH, rhoades, and yngwie came in, jimi would have tried to compete with them, but i doubt that he would hold up during that period. just my honest opinion. nothing to do with disliking or liking him or his music.

What? Music isn't about skill. It's about sound. Who cares if your fast.

[ModestCargo]

Actually SRV had been declining his string guages, he started with 13s or something like that (something tells me both the E and ther B were .13 though) and had went down to 11s or something

[gruzzy]

Yeah, I heard that there was a time when he had a .16 for the high e.

Crazy. :eek:

[Onemanarmy]

curt cobain... his voice was really awesome... and his guitaring... to bad he had to be a druggy

[Slashman11]

if Dimebag were alive today, hed be drunk. pure and simple.

ya and no one would be profiting off his tragic death. on account of the fact that hed still be alive


and i feel like cobain profited from his death. he was seen as the crazed depressed guy and killing himself just furthered that belief. had he lived a normal life and died at the ripe ol age of 80 his music wouldnt have meant as much. maybe thats just me though

[Lazy Bee]

I think if Robert Johnson had survived there would have been some fusion things on his horizon. And a few more blues classics to cover.

[YowhatsupT]

if paginni hadn't died I'd be playing the violin....cause that would be awesome.

[Plstrcast]

curt cobain... his voice was really awesome... and his guitaring... to bad he had to be a druggy
OK, I KNOW he was "the voice of his generation".. um, ya.. but PLEASE say your kidding about his guitar playing?!! come on.. my 6 year old niece can play better then he did, I'm not a "hater", I have all the Nirvana cd's, really, I'm not.. but I also know the man was nothing to write home about on guitar, that would be like saying Bob Dylan could smoke Eddie Van Halen in a head cutting match, never gonna happen.

[Eclectifish]

I think you can pretty well figure out what would have happened to these guys by looking at the great guitarists who didn't die. Had Jimi Hendrix lived, his career probably would have been similar to that of his contemporaries, Clapton and Page. Arguably, Hendrix was more revered when he was alive than either of those. He probably would have gone on to make more great music in the same vein as what he did when he was alive. At some point, he probably would have been eclipsed in some ways by newcomers and innovators such as EVH but, like Clapton and Page, would still be considered an outstanding player (in their day, especially) and an innovator.

SRV would probably still be doing what he did and still have the following he did and does. No real changes there.

Randy Rhodes is, to me, the most interesting case because a lot of people didn't know of his work. He probably would have gone on to a pretty big solo career and gathered quite a following.

[shiggity]

yeah well, what will keith richards do when he realizes that he's dead??? :eek:

[mk-ultra]

^^ but he will never die, he canyt be killed

[Plstrcast]

^^ but he will never die, he canyt be killed
Ok, once and for all, here it is;

Garth Algar: How can you sleep like that?
Del Preston: Listen, sonny Jim. Sleeping like this will add ten years to your life. I learned it from Keith Richards when I toured with the Stones. This may be the reason why Keith cannot be killed by conventional weapons.


Yes, the line that started it all.. lol

[manjaganjaman]

"But if Jimi hadnt died he wouldnt be the legend that he is today."

As one of the old dudes who was alive and playing guitar when Hendrix showed up I can honestly say he IS a legend. If he'd lived he would still be one.
When Hendrix's music came along it changed everything.
Beatles, Stones, Clapton, Townsend... EVERYONE was blown away. It was like nothing you'd ever heard. I remember reading about him in Time magazine (you didn't hear him on radio back then) and running out to buy Are You Experienced. It opened a thousand doors for the guitar.
He truly did change everything.

[1ZeroReapeR1]

I would love to see what Jason Becker could of done. He's not dead, but he cannot play guitar anymore. I think He would of made big syphony kinda things. And probably some Classical stuff as well.

Jimi hendrix would probably continue making great stuff. And maybe even go in a mellow kinda stage later in his carrer.

Wonder how Metallica would of been view as if they stopped playing after the Black Album ?

[SublimeFan44]

Jimi Hendrix would furthur expand his sound into Jazz, doing sessions with Miles Davis. He would still be remembered as the legend he is today, death is irrelavent in his case. Death did not make him more famous, because the music he made, and the way he innovated overrided it. Plain and simple.

Buddy Holly I think would have been an interesting case, he definetly could have done tons more.

Robert Johnson would continue writing classic acoustic blues songs and then move onto electric possibly in the mid sixties.

[stratman50th]

Actually SRV had been declining his string guages, he started with 13s or something like that (something tells me both the E and ther B were .13 though) and had went down to 11s or something

Yeah, I heard that there was a time when he had a .16 for the high e.

Crazy. :eek:

It got old writing this over and over so I put it in my sig about a year and a half ago.. :D

Someone mentioned Stevie probably would have broken necks. He actually did, which was why he didn't like to borrow guitars from people. Well, at least after he was clean. There's more than a few guitars out there that Stevie played at gigs that never made it back to their owners in the pre-clean and sober days.

[amo-guitar]

I'm gonna toss out some thoughts... they may not make as much sense as they did over beer or scotch or whatever, but I'll try.

I'm not sure I agree that Jimi would be a living guitar god . I'll try and relate my thoughts so you get my point, and most of these points are more "devil's advocate" discussion thoughts anyhow.

Okay, with all respect to Jimi and his great talent... I never liked his music much. I still don't. Yeah yeah... blasphemy!!! Sorry, it doesn't appeal to me. I'm not a big fan of SRV either, or Beethoven, or Brahms, or Glenn Miller... even though they're all music legends, but my taste lies in different directions.

Anyhow, there was a long article once by some Doctor that said our psyche only has room for a limited number of heroes. And 98% of all the music acts that ever achieved stardom eventually faded into oblivion. (Unusually, we've now reached an era where the old rock and roll guys outnumber the young rock and roll guys, and the old guys mostly hate the new rock and roll... so, for a while anyway, we have the "classic rock circuit". And most of the old bands, recognizing an opportunity for big cash, are back in business and playing their hearts out.)

But still... each of us only likes ____ many bands. How many? It varies for each of us. And only ____ many liked Jimi. To some, he was a rock and roll god. To others, Randy was the god... to others, it was Eddie, and Stevie, and Eric, and B.B. and Jimmy and on and on. And if you really look at it, and write down all the years, and assign each great artist to those years that he had his most output... you discover a pattern... that for the most part, only 10 or 12 of the great ones really did much each year. Why? Because our "psyche" can only let a few in at a time... and by "WE" I mean all of us. At my radio station we have boxes of CD's that we consider junk... songs that never made it. There are songs by Mick Jagger, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, ZZ Top, George Harrison, and many many others that never made it. Zilch... nothing... zip. Because we only let so many through the door at a time. Sure they have their years... but those years there was somebody else that didn't make it. Even look at the TRUE legends like Dylan, McCartney, Jimmy, and a few others, and you'll find there are years that they had nothing.

It's like a space/time continuum... and people move in and out... regardless of their great talent. I think Jimi would have followed the pattern too... but I also think he would have tired of certain directions and gone other ways... and we might not have gone with him. Some of his fans may have accused him of selling out and abandoned him... who knows?

I just think there are too many factors to accurately predict...

Maybe this made more sense with lots of beer... and BTW, the big reason I'm not a big SRV or Jimi fan... I don't like their singing.


Cassidy :smoke:

That was a big load of crap especially from this pysche. If i saw him id punch him in the face.

[Semi-Hollowbody]

Kurt Cobain would be living in obscurity...Nirvana would have broken up right around the time of his suicide (had he not done it of course)
and Dave Grohl and the Foo fighters still would of happened but would be drastically different (as Cobains suicide would not have influenced their first album)

And he and courtney would be divorced and he would have custody of Frances Bean...every now and then the tabloids would give us an update and eventually Nirvana would have done a reunion show...maybe a tour...