Jimi Hendrix Encyclopedia

An appearance by The Experience on the Ed Sullivan Show was proposed by Sullivan’s son-in-law, Bob Precht; unfortunately, the event was snubbed before ever making it off the ground. In John McDermott’s “Hendrix: Setting The Record Straight,” Bob Levine recalls, “Sullivan Productions really wanted to have Jimi on. Ed Sullivan had to get him one way or another, so Sullivan, Precht, [Michael] Jeffrey and I sat down to talk. Sullivan wanted to have the Vienna Ballet dance to his music, with Hendrix in front of a big orchestra, done on location in Europe. Jeffrey figured out the money he would need and agreed to the concept verbally. He left the meeting to speak to somebody—I don’t know who—and when, a day or so later, I told him he was supposed to follow up with Bob Precht her replied, ‘We aren’t going to do it.’ I asked if he had spoken to Jimi and he said, ‘No, I am not going to let Hendrix do that. I’ve got my reasons.’ Jimi would have loved to have done it.”

Bob Precht Ed Sullivan Show John McDermott Media the experience

In a lively session with Hendrix on guitar and Buddy Miles on drums, the two musicians run through a number of takes of “Izabella” plus lay the foundations for “Room Full Of Mirrors.” As John McDermott explains in Jimi Hendrix: Sessions, “Shortly after reel two began, technical problems slowed the pair’s progress. Hendrix, in particular, was bothered by the volume and general quality of the recording being supplied to his headphones. [Engineers] Jack Adams and Dave Ragno feverishly attempted to remedy the situation, but when recording resumed, Jimi’s amplifier started to malfunction, causing his guitar sound to drop out intermittently. This again caused a scramble in the control room. To help salvage the session, engineer Tony Bongiovi was sent for, and, thought he was not listed on the tape box, his distinctive voice can be plainly heard from this point forward.” As the session regrouped and recordings continued, a series of takes of “Room Full Of Mirrors” was laid to tape as was a couple of interesting takes of “Shame, Shame, Shame” (a song which eluded to the strained relationship with his step-brother Leon), plus a gritty rendition of “Ezy Ryder.” It was during these sessions that Alan Douglas deepened his involvement with Hendrix. Although his exact role in the sessions of the 7th is unknown, the tape marked simply marked as being for client, Douglas Records. As Stefan Bright and Douglas increased their control and influence over Hendrix in the studio, their exact involvement and reason for being there seemed puzzling. Tom Erdelyi (second engineer for several Record Plant sessions) explained the changes in the studio in McDermott’s Jimi Hendrix: Sessions. “Douglas and Bright just sort of came in and took over. They were running the show. I was surprised, because I was a fan of the Jimi Hendrix Experience, and no one seemed to understand what Jimi was trying to accomplish. Jimi was such a perfectionist. It seemed as if he was just taking his time, because no tracks were being completed. We thought that Douglas was being patient. “I don’t know whether they had specific titles or not,” continues Erdelyi. “But Stefan Bridge was supposed to be the producer and Alan Douglas the executive producer. There were times when just Stefan Bright was there, but Jimi just played what he wanted, and those guys made comments from the control room.”

Band Buddy Miles Izabella John McDermott Room Full Of Mirrors session