MESSAGE TO LOVE – A Brief History of the Band Of Gypsys

Dec 21 2021

By Andy Aledort.

“You can call it… anything you want to. It’s nothing but a band of gypsys”

~ Jimi Hendrix

Released in March 1970, Band Of Gypsys is widely acknowledged as the most potent document of Jimi Hendrix’s remarkable ability in a live concert setting. Band Of Gypsys was recorded as a New Year’s Eve celebration at New York’s famed, now defunct Fillmore East on December 31, 1969 and January 1, 1970 with two shows performed each night. At all four concerts, Jimi Hendrix—joined by Billy Cox on bass and Buddy Miles on drums—tore through the material with pure improvisatory genius and trailblazing fearlessness. 

Nearly fifty years after its initial release, Band Of Gypsys remains a towering achievement in the stunning, all-too-brief career of Jimi Hendrix. The album remains an international bestseller, particularly in the US, where it has earned double Platinum status by the RIAA for sales in excess of two million since 1970. 

It is improbable that the Band Of Gypsys album, and perhaps even the band, would have materialized without a series of unusual extenuating circumstances. 

Back in the summer of 1965, a struggling journeyman guitarist named Jimmy (not yet”Jimi”) Hendrix has just left the support band of The Isley Brothers. Looking to further his own career, Jimi signed an exclusive artist agreement with Sue Records in July 1965. Sue Records, headed by noted producer Juggy Murray was the recording home for such popular R&B artists as Ike & Tina Turner and Baby Washington. Despite Murray’s best efforts, no recordings ever materialized during Hendrix’s brief tenure. 

Soon thereafter, he joined up with singer Curtis Knight, an on-the-rise soul/R&B artist with a small following in New York and New Jersey. Jimi became a member of Knight’s backup band, The Squires, and by the Fall, was in the studio recording a handful of Knight’s original compositions, including two songs for which Jimi received his first credits as composer: “Hornet’s Nest” and “Knock Yourself Out.” During these sessions, Hendrix agreed to a contract with Ed Chalpin and PPX Industries in October 1965 despite his prior contract with Sue Records. 

In May 1967, following the UK release of Are You Experienced, Chalpin filed lawsuits against Track Records, their distributor Polydor, Warner Brothers (who had recently announced their first single “Hey Joe” b/w “51st Anniversary”), and producer Chas Chandler. Recognizing the success of The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Chalpin moved to stake his claim to what he perceived to be his share of Hendrix’s royalties. Hendrix harbored no ill feelings to Curtis Knight when he left to seek greener pastures. Despite protracted litigation, in July and August 1967, Hendrix inexplicably rejoined Knight in the studio to complete additional music recordings such as “Gloomy Monday.”

In November 1967, Chalpin signed a deal with Capitol Records to release Jimi’s studio recordings with Knight. As 1967 turned to 1968, Capitol released two records in rapid succession—Get That Feeling and Flashing—just in time to compete with The Experience’s second album, Axis: Bold As Love which debuted in January 1968 in the UK. 

Released in October 1968, the double album Electric Ladyland was hailed as Jimi’s greatest triumph. However, within The Experience, things were not so rosy; by November, philosophical differences between Hendrix and bassist Noel Redding led to rumors of a breakup. 

Redding had been frustrated by the group’s Herculean slate of recording sessions and public appearances. The sessions for Electric Ladyland had been tense; Hendrix and Redding clashed over their respective philosophies in respect to the album’s recording. Hendrix increasingly began to record without Redding present, leaving the bassist to develop creative ideas for Fat Mattress, a solo venture he had established. Drummer Mitch Mitchell made plans to construct his own group, to be called Mind Octopus, while Jimi envisioned playing and recording with a variety of musicians. 

Though the plan was, at first, for The Experience to continue, Jimi made no secret of the fact that the demise of the group was in sight. In assessing the desire to get into other musical situations, Jimi described The Experience “like a band of musical gypsies moving about everywhere.” 

On June 29, 1969, The Jimi Hendrix Experience played their last concert together at the Denver Pop Festival in Colorado. However, two months prior to the festival, Jimi had placed a call to his old bass-playing friend and former Army buddy Billy Cox in Nashville and brought him to New York. 

Together on April 21, 1969, Billy and Jimi recorded their first sessions at Record Plant in New York City.  They would continue to work regularly throughout the spring and summer of 1969 laying the foundation for Hendrix’s transition into new and uncharted musical territories. 

On July 10, Cox performed with Hendrix for the first time since his Army days, appearing on The Tonight Show where they performed, the as yet unreleased, “Lover Man.” 

Around that time, exhausted by the ravages of endless touring and mounting demands by the record labels, Hendrix rented a house in upstate Shokan, New York, to rest and ultimately prepare for his performance at the historic Woodstock festival. For this gig, Jimi assembled what he called the “Gypsy Sun & Rainbows” band, including Mitch Mitchell (drums). Billy Cox (bass), fellow Army buddy Larry Lee (guitar), Juma Sultan (percussion), and Jerry Velez (percussion).

Though the band’s overall performance at Woodstock was a bit rough, Jimi himself was in top form and delivered a burning, one-of-a-kind performance of “Star Spangled Banner.” This three-and-a-half-minute improvisatory masterpiece was an artistic moment of great depth. It defined not only Hendrix’s inventive genius, but also seemed to encapsulate the spirit of the ’60s counterculture. Despite their one-off appearance, the Gypsy Sun & Rainbows Woodstock performance is one of the most celebrated live concert performances of all time.

As September drew to a close, Jimi realized that this ensemble hadn’t jelled to his satisfaction. Despite an appearance on the Dick Cavett Show with a subset of members from the Woodstock ensemble, Jimi found the unwieldy management of such a large band to be too much and disbanded the group. As October continued, Hendrix succumbed to the stresses of his environment and hastily canceled a previously scheduled US tour. Mitch subsequently returned to Europe for a break while Cox quietly returned to Nashville. 

After a short break, Billy Cox returned to New York to work with Hendrix and Buddy Miles; they rehearsed steadily through November and December. This new “power trio,” suitably named “Band Of Gypsys,” focused on devising songs and arrangements fueled by each member’s love and mastery of soul and R&B. 

As the Band Of Gypsys’ music took shape, sounds previously associated with the soul and R&B of Stax and Motown were elevated to an entirely new plane. With Cox and Miles, Hendrix created music in which “the pocket ruled supreme, as the trio laid down the funkiest sounds ever recorded by Hendrix. 

“We had a very, very unique sound and knew this was going to work.”

~ Billy Cox

Songs like “lzabella,” “Message To Love.” “Power Of Soul,” and “Stepping Stone” are fueled by propulsive bass guitar figures. These highly syncopated rhythmic concepts helped to lay the groundwork for future styles of rap, hip-hop and modem R&B. 

“Most of the songs we did like “Power Of Soul” and “Machine Gun” were created just for the Band Of Gypsys,” explains Billy Cox. “Everyone contributed in some kind of way. All of the experience we had was thrown into this pot and it came out in the Band Of Gypsys. We had a very, very unique sound and knew this was going to work.”

Without a studio album completed to his satisfaction, Jimi was under increasing pressure to resolve the PPX litigation. Hendrix’s manager, Michael Jeffery, had decided that the easiest and most inexpensive way to take care of the PPX litigation was to record Jimi in concert and offer this as Jimi’s next album, which was owed to Capitol Records as part of the PPX settlement. 

This decision came only after Jimi had failed to complete a new studio album during the past year (October 1968 through October 1969). Rehearsing steadily through November and December, the Band Of Gypsys concentrated on a program of virtually all new original material. The group dedicated much of December to rehearsals at Baggy’s, a rehearsal facility operated by former Soft Machine roadie Tom Edmonston. Here, songs such as “Power Of Soul,” “Earth Blues,” and “Who Knows” were transformed from rhythm patterns into exciting new songs. 

This newly-formed ensemble proceeded with the understanding that the four New Year’s shows at the Fillmore East would be recorded for the subsequent release of a live album. For these performances, Jimi adapted a freewheeling, experimental approach to his new material. At the shows, Jimi pointed out to the audience that many of the songs were still being worked out and thanked them for their patience when things got turned around a bit. 

During these performances, Jimi got the chance to stretch out over the intensely soulful, deep-in-the-pocket groove laid down by his new rhythm section. Along with Howard Tate’s “Stop,” and Buddy Miles’ “Changes,” and “We Gotta Live Together,” the group tore through their new material with fiery enthusiasm, illustrating Jimi’s desire to move into a more progressive musical phase. 

“When I looked out in the audience, I could see amazement from the first ten or twelve rows of people,” recalls Billy Cox. “People had their mouths wide open. They had never heard anything like that.”

~ Billy Cox

Hendrix expanded his repertoire beyond pop favorites like “Foxey Lady” and “Purple Haze” in favor of more complex, ambitious arrangements such as “Burning Desire,” “Power Of Soul,” and hard-edged political statements delivered as deep Blues like “Machine Gun.” Within the confines of such an inventive musical environment, Jimi’s creative spirit blossomed, resulting in an explosion of pure guitar virtuosity. Hendrix’s guitar playing on Band Of Gypsys is justifiably regarded as a testament of rock guitar at its most transcendent level.

Jimi Hendrix’s one-of-a-kind, highly developed guitar style is beautifully illustrated throughout the original Band Of Gypsys album, with even further illustrations being presented on the more recent, 2019 super deluxe box set, Songs For Groovy Children: The Fillmore East Concerts which assembles material from all four of these memorable Fillmore East concerts.  

“When I looked out in the audience, I could see amazement from the first ten or twelve rows of people,” recalls Billy Cox. “People had their mouths wide open. They had never heard anything like that.”

Perhaps the defining statement of the Band Of Gypsys was Hendrix’s nearly twelve-and-a-half minute masterpiece, “Machine Gun,” which is filled with spontaneous bursts of feedback, tremolo arm freak-outs, and an endless array of massively amplified guitar noises. Jimi’s intense spirit-his heart and soul-fuels all of his riffs, rhythms, and solos as he delivers a musical message filled with an intense life force. For musicians as well as music lovers, this is the essence of what Jimi Hendrix’s message was all about.

# # #

A BAND OF GYSPYS DISCOGRAPHY

Jimi Hendrix’s performances under the Band Of Gypsys name remain one of this artist’s most impressive achievements.  Having formed the short-lived group with friends and fellow musicians Billy Cox and Buddy Miles, the trio’s work has long been hailed as a touchstone of blues, funk, fusion, and rock that exemplified Hendrix’s quicksilver transition from pop phenomenon to new unchartered territories.

While their recorded output centers almost entirely around four fables live performances at New York’s Fillmore East on December 31, 1969 and January 1, 1970, the depth of the ensemble’s influence extends, with full force, throughout today’s event burgeoning rock and hip-hop music genres. 

Explore the live recorded output plus some early demo recordings from the Band Of Gypsys through the following albums.

# # #

Band Of Gypsys

Released: March 25, 1970
Track List:

1. Who Knows
2. Machine Gun
3. Changes
4. Power To Love
5. Message Of Love
6. We Gotta Live Together

Hendrix: Live At The Fillmore East

Released: February 23, 1999
Track List:

1. Stone Free
2. Power Of Soul
3. Hear My Train A Comin’
4. Izabella
5. Machine Gun
6. Voodoo Child (Slight Return)
7. We Gotta Live Together
8. Auld Lang Syne
9. Who Knows
10. Changes
11. Machine Gun
12. Stepping Stone
13. Stop
14. Earth Blues
15. Burning Desire
16. Wild Thing

Machine Gun: The Fillmore East First Show (12/31/69)

Released: September 30, 2016
Track List:

1. Power Of Soul
2. Lover Man 
3. Hear My Train A Comin’ 
4. Changes 
5. Izabella 
6. Machine Gun 
7. Stop 
8. Ezy Ryder 
9. Bleeding Heart 
10. Earth Blues 
11. Burning Desire 

Songs For Groovy Children: The Fillmore East Concerts

Released: November 22, 2019
Track List:

12/31/69 (1^st Show)

1. Power Of Soul
2. Lover Man
3. Hear My Train A Comin’
4. Changes
5. Izabella 
6. Machine Gun
7. Stop 
8. Ezy Ryder 
9. Bleeding Heart 
10. Earth Blues 
11. Burning Desire 

12/31/69 (2^nd Show)

1. Auld Lang Syne 
2. Who Knows
3. Fire 
4. Ezy Ryder 
5. Machine Gun
6. Stone Free
7. Changes 
8. Message To Love
9. Stop 
10. Foxey Lady 

1/1/70 – 1^st Show

1. Who Knows 
2. Machine Gun 
3. Changes 
4. Power Of Soul 
5. Stepping Stone
6. Foxey Lady 
7. Stop
8. Earth Blues
9. Burning Desire 

1/1/70 2^nd Show

1. Stone Free 
2. Power Of Soul 
3. Changes 
4. Message To Love
5. Machine Gun 
6. Lover Man
7. Steal Away
8. Earth Blues
9. Voodoo Child (Slight Return)
10. We Gotta Live Together 
11. Wild Thing 
12. Hey Joe 
13. Purple Haze 

Jimi Hendrix: The Baggy’s Rehearsal Sessions

Released: June 25, 2002
Track List:

1. Burning Desire
2. Hoochie Coochie Man
3. Message To Love 
4. Ezy Ryder 
5. Power Of Soul 
6. Earth Blues
7. Changes 
8. Lover Man
9. We Gotta Live Together
10. Baggy’s Jam 
11. Earth Blues
12. Burning Desire

Album Insight: 

Jimi Hendrix: The Baggy’s Rehearsal Sessions represents the fifth release by Dagger Records, the official “bootleg” label created by Experience Hendrix. These unpolished, direct to two-track recordings were made over the course of two long December 1969 evenings. Throughout this collection, Hendrix can be heard tinkering with both arrangements and lyrics, enthusiastically refining these bright examples of his new musical direction. What these raw, unmixed tapes make clear is the enthusiasm the trio shared for this new music and the opportunity before them to bring it to life onstage. Taken together with the live Band Of Gypsys albums above, The Baggy’s Rehearsal Sessions offers Hendrix fans a more detailed view of the evolution of one of Hendrix most lasting achievements.