Watch Led Zeppelin’s Reaction Of The News Jimi Hendrix Just Died
via Bonsai1511 / Youtube
On September 18, 1970, the world of rock was shocked by the sudden death of guitar superstar Jimi Hendrix. His time in the spotlight may have been brief, but he remains one of the music industry’s most brilliant and influential artists to this day.
Around the time of Hendrix’s death, it just so happened that NBC Studio in New York was conducting a press conference when fellow rock giants Led Zeppelin, who were touring their second record in America at the time, showed there. The purpose of the event was to promote Zeppelin’s evening headlining show at Madison Square Garden, but after the news from London, the journalists relentlessly questioned the devastated Led Zeppelin about any drug connections to rock music in the wake of the guitarist’s untimely death.
Robert Plant, the lead singer, responded quietly when questioned about his feelings over the musician’s death, saying, “Well, I didn’t know anything about it until half an hour ago, and I’m still stumbling around trying to believe that it happened.” Guitarist Jimmy Page, chimes in, saying: “It’s a tragedy.”
As the conversation kept going, another reporter probed for their thoughts on the media’s drug shaming and the tendency to sensationalize the deaths of rock stars like Hendrix.
“That’s been put in people’s minds from media that get through to a lot of people through press, and television, and things like that,” Plant replied. “As soon as one person on the rock scene makes an example out of himself, I think the usual thing from everybody is to attach that to everybody else in the business. Therefore, the whole thing becomes quite warped.”
Then, the interview takes a turn for the better when the pair are asked to reflect on their time spent with Hendrix and discuss the significance of his music in their lives. “Brilliant. He was completely fresh when he came along. ‘Hey Joe’ was the first record I ever heard, and the atmosphere on the record is something that you can rarely capture on wax. It was an incredible sound.”
