56 Years of Purple Haze: Celebrating the Jimi Hendrix Experience's Hit Single

"Purple Haze", the second single by The Jimi Hendrix Experience, was released in the UK on this day in 1967. 

Source: Discogs

Recording for the song began on January 11, 1967 at De Lane Lea Studios located in London, England. According to drummer Mitch Mitchell, he and bassist Noel Redding learned the song while recording and had it down by the third take. The basic track was completed in 4 hours, and the following days spent on the song focused solely on refining its sound. The final track was finished on February 8th.

In terms of lyrics and meaning, "Purple Haze" has many different interpretations, and even Hendrix himself never gave just one answer for it. Originally titled "Purple Haze - Jesus Saves", the song features imagery based off of the 1966 novel Night of Light written by Philip José Farmer. The story took place on a distant planet that produced a purplish haze that was known to disorient its inhabitants. Another explanation given was that it was a love song following the story of a guy who falls in love and doesn't really know what mental state he's in as a result. This draws on an experience (pun not intended) that Hendrix had while he was still living in New York when he thought a girl was trying to use voodoo to trap him. He became ill during that time due to the supposed attack.

The US version was not released until June 19, a day after The Jimi Hendrix Experience's performance at the Monterey Pop Festival. 

Happy listening.