If you were to speak to an old tobacco industry executive, he might refer to that time frame from the 1950's to about 1965 as the "Golden Age of Smoking." Everyone, it would seem, was smoking at that time. You could not find places where you could not smoke. Everyone was smoking all over, all of the time. So, everyone had a lighter; most of them had a Zippo lighter.
The Zippo lighter is all by itself a phenomenon. You get attached to one the longer you own it. It is strictly for utiliatarian uses but you can really learn to appreciate its precise mechanisms. Balancing the Zippo on your fingers, you pop the lid up with your thumb, just enough so that it will click open, and then it will click open the remainder. Then, your thumb will run along the flint wheel, and the Zippo gives you that "gravel click" so that you are guaranteed a fire each and every time. Its final verse of song, you pop your forefinger to the lid and it "clacks" shut.
There are three little rhythms of the Zippo lighter beat that can be played out in various ways. Hollywood has used this lighter in a variety of films in a way to complete unspoken words. We are struck by the silent beats as Bacall's smile is lit up by the flame struck by Bogie. "Clack" and it is finished.
No one would even question that Jimi Hendrix was a musical genius and a legend. That said, many people who are too young to know about Hendrix, will wonder what he actually gave to the scene. His phrasing is obscure so that it is not easy to understand at all, and his lyrics are not poetic at all.
Jimi Hendrix did change methods for playing the electric guitar. Everyone wants to play like Jimi. They do not play as well as he did, but after he hit the scene, every guitar player changed to his style virtually overnight. The electric guitar became an instrument in its own right. The electricity ended up becoming a portion of the music. Zippo Lighter.
By the time Woodstock came into play, Hendrix had developed his own style that negated the acoustic style. So, when he played "The Star-Spangled Banner" his way, he completely changed the race. His audience was mostly kids who were worried about the draft and the war that it fed into. He gave us an anthem muted by napalm and screams of pain accompanied by a distorted pulse of our flag waving in the breeze. He took his guitar and played the entire war.There were two legendary tunes; one by Jimi Hendrix's guitar. The second was the one song sung by the Zippo lighter.
