Today, we have one of those rare classic songs, Purple Haze, that has a multitude of stories and legends behind it. First of all, it’s the mother of all misheard lyrics… One that Jimi Hendrix himself started doing in his live shows as a joke. Then there was the first draft of this thing, which was an epic 1000 words that Jimi pared down for radio… then Hendrix risked being electrocuted to create it, and then there was the origin of the song… Some say Purple Haze came from a lucid dream. Others say it was from a waitress stalker who kidnapped a customer.

We’re not sure because Jimi Hendrix passed away before we got the exact truth. And then to top it all off, there was the sensitive icon behind it. Jimi hated his own voice, especially on this song, but he was such a revelation that the Stones and the Beatles were at his first gig…

Let’s get into a true classic next on Professor of Rock.

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