10 Bands That Started Hard Rock
1. Jimi Hendrix
As the '60s started to open up towards new genres, a lot of the more pop friendly acts started to strip things down. Inspired by the likes of someone like Bob Dylan, most of the hippie ideals stemmed from just a bunch of stoned-out junkies jamming on acoustic guitars and making their way through as many Grateful Dead records as they could. If there was a man who could claim to be the king of the psychedelic movement though, it would have to be Jimi Hendrix.
From the moment that you heard something like Purple Haze, you could tell that Hendrix had a far different approach than his peers, looking to blow your mind musically rather than expound upon the great philosophies of the world. Being a soundsmith first and foremost, Hendrix's communion with the guitar was unrivaled, especially whenever he created barrages of sounds with his wah wah pedal to make his guitar speak.
As user-friendly as some of the songs were, there was always an added edge to it, bringing with it a whole new mindset to how we approached both the guitar and rock music in general. It's not like that mindset isn't still being felt today, with everyone from Kirk Hammett to even contemporaries like the Rolling Stones paying lip service to Hendrix's playing. Though others may have flirted with nastiness in their sound, Hendrix was the moment were rock swan dove into darker territory, never to return again.