Voodoo Child (Slight Return) – Jimi dabbles in a little black magic and goes to #1. #MusicisLife #TedTocksCovers #JimiHendrix #MuddyWaters #NoelRedding #MitchMitchell #JackCasady #SteveWinwood

Today’s feature song is the subject of some confusion. Follow along for a fun musical journey that has served to inspire a litany of endlessly talented performers. Once I clarify the evolution of ‘Voodoo Chile’ and ‘Voodoo Child (Slight Return)’ I will offer up enough versions of the songs to fill your day.

Briefly, ‘Voodoo Child (Slight Return)’ is the last song on the 1968 Jimi Hendrix Experience album, ‘Electric Ladyland’. It is a call back to the fifteen minute slow blues version of the song called ‘Voodoo Chile’ that closes side 1 of the double album. As mentioned, that is the short explanation, but there is way more to the story. It needs to be shared because as always, there are some interesting characters involved and to this day either version is considered to be among the finest guitar tracks on record.

In early May of 1968, Jimi Hendrix, Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell were recording the material for what would become ‘Electric Ladyland’. Jimi was thirsty for a very experimental jam piece and to accomplish his vision he sought out some familiar characters who happened to be hanging around in the New York music scene in close proximity to the studio. This is how Steve Winwood and Jack Casady of Jefferson Airplane came to play on the longer track known as ‘Voodoo Chile’. Here is that story.

‘Voodoo Chile’ evolved out of a Jimi Hendrix’ adulation of the great Muddy Waters and an early composition he called ‘Catfish Blues’.

The jam base is clear, but the lyrics recall a few Muddy Waters’ classics including; ‘Rollin Stone’, ‘Still a Fool’ and ‘Rollin and Tumblin’

Here they are:

Add to this, a common blues influence related to black magic, and voodoo imagery. Here is the opening line;

Well the night I was born, Lord I swear the moon turned a fire red (2×)
Well, my poor mother cried out, ‘Lord, the gypsy was right’, an’ I see’d her fell down right dead.”

Jimi Hendrix

With this passage one can also recall the Willie Dixon/Muddy Waters classic ‘Hoochie Coochie Man’ made most famous by the Allman Brothers Band.

As legend has it, Noel Redding was upset by Jimi Hendrix’s desire to jam and experiment with a host of guest musicians, so he stormed out of the studio. This left Jimi and the rest to their own devices.

While researching this post I managed to find some gems. Here is Gov’t Mule performing live in 1996 with Jack Casady and Chuck Leavell. Any time I can add Warren Haynes to a post, it is special, but this combination takes it to another ‘Leavell’.

For good measure, here is Steve Winwood joining Eric Clapton at his Crossroads Festival in 2010.

The day after the epic recording that included Casady and Winwood, Hendrix, Redding and Mitchell returned to the studio where they were to be filmed by an ABC crew who were creating a documentary. Essentially what transpired was ‘Voodoo Child (Slight Return)’. According to Noel Redding;

We learned that song in the studio … They had the cameras rolling on us as we played it.”

Noel Redding

Jimi Hendrix added:

Someone was filming when we started doing [Voodoo Child]. We did that about three times because they wanted to film us in the studio, to make us—’Make it look like you’re recording, boys’—one of them scenes, you know, so, ‘OK, let’s play this in E, a-one, a-two, a-three’, and then we went into ‘Voodoo Child’.

Jimi Hendrix

Both songs appeared on ‘Electric Ladyland’ as virtual bookends of each other. The ‘Voodoo Child (Slight Return)’ piece was more to Noel Redding’s liking. The lyrics were also modified. Here is a passage:

Well I stand up next to a mountain, and I chop it down with the edge of my hand (2×)
Well I pick up all the pieces and make an island, might even raise just a little sand
‘Cause I’m a voodoo child, Lord knows I’m a voodoo child.”

Jimi Hendrix

You can still see the clear reference to voodoo symbolism as noted by Charles Shear Murray in his book ‘Crosstown Traffic’.

Voodoo symbolism and reference resound through the country blues, and through the urbanized electric country blues of the Chicago school … In Hendrix’s case, this is pure metaphor. He certainly was not a Voodoo initiate in any formal sense … Both with ‘Voodoo Chile’—and, most specifically, with the West African even-before-Bo-Diddley beat he percussively scratches from his guitar and wah-wah pedal at the beginning of ‘Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)’ [sic]—he is announcing as explicitly as possible that he is a man of the blues, and one who honours, respects and understands its deepest and most profound traditions”

Charles Shear Murray

So, what’s with the two spellings? You see ‘chile’ and ‘child’.

It seems Jimi Hendrix used different names and spellings for some of his songs. In his handwritten lyrics, he used “Voodoo Chile” for the longer song, while using both “Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)” and “Voodoo Child (Slight Return)” for the following one recorded with just Redding and Mitchell. In the handwritten album notes for ‘Electric Ladyland’ that Hendrix sent to his record company, he listed the songs as “Voodoo Chile” and “Voodoo Child (Slight Return)”. Subsequently, when the album was released in the U.S. by Reprise Records in October of 1968 these spellings for the two songs were used. When the album was subsequently released by Track Records in the UK, the songs were listed as “Voodoo Chile” and “Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)”. In 1970, the “(Slight Return)” version was released as a single in the UK and it was simply titled “Voodoo Chile”, without the brackets. Later album reissues usually follow the Reprise or Track album spellings, depending on the country of origin.

it is here that I should note that it was on this day in 1970 that ‘Voodoo Chile’ (Slight Return)’ went to #1 in the United Kingdom. Two months after his death, this track became his only U.K. #1 single.

This was only the beginning. The true importance of ‘Voodoo Chile’ and ‘Voodoo Child (Slight Return)’ reside in the ongoing influence. As promised, I have been able to gather several incredible performances of this song. My goal was to provide a range of styles, unique presentations and legendary artists. Hopefully you enjoy this lengthy list of offerings.

It all starts in 1984 with the great Stevie Ray Vaughan. A man who managed to set his own standard.

I was definitely drawn to this rendition by Melvin Taylor and the Slack Band. This is really good. It needed to be shared.

Notice in this live version by Ben Harper in 1997 that he references Stevie Ray as the influence. To me this is very interesting, as the torch gets passed through the generations.

Check out this presentation by Harry Manx in 2010. He makes it his own in many ways. I love this version.

Speaking of making it her own listen to Angelique Kidjo deliver while under the watchful eye of the legendary Buddy Guy who is enjoying every second of his time on stage with this amazing vocalist.

Here is another unique offering. Listen to the great session player, Hiram Bullock play with legendary drummer Billy Cobham in this jazz/big band style performance.

In 2012 Gary Moore created an album called ‘Blues for Jimi’ and included ‘Voodoo Child (Slight Return)’. The record also included Mitch Mitchell on drums and Billy Cox who played bass on the Band of Gypsys album.

This version by Zakk Wylde with Les Paul’s Trio kept calling out to me. The result…I was blown away. Wow! Zakk Wylde kills this presentation.

Bringing the story to a full half century here is Gary Clark Jr. playing a benefit called ‘Let’s Stay in this Together’ during the Covid lockdown in June. This is a tribute to the great Apollo Theatre in New York City.

Before I conclude there are two more versions that needed to be shared. Both of them reside in the unique column. They exist as performances by seemingly unlikely groups. Both deliver…big time.

First, from 2007, here are the Red Hot Chilli Pipers. This is for my friend Colin because “if it ain’t Scottish, it’s crap.”

To close today’s post, here is Jimi Hendrix playing in Maui just two months before his untimely death. I can’t get over the simplicity of the setting.

So, there you go. Fifty years of a Jimi Hendrix classic. 50 bonus points if you listened to them all. I just couldn’t stop. Too many great versions not to share. Sadly, I know I left many more on the shelf.

This is the Jimi Hendrix influence. It will go on.

Have a great day.