Jimi Hendrix Woodstock 1969

Introduction

Woodstock, 1969

-> The Vietnam war (1955-1975) was very controversial. -> Jimi Hendrix denounced it when he played the Star Spangled Banner at the Woodstock festival, in 1969.

I - The appropriation of a national symbol

-> Jimi Hendrix used the national anthem of the United States, the "Star-Spangled Banner", which was written by Francis Scott Key in 1814 and adopted as the official national anthem in 1831. -> He chose to not completely transform the song to get his message accross. -> Even if he chose to use the national anthem to show his disagreement with the US government, he loved his country.

II - Denouncing the horrors of war

He became a whistleblower against the Vietnam war He does it through the distortion of the song and all the noises related to war he added in it He also put military songs and instruments to draw a parallel between the suffering and the glofication of war

III - The spokesperson of a peace movement

Jimi Hendrix used to be a soldier, but hated the army.

People therefore interpreted his performance as a peace movement.

He wanted to highlight that the history of both countries could still be changed.

Jimi Hendrix at the Woodstock festival, 1969

In 2011, his performance was named "Greatest performance of all time" by the editors of Guitar World.

Sources

Fuelrocks.com

Stripes.com

Theconversation.com

Wikipedia

Images: Reuters.com