Jimi Hendrix psychedelic Gibson '67 Flying V

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Jimi Hendrix, Paris, 10 October 1967. Photographer: Jean-Pierre Leloir.

1. Jimi & the Flying V

Jimi Hendrix is widely remembered for playing a white 1968 Fender Stratocaster as a result of his stellar performance at Woodstock on 18 August 1969 and the subsequent cinema release. His reputation rests largely upon an extraordinary body of work featuring Stratocasters, both live and in the studio. However, throughout his career with the Jimi Hendrix Experience, the Band of Gypsys and other projects, between his arrival in London during late September 1966 and death there four years later, he owned and played a number of Gibson guitars. To each and every one of those he applied a special magic, whether it be on stage or in the recording studio. Therefore, while everyone may think they are listening to a Fender when they hear Jimi, they may well be mistaken, for one of the most famous Gibson's heavily used by him was a right-handed, two-tone sunburst (light and dark brown), hand-painted by Jimi with psychedelic motifs 1967 Flying V (serial number not known).

Showing off the newly painted Flying V circa July 1967.

This spectacular looking guitar, with a radical, modern body design, was initially released in 1958. It sold poorly at the time, but the sonic qualities were soon recognised by a number of prominent guitarists, including Americans Albert King and Lonnie Mack. Following on use by young guns such as Dave Davies of the British pop band the Kinks, it was re-released in 1967. Hendrix purchased one around July of that year, mostly likely from Manny's in New York. According to GroundGuitar, it was purchased around the time of a short-lived tour of the United States by the Jimi Hendrix Experience with The Monkees. A photograph from the gig at Forest Hills stadium, Queens, New York, on 14 July shows the guitar on stage with Hendrix as he plays what appears to be a black Fender Stratocaster.

Forest Hills Stadium, New York, 14 July 1967. Photograph: Jerry Schatzberg.

It is well known that he used a large number of guitars throughout his working life - at least 30 - though many did not last long, as he variously wore them out, tired of them, used them as gifts, destroyed them on stage, and even lost a few, or saw them stolen. With a large number surviving mere months within his live act or as part of his personal collection, the '67 Flying V seen at the Forest Hills stadium was one guitar which lasted longer than most - some 19 months to be precise. He made use of it on the road from July 1967 through to at least February 1968. It then remained in his possession until January 1969. 

Within many contemporary photographs of the '67 Flying V, the guitar looks black, especially around the edges. For example, in the mid' 1967 photograph reproduced above and below - perhaps the earliest to feature the guitar - we see Hendrix and members of the Experience holding what appears to be a black Flying V, recently over-painted by Hendrix with psychedelic elements and patterns.

However, the very dark brown of the sunburst edges merely appear black in the colour photography of the day, for no black-bodied Flying Vs were produced by Gibson at this stage - not until a special ebony one was made for Hendrix in late 1969 (see below).

2. Painted guitars  of 1967

The Jimi Hendrix Experience manager Chas Chandler noted that following purchase of the Flying V, perhaps early in July 1967, Hendrix hand-painted the guitar with psychedelic motifs using model-kit hobby paints - not nail polish, as has been stated in one recent account. This process was common at the time, with Eric Clapton throughout 1967-8 using a Gibson SG painted by the Dutch art collective The Fool in May 1967, and Jimmy Page hand-painting his Fender Telecaster with a famous Dragon design around July of that year as well, around the same time as Hendrix. 

The Flying V was not the first guitar Hendrix painted, though it was the last, and it was probably done, like the others, whilst he was under the influence of hallucinogenic drugs. He used, for example, LSD, also known at the time as acid, as in taking an acid trip, which he did quite regularly during 1967. We should remember that the northern summer of 1967 was the so-called Summer of Love and height of the psychedelic period, with widespread use in Western countries of recreational drugs, especially in association with the performance of rock music and large gatherings by young people, such as Be-Ins. We know that for his appearance at the Monterey Pop Festival on 18 May 1967 Hendrix hand-painted the front of a red Stratocaster, and then proceeded to set it on fire as the climax of the performance. He had previously set fire to a Fender (unpainted) at the Astoria, London, on 31 March 1967. Remember, around this time the English proto-punk band The Who were regularly destroying their equipment - Keith Moon the drums and Pete Townsend his guitars - a mix of Gibsons, Fenders and Rickenbackers, among others. Jeff Beck of the Yardbirds also had a destructive bent on occasion, and immortalised the practice in the 1966 Antonioni film Blow Up. Jimi was not to be outdone, especially when the Experience and The Who shared the stage at Monterey. He also painted and inscribed a red Stratocaster for the 4 June 1967 Saville Theatre, London, concert, just prior to heading off to the United States. That guitar was sacrificed as well. Remnants of all three guitars survive, having been thrown into the audience, or picked up and preserved by members of the stage crew.

 

[Top] Jimi playing at Monterey 18 May 1967; [middle] rear and front of replica Stratocasters from Saville Theatre (rear) and Monterey Pop (front); Jimi at the Saville Theatre, 4 June 1967; and [bottom] remains of the Saville Theatre guitar.

With both the Monterey and Saville Theatre guitars, Hendrix partially over-painted the red with white on the upper front and rear, and then applied the various designs in colour and - with the Saville Theatre guitar - added text in black.

Jimi did not burn or destroy on stage a Flying V. Instead, he used the '67 model regularly, especially for blues and heavy rock jams such as Red House and Catfish Blues (Voodoo Chile). There are also rumours that he played it in the studio on recordings such as All Along the Watchtower during the Electric Ladyland sessions, however there is no solid evidence to support this known to the present author.  

3. '67 Flying V post-Jimi

Early in 1969 Jimi gave his 1967 Flying V guitar to a friend, Irishman and former Eire Apparent guitarist and Track label stablemate Mick Cox (1943-2008). This was around the same time that Hendrix acquired a new late 1968 tobacco sunburst Flying V, and prior to approaching Gibson guitars at the end of 1969 to produce a special left-handed version for him. By the beginning of 1969 the paint may have started to deteriorate. It is unclear, and unlikely, as to whether Jimi's psychedelic paint job on the '67 Flying V was sealed with clear lacquer. The Clapton SG was not, and within a year it started to come off due to wear and tear from numerous gigs. As a result, Clapton stopped using it on the road and gave it away during 1969. If such was also the case with the '67 Flying V, this may explain why Jimi passed the guitar on to Cox, and also why Cox subsequently removed Jimi's paint work and repainted it black when he sold it in 1973. The guitar over-painting may have been flaking by then, and there is the suggestion that in any case Cox preferred the guitar be made anonymous, removing any link to Jimi, though for what reason is not known. Perhaps Jimi had only lent it to him and Cox was meant to return it. It is also possible that Jimi had wearied of the guitar and its gaudy paintwork, with the scene being very different in 1968 to the heady days of Swinging London in late 1966 and early 1967. The Summer of Love was now a memory, and the year 1968 would see the assassination of Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King. There was also escalation of the war in Vietnam and protests on campuses across America, resulting in, for example, three deaths from police shootings and numerous injuries at Orangeburg College. Peace and love was definitely on the wane during 1968, despite the efforts of thousands, including Jimi, to pursue the utopian goals of a burgeoning counterculture. As noted above, Jimi was rather loose with his guitars, preferring to use them for a period, then move on.

There is no doubt that the '67 Flying V with original paintwork by Hendrix would have ultimately brought a premium price on the collecting market, but that was not to be. It is unknown who Cox sold it to in 1973, but shortly thereafter the guitar apparently passed through the hands of Ken Hensley (1945-2020) of UK band Uriah Heep. Hensley played a Flying V (and numerous other guitars) with the band, before moving over to the Hammond organ. Perhaps at that point he sold the Flying V to a player oblivious to any Hendrix connection, as he himself may also have been. 

By 1995 the now anonymous black Flying V languished in a Newcastle-upon-Tyne guitar store, in a guitar case bearing the name Ken Hensley. From there it ended up with Rock Stars Guitars founder David Brewis (Brewis 2019). He rediscovered its Hendrix lineage and partially restored it - replacing the original two tone sunburst base colour with a dark brown, and recreating the psychedelic paintwork with the aid of a blowup of a 1967 colour photograph. He also went on to assist with the production of a Gibson replica in ebony (very dark black brown) during 2006. Meanwhile, during 2003 Brewis sold the guitar to a San Diego dealer, who in turned sold it to a collector, with whom it remains (2022). A brief history of the guitar can be found at the groundguitar.com website, though a number of blogs also make reference to it. Replicas have been produced since 2006, however they all feature what appears to be a black or ebony base beneath the psychedelic artwork, rather than the original brown two tone sunburst colour scheme. 

The greatest guitar Jimi Hendrix played - the Gibson Flying V, [video], 2020. Duration: 9.42 minutes.

4. Why a Flying V?

Albert King

It is stated in the above video that Hendrix chose a Flying V for the 13 December 1966 recording of Red House in London. However, he did not have his own Flying V at that time. Sound wise, the Flying V was different from the Fender Stratocaster he had arrived in the UK with late in September 1966. It nevertheless provided Jimi with an additional range of sound for his stage and studio work. The Flying V was distinguished by its sustain - ideal for blues; the clean, notes which could be reached along the full extent of the neck; and the deeper, rhythmic, 'dirty' bass riffs and sound obtained from the large humbucking pickups. This was as against the squeal and very clean, high pitched sounds he extracted from a Stratocaster. Albert King, the famous left-handed Black American blues guitarist, was Jimi's idol. He played a 1958 Flying V on his late 50s and early 60s Stax recordings. Hendrix's most famous blues composition Red House is actually based on a 1961 King composition Travellin' to California. The '58 Flying V model was rare - only about 100 were produced - and it appears that Jimi, unable to secure one, purchased a number of Gibson Les Paul guitars from around the same era instead. King's '58 Flying V was stolen in 1966, whereupon  he replaced it with the newly released 1967 model - a dark cherry which he used on stage and in the studio through to 1972. This supposedly inspired Jimi to purchase one as well when he arrived in the US in the middle of 1967. King subsequently opened for Hendrix at the San Francisco Fillmore auditorium in February 1968 and took the opportunity to give the young guitarist a lesson. He felt that Hendrix struggled with the blues, and tended to overplay, rather than apply the "less is more" maxim of the traditional blues players and some of the modern electric guitarists such as Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac. Other players have similarly commented on his use of the guitar.

"I think when Hendrix used the V he was a very sexy player. That's the way I would describe him. He would use the strat in that way, and the V. He was able to make it .... somehow he brought a femininity to the V, the way he used it. And the way it was painted, you know, he wanted it to be a bit more mystical." (Andy Powell, Wishbone Ash, 2022)

5. On the road

It is suggested that Hendrix purchased the Flying V in the US sometime during early July 1967, following his breakthrough performance at Monterey on 18 June 1967 and prior to his performance in New York on 14 July. Immediately following Monterey he undertook an extensive tour of the country, initially as support to The Monkees. After leaving that tour on 17 July Hendrix was photographed playing the Flying V at the Fifth Dimension Club, Ann Arbor, Detroit, on 15 August 1967. 

 

Fifth Dimension Club, Detroit, 15 August 1967.

At Ann Arbor his jacket, shirt and necklace reflected the psychedelic motifs on the guitar, with lots of swirls and flowery elements. From mid' July 1967 through to February 1968 (9 months) the Gibson and various Stratocasters were the main guitars Hendrix used whilst touring the US and Europe with the Experience. For example, photographs and scattered film footage from the 4 September gig at the Stora Scenen, Grona Lund, Sweden, record Hendrix's use of both the Fender and the Gibson on stage at that time.

Sweden, 4 September 1967.

Sweden, 8 September 1967.

As with most recordings, it is difficult for the non-guitarist to pick out precisely what guitar Jimi is playing at any one time. Experienced guitarists, engineers and sound crew can make such distinctions. The Gibson obviously has a meatier sound as against the Fender, though the high notes are there in both, as is Hendrix's unique style of playing. The Sweden recording is a good example as we know that he used both guitars on the night.  

 

During this period, the Experience regularly moved between England and Europe whilst on tour. The guitar is seen in the famous backstage photos with British politician Jeremy Thorpe at The Royal Festival Hall on 25 September 1967. There is no doubt that the Flying V was eye catching, and Jimi's painted version stood out from the usual white, red or sunburst Fender Stratocasters that he wielded.

London, 25 September 1967.

Jimi is also seen playing the Flying V in film footage accompanying the song The Wind Cries Mary, shot in and around a London building demolition site during early October 1967. This is the best live footage of the guitar available, though it appears the promotional clip was never completed, or officially released. Additional footage of the band members walking through a busy London street is also available from this shoot.

The Wind Cries Mary promo shoot (raw footage), October 1967. Duration: 3.47 minutes.

 

A photograph from the Saville Theatre on 8 October 1967 shows Hendrix with the Flying V, and was perhaps taken during a performance of Catfish Blues. At the time, this was the avenue for an extended workout by the Experience, including a Mitch Mitchell drum solo. It later morphed into Voodoo Chile and the long version featuring Stevie Winwood heard on the 1968 double LP Electric Ladyland.

London, 8 October 1967. Photograph: Miki Slingsby.

There is also a rare film clip from 10 October 1967 of the Jimi Hendrix Experience miming Hey Joe and Burning of the Midnight Lamp on the French TV program Dim Dam Dom. Therein we see some closeup shots of the Flying V in its original state. Interestingly, at the start Jimi smashes the guitar into one of Mitch Mitchell's drum cymbals, and this leaves a mark in the headstock.

Hey Joe (muted), Paris, 10 October 1967.

Burning of the Midnight Lamp (partially muted), Paris, 10 October 1967.

It was also around this time that the French photographer Jean-Pierre Leloir took some studio shots of the band, and of Hendrix holding the Flying V. One of those shots graces the cover of the 1989 book Crosstown Traffic by British journalist Charles Shaar Murray. 

The Experience appeared on another French television show at Portrait de Marie Laforet on 12 October 1967.

 

During the European tour of August - September 1967 the Experience also did a number of gigs and television appearances in Germany. The Flying V features in photographs from that period, though the film footage from POP has apparently not survived.

ZDF TV 4-3-2-1 program, Berlin, 2 September 1967.

Following gigs in Europe, the Experience returned to the UK for an extensive tour through to the end of 1967.

Chatham, 1 December 1967.

On 19 December 1967 the Experience were at the Bruce Fleming studio, London, and were filmed whilst they were photographed by Fleming for the movie See My Music Talking (aka Experience). Though the footage is famous for Jimi playing Getting My Heart Back Together Again and Hear My Train a Comin' on a 12-string Zemaitis acoustic guitar, there is also a section where we see him sitting in a waiting room playing the unplugged '67 Flying V alongside Noel Redding in a top hat strumming a Stratocaster. Some of this footage is included in a brief clip referring to BBC radio live recordings of Catfish Blues and Hoochie Coochie Man made around the same time.

 London, 19 December 1967.

During the warm up before a gig in London on 22 December, Hendrix can be seen playing the Flying V alongside British musician Dave Mason.

 

London, 22 December 1967.

During January 1968 the Experience played a few shows in England, Sweden and Paris before heading off to the US the following month. In photographs from the 4 January 1968 Sweden concerts, the dark brown sunburst colouring of the Flying V can be clearly seen beneath the Hendrix over-painting.

Sweden, 4 January 1968.

 

 

The Flying V can also be heard on a live tape from Denmark on 4 January 1968, whereby the Experience performs Catfish Blues.

 

 

Catfish Blues, Denmark, 4 January 1968. Duration: 10.48 minutes.

 

Hendrix is also seen tuning up the Flying V prior to a show in Paris on 29 January 1968, with a white Stratocaster by his side.

Paris, 29 January 1968.

 

In a photograph from one of the two shows at Winterland ballroom, San Francisco, on 3 & 4 February 1968, we can see a (?painted) Flying V on the far right of the amplifier stack, though it is difficult to tell if it is Jimi's or Albert King's.

 

Winterland, San Francisco, 3 & 4 February 1968.

The '67 Flying V can be heard in the various live recordings of Catfish Blues available from the late 1967 European tour up to a gig at Fort Worth in February 1968. Five of these are compiled in the video below:

 Catfish Blues live (various 1967-8). Duration: 48.32 minutes.

From around March 1968 Hendrix appears to have retired the '67 Flying V from public performance and mainly used Stratocasters on stage, though he occasionally referred to a Gibson for blues performances during the remainder of that year. It would therefore appear that Jimi had a Flying V on hand to accommodate his blues repertoire over the following dates:

• July 1967 - March 1968 : 1967 hand-painted brown sunburst Flying V
• January 1969 - March 1970 : late 1968 / early 1969 tobacco sunburst Flying V
• April - September 1970 : left-handed 1969 ebony (black) Flying V - custom made for Jimi
  

The Flying V was obviously an important part of Jimi's live and studio collection of guitars. When it was not available during touring between March - December 1968 he looked toward other Gibsons in his collection to fill the gap and provide that richer, deeper bluesy tone not available with the Fender. These guitars included Gibson Les Pauls and SGs (described in detail below).

Before the gig, circa early 1968.

     

  

French recording release covers 1968+. The three images all appear to be from a single concert.

 

In January 1969 Hendrix gave his hand-painted '67 Flying V to Mick Cox.

 

6. The tobacco sunburst 1968/69 Flying V

 

Jimi Hendrix owned three different Flying Vs at various stages in his performing career. The second one was a right-handed tobacco sunburst 1968/9 Flying V acquired around January 1969. It bore Gibson serial number 932954. Photographs exist of him backstage at the 19 May 1969 Madison Square Garden concert playing the new Flying V.

 

New York, 18 May 1969.

He made use of this guitar between January 1969 and the end of March 1970. 

 

7. The left-handed ebony (black) 1969 Flying V

Gibson made a special left-handed, black-bodied Flying V with gold hardware for Hendrix after he submitted an order in 1969. This 1969/70 Flying V bore Gibson serial number 849476. He called it his Flying Angel. It was first seen on 25 April at the Los Angeles Forum, and subsequently on 8 May at the University of Oklahoma Field House, Norman. Jimi also played it during the first concert at Berkeley Community Centre on 30 May 1970, and whilst an audio recording exists, there was no film footage of Jimi with the Flying V included in the Jimi Plays Berkeley film upon release.

Berkeley, 30 May 1970.

8. Maui 1970

The two concerts at Maui, Hawaii, on 30 July 1970 were partially  filmed, and footage survives of Hendrix playing his Flying V there, including on the tracks Dolly Dagger, Villanova Junction, Ezy Rider, Red House and Freedom. This event was a mostly joyous one for the band, as can be seen in the 2021 release of the footage and recordings of the two concerts on the day.

Maui, Hawaii, 30 July 1970

Live in Maui [video], 30 July 1970 [excerpts + interviews].

Jimi Hendrix - Dolly Dagger/Villanova Junction Maui, 2nd show, 30 July 1970. Duration: 10.37 minutes. [Low quality]

Dolly Dagger, Villanova Junction, Ezy Rider (partial film), Red House and Freedom (partial film), 2nd show, 30 July 1970. Duration: 33.09 minutes.

The Maui rendition of the extended blues workout Red House is an especially notable use of the Flying V at this concert.

9. Isle of Wight 1970

Most famously he also made use of it at the Isle Of Wight on 30 August, shortly before his death. This was in some ways an unfortunate gig, with numerous equipment problems and feedback from the grounds PA. Nevertheless, Jimi's rendition of Red House on the Flying V is a notable highlight and can be seen on the released concert footage.

Red House, Isle of Wight, 30 August 1970.

 

At the Isle of Wight, Hendrix used the Flying V on the following tracks: Lover Man, Freedom, Red House, Dolly Dagger and Midnight Lightning. All tracks are released as audio on the Blue Wild Angel box set (2004), with only Midnight Lightning not included in the accompany DVD. The studio version of Midnight Lightning also makes use of a Gibson - most likely the Flying V.

 

10. Other Gibsons

In regard to Gibsons owned by Jimi, on a number of occasions during 1968-9 he played a white 1967 Gibson SG Custom with gold hardware and tremolo arm. He also owned a 1955 and a 1956 black Gibson Les Paul Custom and a Les Paul Junior.  One of the Les Pauls was used exclusively on live performances of Red House during the latter half of 1968, when he did not have access to his 1967 Flying V.Many of these guitars survive in public and private collections. The original (restored) 1967 Flying V was included in the 2019 Play It Loud exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, where it was hung suspended in a double-sided display cabinet, like a spacecraft, unlike the majority of rare guitars which were placed vertically against the white walls.

A Gibson video of replicas of three of the Hendrix Gibson's - the 1968 and 1970 Flying Vs and a white SG - outlines some of their relevant history.

Gibson also released a replica of the Hendrix 1967 Flying V in 2006 and the following clip shows it being played.

 

Gibson 2006 replica 1967 Flying V. Duration: 6.36 minutes.

11. Reference

Brewis, David, How I discovered Jimi Hendrix's psychedelic Flying V, Reverb, 3 January 2019.  

Rock n Roll Hall of Fame exhibition 2012, featuring the restored original Hendrix 1967 Flying V. Duration: 2.12 minutes.

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Last updated: 17 July 2023

Michael Organ, Australia