HENDRIX'S Hawaii

OVER THE RAINBOW: JIMI HENDRIX TAKES A HAWAIIAN HOLIDAY.

- GILLIAN G. GAAR

In 1970, the island of Maui was still something of a sleepy beach community. The tourist action was centered in Honolulu (on the island of Oahu), and Maui was largely undiscovered. If you heard music wafting through the air, it was likely to be acoustic guitar, if not a ukulele.

But on July 30 of that year, that changed. If you were in the upcountry slopes northwest of Haleakala volcano, you might have heard the unexpected sound of a rock band, led by a guitarist whose style was instantly recognizable: Jimi Hendrix. Supported by his longtime army buddy Billy Cox on bass, and Mitch Mitchell, original drummer for the Jimi Hendrix Experience, Hendrix played two sets to an eager audience of locals who’d been seated according to their astrological signs. The performance included signature songs like “Purple Haze” and “Foxey Lady,” but also numbers that had yet to be released, like “Freedom,” “Ezy Ryder,” “In From the Storm” and “Straight Ahead,” which would later appear on Hendrix’s first posthumous release, The Cry of Love.

The show was filmed for inclusion in the film Rainbow Bridge, released the following year. But the whole period ended up being one of the most confusing chapters in Hendrix’s career. Despite being featured prominently on the film’s poster, Hendrix only appeared in the film for about 20 minutes. The film also fared poorly on its initial release, and it soon dropped out of circulation (though it is available on DVD). And the Rainbow Bridge album wasn’t a soundtrack at all, featuring no songs that appeared in the actual movie but instead drawn from the studio recordings.