The Man with the Guitar
My first experience with a music video was about 10 yrs back as a kid with no idea about music in general apart from regional music. And as far as I was concerned, music was heard and not seen. It stands good even now, but the video I saw was starkly different from the ones I have seen before and after that. I was aware that the visual will stay with me forever.
The video did not have too much lyrics but it sounded magical. The lyrics were hardly heard or understood back then anyway. Strings formed the video. None of the men had their eyes open almost for the entire song. No dancing, swooning or waves to the fans. No sly looks or silly smiles. The drums thundered and the guitar rocked and that was that.
A few young men with unkempt hair, very casual way of dressing resembling hippies in every way made sensational music a few decades back. They did not have fancy stages with laser lighting and fireworks. They had speakers with amplifiers which looked extremely powerful. There were not thousands screaming their lungs out, but very few people who seemed to enjoy the moment.
One among them as I noticed later always had a Guitar and the strings in his guitar transcended him to a place where the average man can never hope to reach. He did not concentrate hard, did not make any grueling effort and yet music flowed through him almost as if there was a sacred pact between his guitar, him and the music.
These men and especially the one with the Guitar were fascinated with Bob Dylan, another man with extraordinary brilliance in music. The man with the guitar did not care for the social customs and did not follow any rules to be precise. He took drugs and did not apologize for doing so. He was not interested in serving his country. All he wanted to do was play his Guitar and he did it with passion.
He was called Jimi and is known as Jimi Hendrix and my first memory of a music video was”Hey Baby”. He became a pioneer of Rock music and is touted to be the greatest electric guitarist ever. His short life was quite eventful, not happy all the time but he never complained about performing. He died at the age of 27. His music tops charts nearly 40 years after his death. He had entertained millions and will continue to do so.
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