Red House (3:50)

‘Red House’ is a Blues song (specifically a slow 12 bar blues close to the Chicago style), written and first performed by famed guitarist Jimi Hendrix. The original (mono only) version appeared on his debut album Are You Experienced, released throughout most of the world (except USA & Canada). On this version, Noel Redding plays electric guitar tuned to resemble a bass guitar. Despite Hendrix’s complaints, the song was omitted from the USA compilation release of the album because the recording company reportedly argued that “America does not like blues”.

While playing the song at Woodstock, Hendrix snapped his high E-string in the middle of the performance and kept playing the second half of the song with just five strings. “Long” versions of the song like the Woodstock rendition are generally about 6-10 minutes. One of the longest recorded versions of the song is his nearly thirteen-minute long version at the San Diego Sports Arena, which is found on Hendrix in the West, a live album sampling four different shows.