Little Wing

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“Little Wing”
album cover
album cover
Song by The Jimi Hendrix Experience
Album Axis: Bold as Love
Released 1 December 1967 (UK)
15 January 1968 (US)
Genre psychedelic rock, hard rock
Length 2:24
Label MCA (reissues)
Writer Jimi Hendrix
Producer Chas Chandler
Axis: Bold as Love track listing

Side 1

  1. "EXP"
  2. "Up from the Skies"
  3. "Spanish Castle Magic"
  4. "Wait Until Tomorrow"
  5. "Ain't No Telling"
  6. "Little Wing"
  7. "If 6 Was 9"

Side 2

  1. "You Got Me Floatin'"
  2. "Castles Made of Sand"
  3. "She's So Fine"
  4. "One Rainy Wish"
  5. "Little Miss Lover"
  6. "Bold as Love"

"Little Wing" is a song written by Jimi Hendrix. He first recorded the song on the 1967 album Axis: Bold as Love. It is ranked #357 on the Rolling Stone magazine's list of "the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time".

"Little Wing" is played using the unique chord/melody guitar style that Hendrix developed during his early career stints in rhythm and blues bands. In this style, the guitar sounds as though it is playing two parts. This is done by simultaneously playing multiple complementary notes, often parts of chords, and then changing a note within the chord to create a melodic effect. Other songs played in this style include "Life Without You" by Stevie Ray Vaughan, "The Boy From Seattle" by Steve Vai, "Yellow Ledbetter" by Pearl Jam, and "Under the Bridge" by Red Hot Chili Peppers. The unusual flanging sound of the lead guitar part is a result of the Doppler effect which is created using a rotating speaker cabinet, or Leslie speaker.

The studio version features a glockenspiel playing the root note of the chords.

A song by the same name appeared on Neil Young's 1980 album, Hawks & Doves, but is a different song entirely.

Hendrix's studio version can be found on numerous compilation albums, including The Ultimate Experience (1993). He also performed the song in concert, and some of those recordings are available on CD, including The Jimi Hendrix Experience.

[edit] Cover versions

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The Jimi Hendrix Experience
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Jimi Hendrix • Billy Cox • Larry Lee • Juma Sultan • Jerry Velez • Mitch Mitchell
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Original
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Posthumous
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Studio albums
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Anticipated
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Songs
"All Along the Watchtower" • "Angel" • "Are You Experienced?" • "Burning of the Midnight Lamp" • "Can You See Me" • "Castles Made of Sand" • "Come On (Let the Good Times Roll)" • "Crosstown Traffic" • "51st Anniversary" • "Fire" • "Foxy Lady" • "Freedom" • "Gypsy Eyes" • "Here He Comes (Lover Man)" • "Hey Joe" • "Highway Chile" • "I Don't Live Today" • "If 6 Was 9" • "Little Wing" • "Machine Gun" • "Manic Depression" • "My Friend" • "1983... (A Merman I Should Turn to Be)" • "Purple Haze" • "Red House" • "Spanish Castle Magic" • "The Star-Spangled Banner" • "The Stars That Play with Laughing Sam's Dice" • "Stone Free" • "Third Stone from the Sun" • "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" • "Voodoo Chile" • "Wild Thing" • "The Wind Cries Mary"
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