In 1967, I was a sophomore at The Ohio State University in Columbus. After classes, I hung out at the Char-Bar and Charbert’s, the hip restaurant next door that attracted intellectuals and nut cases by day and local bikers at night. That’s where I met Kenny Weiss.
Kenny was a lead vocalist in many campus rock bands and later was in the James Gang. He tutored me in the best rock albums. In college in the ’60s, it seemed as if a classic album came out every day. Without iTunes, YouTube and all the stuff around today, you couldn’t keep up without the help of hip rocker friends.
One day in the late spring of ’67, Kenny said I had to hear an album by a guy named Jimi Hendrix. The guy’s name alone was cool. Then Kenny told me the album’s name—“Are You Experienced?” which was a great question, since I really wasn’t. I figured after I’d heard the album a few times, that problem would be solved.
Soon after Kenny told me about Hendrix, I borrowed the album from a friend. Another friend with a great stereo system said I could let myself into his place to listen to it. The first track was “Purple Haze” and opened with that sawing electric guitar riff and the electric bass underneath. Then the drums kicked in, and Jimi started singing: “Purple haze all in my brain / lately things don’t seem the same / actin’ funny but I don’t know why / ‘scuse me while I kiss the sky.”
