Little Wing

A 1966 recording called (My Girl) She's a Fox, made with the Icemen, is described by Harry Shapiro as virtually a blueprint for the song. Hendrix said he took what he saw at Monterey and put it in the form of a girl, so that it would fly away. He had toured with Curtis Mayfield and the Impressions in 1963 and said Mayfield influenced him more than anyone.

Recorded on 25 and 28 October 1967 at Olympic by Chandler and Kramer, it came out in the UK on 1 December 1967 and in the US on 15 January 1968 as an album track. On 25 October the band first taped an instrumental version, and Chandler asked for a slower tempo. The lead guitar went through a makeshift Leslie speaker, and the glockenspiel was found in Studio A. Hendrix said it was based on a very simple Indian style. He first played it live at the Konserthuset in Stockholm on 8 January 1968.

Covers

Derek and the Dominos recorded it for Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs, at Criteria Studios in Miami with Duane Allman, shortly before Hendrix died. Stevie Ray Vaughan recorded an instrumental version in 1984 that was released in 1991 and won a Grammy for best rock instrumental performance. Sting, Steve Vai, the Corrs and Valerie June have also recorded it.