Ezy Ryder
Encyclopedia
"Ezy Ryder" is a song by American rock
musician Jimi Hendrix
, featured on his 1971 first posthumous studio album The Cry Of Love
. Written and produced by vocalist and guitarist Hendrix, the song's lyrics are said to be inspired by the 1969 film of the same name
; The Jimi Hendrix Experience
had previously contributed "If 6 Was 9" to the film's soundtrack.
, in a session which also featured the debuts of "Room Full of Mirrors", "In from the Storm" (under the name "Crying Blue Rain") and "Here He Comes (Lover Man)", an extended version of "Lover Man
". The basic track for the song was not recorded until December 18, 1969 (at New York's Record Plant Studios
), on the same day as the rehearsal at Baggy's Studios for the upcoming performances at the Fillmore East
(from which the live album Band of Gypsys
was produced). "Ezy Ryder" was also performed at aforementioned rehearsal session at Baggy's.
debut during the first show of the December 31, 1969 performance at the Fillmore East, appearing in the middle of the set between cover
s of Howard Tate
's "Stop" and Elmore James
' "Bleeding Heart". It was not performed during either of the January 1, 1970 shows. Back in the studio, "Ezy Ryder" was rehearsed, recorded and mixed a number of times during early 1970, at Olympic, Olmstead and Record Plant Studios. The song was then performed at the majority of dates on The Cry of Love Tour
between April and June (and subsequently between July and September), before the first recording session at newly-built Electric Lady Studios
on June 15 was focused on advancing the studio version of "Easy Ryder or Ezee Ryeder". This work-in-progress, for which backing vocals by Traffic
musicians Steve Winwood
and Chris Wood
were recorded during said session, was released on the compilation box set The Jimi Hendrix Experience in 2000. Another recording session three days later was also dedicated to "Ezy Ryder", "additional overdubs and mix attempts" were completed on July 2, and final mixes were produced over three days on August 22, 23 and 26, along with the majority of the songs intended for Hendrix's next album. "Ezy Ryder" was subsequently performed at most of the final concerts at which Hendrix played, including the final date at the Open Air Love & Peace Festival
on September 6.
– the first posthumous album of original material compiled by The Jimi Hendrix Experience
drummer Mitch Mitchell
and engineer Eddie Kramer
. As well as featuring on posthumously released live albums Live at the Fillmore East and Blue Wild Angel: Live at the Isle of Wight
, "Ezy Ryder" was included on the 1997 compilation First Rays of the New Rising Sun
, along with the rest of the songs from The Cry of Love.
Guest musicians
Additional personnel
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
musician Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
, featured on his 1971 first posthumous studio album The Cry Of Love
The Cry of Love
-Personnel:Band members*Jimi Hendrix – lead vocals, guitars, backing vocals on tracks 3 and 9, piano on track 1, production on all tracks except 5*Billy Cox – bass on all tracks except 5 and 10...
. Written and produced by vocalist and guitarist Hendrix, the song's lyrics are said to be inspired by the 1969 film of the same name
Easy Rider
Easy Rider is a 1969 American road movie written by Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, and Terry Southern, produced by Fonda and directed by Hopper. It tells the story of two bikers who travel through the American Southwest and South with the aim of achieving freedom...
; The Jimi Hendrix Experience
The Jimi Hendrix Experience
The Jimi Hendrix Experience were an English-American psychedelic rock band that formed in London in October 1966. Comprising eponymous singer-songwriter and guitarist Jimi Hendrix, bassist and backing vocalist Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell, the band was active until June 1969, in which...
had previously contributed "If 6 Was 9" to the film's soundtrack.
Early performances
An early version of "Ezy Ryder" was first recorded, under the name "Slow", on February 16, 1969 at Olympic StudiosOlympic Studios
Olympic Studios was a renowned independent commercial recording studio located at 117 Church Road, Barnes, South West London, England. The studio is best known for the huge number of famous rock and pop recordings made there from the late 1960s onward....
, in a session which also featured the debuts of "Room Full of Mirrors", "In from the Storm" (under the name "Crying Blue Rain") and "Here He Comes (Lover Man)", an extended version of "Lover Man
Lover Man (Jimi Hendrix song)
"Lover Man" is a song written and performed by American psychedelic rock musician and singer Jimi Hendrix...
". The basic track for the song was not recorded until December 18, 1969 (at New York's Record Plant Studios
Record Plant Studios
The Record Plant was a series of three famous recording studios which were founded by Gary Kellgren and Chris Stone, beginning in New York City in 1968. The next year, Kellgren and Stone opened a second studio in Los Angeles. In 1972, the company expanded again with a third location in Sausalito,...
), on the same day as the rehearsal at Baggy's Studios for the upcoming performances at the Fillmore East
Fillmore East
The Fillmore East was rock promoter Bill Graham's rock venue on Second Avenue near East 6th Street in the East Village neighborhood of the Manhattan borough of New York City. It was open from 1968 to 1971, and featured some of the biggest acts in rock music at the time...
(from which the live album Band of Gypsys
Band of Gypsys
Band of Gypsys was a blues rock band led by Jimi Hendrix and backed by Billy Cox and Buddy Miles. Hendrix formed the band after the dissolution of The Jimi Hendrix Experience. Band of Gypsys is also the band's eponymous live album recorded on two separate nights, 31 December 1969 and 1 January...
was produced). "Ezy Ryder" was also performed at aforementioned rehearsal session at Baggy's.
Progression and completion
"Ezy Ryder" made its liveLive Music
Live Music is a reggaeton company owned by DJ Giann.-Artists:* Jowell & Randy* Tony Lenta* Watussi* De La Ghetto* Guelo Star* Galante "El Emperador"-Producers:*DJ Blass*Dexter*Mr. Greenz*DJ Giann*Los Hitmen*Dirty Joe*ALX...
debut during the first show of the December 31, 1969 performance at the Fillmore East, appearing in the middle of the set between cover
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
s of Howard Tate
Howard Tate
Howard Tate is an American soul music singer and songwriter.-Early life:He moved with his family to Philadelphia in the early 1940s. In his teens, he joined a gospel music group that included Garnet Mimms and, as the Gainors, recorded rhythm and blues sides for Mercury Records and Cameo Records in...
's "Stop" and Elmore James
Elmore James
Elmore James was an American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter and band leader. He was known as "the King of the Slide Guitar" and had a unique guitar style, noted for his use of loud amplification and his stirring voice.-Biography:James was born Elmore Brooks in the old Richland community in...
' "Bleeding Heart". It was not performed during either of the January 1, 1970 shows. Back in the studio, "Ezy Ryder" was rehearsed, recorded and mixed a number of times during early 1970, at Olympic, Olmstead and Record Plant Studios. The song was then performed at the majority of dates on The Cry of Love Tour
The Cry of Love Tour
The Cry of Love Tour was a United States concert tour by American rock singer-songwriter and guitarist Jimi Hendrix, which ran from April 25 to September 6, 1970. The tour turned out to be the last on which Hendrix performed before his death in September, and featured many songs that he was working...
between April and June (and subsequently between July and September), before the first recording session at newly-built Electric Lady Studios
Electric Lady Studios
Electric Lady Studios, at 52 West 8th Street, in New York City's Greenwich Village, is a recording studio originally built by Jimi Hendrix and designed by John Storyk in 1970...
on June 15 was focused on advancing the studio version of "Easy Ryder or Ezee Ryeder". This work-in-progress, for which backing vocals by Traffic
Traffic (band)
Traffic were an English rock band whose members came from the West Midlands. The group formed in April 1967 by Steve Winwood, Jim Capaldi, Chris Wood and Dave Mason...
musicians Steve Winwood
Steve Winwood
Stephen Lawrence "Steve" Winwood is an English international recording artist whose career spans nearly 50 years. He is a songwriter and a musician whose genres include soul music , R&B, rock, blues-rock, pop-rock, and jazz...
and Chris Wood
Chris Wood (rock musician)
Christopher Gordon Blandford 'Chris' Wood was a founding member of the English rock band Traffic, along with Steve Winwood, Jim Capaldi, and Dave Mason....
were recorded during said session, was released on the compilation box set The Jimi Hendrix Experience in 2000. Another recording session three days later was also dedicated to "Ezy Ryder", "additional overdubs and mix attempts" were completed on July 2, and final mixes were produced over three days on August 22, 23 and 26, along with the majority of the songs intended for Hendrix's next album. "Ezy Ryder" was subsequently performed at most of the final concerts at which Hendrix played, including the final date at the Open Air Love & Peace Festival
Live at the Isle of Fehmarn
Live at the Isle of Fehmarn is a posthumous live album by The Jimi Hendrix Experience, released on December 13, 2005 by Dagger Records. The album documents the band's performance at the Open Air Love & Peace Festival in Fehmarn, Germany on September 6, 1970; Jimi Hendrix's final concert performance...
on September 6.
Posthumous releases
The completed song was originally released on the 1971 album The Cry of LoveThe Cry of Love
-Personnel:Band members*Jimi Hendrix – lead vocals, guitars, backing vocals on tracks 3 and 9, piano on track 1, production on all tracks except 5*Billy Cox – bass on all tracks except 5 and 10...
– the first posthumous album of original material compiled by The Jimi Hendrix Experience
The Jimi Hendrix Experience
The Jimi Hendrix Experience were an English-American psychedelic rock band that formed in London in October 1966. Comprising eponymous singer-songwriter and guitarist Jimi Hendrix, bassist and backing vocalist Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell, the band was active until June 1969, in which...
drummer Mitch Mitchell
Mitch Mitchell
John Ronald "Mitch" Mitchell was an English drummer, best known for his work in The Jimi Hendrix Experience.-Early life and the Jimi Hendrix Experience:...
and engineer Eddie Kramer
Eddie Kramer
Edwin H. Kramer is an audio engineer and producer who has worked with, among others, Led Zeppelin, Triumph, Kiss , Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Spooky Tooth, Peter Frampton, Curtis Mayfield, Santana, Anthrax, Carly Simon, Loudness, and Robin Trower.-1960s:Eddie...
. As well as featuring on posthumously released live albums Live at the Fillmore East and Blue Wild Angel: Live at the Isle of Wight
Blue Wild Angel: Live at the Isle of Wight
Blue Wild Angel: Live at the Isle of Wight is a posthumous live album by Jimi Hendrix released on November 12, 2002, and re-released in 2004 as a 3-disc 'Deluxe Sound & Vision Edition' in a special box and slip cover format as part of Experience Hendrix's plan to re-release most of Jimi Hendrix's...
, "Ezy Ryder" was included on the 1997 compilation First Rays of the New Rising Sun
First Rays of the New Rising Sun
First Rays of the New Rising Sun is a "concept compilation" attempting to recreate the album Jimi Hendrix was working on at the time of his death in 1970, as closely as is feasible to how he would have wanted it...
, along with the rest of the songs from The Cry of Love.
Personnel
Band members- Jimi HendrixJimi HendrixJames Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
– vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
s, productionRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music... - Billy CoxBilly CoxWilliam "Billy" Cox is an American bassist, best known for performing with Jimi Hendrix.-Early years:Born in Wheeling, West Virginia, Cox was raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and attended Schenley High School. He first met Jimi Hendrix in the early 1960s, when they were both in the United States...
– bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - Buddy MilesBuddy MilesGeorge Allen Miles, Jr. , known as Buddy Miles, was an American rock and funk drummer, most known as a founding member of The Electric Flag in 1967, then as a member of Jimi Hendrix's Band of Gypsys from 1969 through to January 1970.-Early life:George Allen Miles was born in Omaha, Nebraska on...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, backing vocalsBacking vocalistA backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists... - Juma SultanJuma SultanJuma Sultan is an American percussionist best known for his brief stint playing with rock legend Jimi Hendrix....
– percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
Guest musicians
- Steve WinwoodSteve WinwoodStephen Lawrence "Steve" Winwood is an English international recording artist whose career spans nearly 50 years. He is a songwriter and a musician whose genres include soul music , R&B, rock, blues-rock, pop-rock, and jazz...
– backing vocals - Chris WoodChris Wood (rock musician)Christopher Gordon Blandford 'Chris' Wood was a founding member of the English rock band Traffic, along with Steve Winwood, Jim Capaldi, and Dave Mason....
– backing vocals
Additional personnel
- Tony BongioviTony BongioviTony Bongiovi is a record producer and recording engineer with expertise in Electrical & Acoustical Engineering. He helped to remodel an old building in Manhattan—once a power plant for Edison, and later a television studio—into the Power Station recording studio in 1977.Bongiovi was born in the...
– engineeringAudio engineeringAn audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...