Rest in Peace, Mitch Mitchell

Today we lost the last living member of The Jimi Hendrix Experience. We lost Jimi in 1970, bassist Noel Redding in 2003, and now drummer Mother Goose, a.k.a. Mitch Mitchell.

I have to say, as a guitarist who is massively inspired by Hendrix, almost as influential as Jimi himself are the incredible musicians who played with him, and Mitch is definitely no exception to that. While many would argue that Jimi's years with the Band of Gypsys produced the more artistic and progressive music of his life, it is without doubt that the Experience was involved in the majority of Jimi's "hits," and therefore created the stardom for Jimi that allowed him to progress into the Band of Gypsys.

Mitchell played on so many of Jimi's massive songs: Foxey Lady, Manic Depression, Fire, Red House, Voodoo Chile, Crosstown Traffic, All Along the Watchtower... the list goes on. He played with Jimi for that historic performance at Woodstock, and he played on my favorite Hendrix record, "Axis: Bold as Love."

His bombastic style and rock-solid groove was the perfect match for Jimi's revolutionary sound. I simply can't imagine Hendrix without having Mitch Mitchell in the same thought. It's sad to see him go, but that doesn't stop the music from continuing to inspire.

Cheers, Mitch... you'll be missed.