How a piece of a Jimi Hendrix guitar became a museum exhibit
On June 18, 1967, Jimi Hendrix concluded his performance at the Monterey Pop Festival with one of the most iconic gestures in rock history. During the final song, «Wild Thing, ” he knelt before his Fender Stratocaster, poured flammable liquid onto it, ignited it, smashed it against the stage, and tossed the remains into the crowd. At that moment, Hendrix was not yet a global superstar; Monterey marked his major American debut.
For this ritual, the musician had prepared a separate guitar in advance—a Stratocaster, which he had painted and decorated himself with psychedelic artwork. For almost the entire performance, Hendrix played on another, black Stratocaster, and before «Wild Thing, ” he was presented with a specially prepared instrument. Therefore, he certainly did not intend to destroy his primary working guitar.
Only isolated, scorched fragments remained of the guitar, one of which is currently in the permanent collection of the Museum of Pop Culture in Seattle. This piece is a section of the lower body with remnants of wiring and a jack: traces of paint and fire are still visible on it.