7 The 100 Most Influential Musicians of All Time 7rock , and soul with techniques of British avant-garde rock
to redefi ne the electric guitar in his own image.
Though his active career as a featured artist lasted a
mere four years, Hendrix altered the course of popular
music and became one of the most successful and infl uential
musicians of his era. An instrumentalist who radically
redefi ned the expressive potential and sonic palette of the
electric guitar, he was the composer of a classic repertoire
of songs ranging from ferocious rockers to delicate, complex
ballads. He also was the most charismatic in-concert per-
former of his generation. Moreover, he was a visionary
who collapsed the genre boundaries of rock, soul, blues,
and jazz and an iconic fi gure whose appeal linked the
Rock guitar legend Jimi Hendrix is seen here in the middle of his performance
at the Isle of Wight Festival in August of 1970. Getty Images/Evening
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