Why Jimi Hendrix Asked Paul McCartney to Play With Him in the Late Beatles
In October 1969, Paul McCartney was grappling with what would be his next chapter in life. After the completion of Abbey Road, it became clear The Beatles would not go on. And though some reporters were circulating the rumor that “Paul was dead,” they found him alive at his farm in Scotland.
McCartney wasn’t dead, but he definitely sounded depressed. “Perhaps the rumor started because I haven’t been much in the press lately,” he told Life Magazine that day in ’69. “[…] I don’t have anything to say these days.” He also spoke of wanting to be “a little less famous.”
If McCartney had been in London, he might have been intrigued by an offer to record with two of the biggest names in music. On Oct. 21, 1969, Jimi Hendrix sent a telegram to Apple headquarters requesting McCartney’s presence at an upcoming recording session in New York.
Hendrix, of course, would be working his magic on guitar. Meanwhile, jazz legend Miles Davis (1926-91) would be playing trumpet, and Davis’ former drummer Tony Williams would play drums.
Source: cheatsheet.com