Rest And Listen Under My Little Wing

Today we will finally go through my slight obsession with one song..."Little Wing"

Don't ask me why this song so invades my musical judgement. All I know is that until yesterday, I did not think there could be a bad version of it. To me it is just magical. Jimi Hendrix it has been said, wrote the song for his mother. It has been covered countless times...wonderfully.

"Well she's walking through the clouds
With a circus mind that's running round
Butterflies and zebras
And moonbeams and fairy tales
That's all she ever thinks about
Riding with the wind."


I've seen the original lyrics to "Little Wing" and it seems no artist has ever sung the words as written. Fine by me. The variations on the theme just make each version more memorable. So whimsical, so joyful.

"It's alright she says it's alright
Take anything you want from me,
Anything."

Then there's the guitar.
To hear the interpretations gets my head spinning in twenty directions...all of them good. Except for the one I listened to yesterday. I'm going to include it with the tastes as a cautionary tale...this is not "Little Wing", this is unrecognizable crap.

So here we go with just a few great versions, an interesting one by the Coors and one shit one by very talented Japanese guitarist Kumi Adachi. Some of her stuff is amazing, this isn't.


Kumi Adachi "Little Wing" ... I think
Stevie Ray Vaughn "Little Wing"... the ultimate instrumental version
Eric Clapton/Steve Winwood "Little Wing"... saw them do this live at MSG. Still get tears as I think about how good it was.
Sting "Little Wing"... pure vocal, not quite the guitar emphasis, but a fine blend of instruments
The Coors "Little Wing"... like you've never heard it
and...
Jimi Hendrix "Little Wing"...where it all started

Nothing's sweeter than that.

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