Tour name: Jimi joins '67 Monkees tour
On July 8, 1967, Jimi Hendrix joined the Monkees on tour in Jacksonville, FL. Advance reserved seats, row 6 center, were $6. Incidentally, Jimi was fresh from a smoking-hot gig in Monterey a few weeks earlier.
The opening act was The Sundowners, one of whose members was a Gainesville boy, 17 year old Tom Petty. The young girls who came to see the Monkees had their scream on that night; they started warming up when the Sundowners came on. After a short set, the Sundowners left the stage and, a few minutes later, Jimi came on.
It was as quiet as a tomb when Jimi and the band took the stage. I don't believe anyone that night expected this psychedelic black man. I had never heard of him until this concert, and I'm sure most people there that night hadn't either. And he was so different from any entertainer I had ever seen before. At first, I think it was so quiet because the audience weren't expecting Jimi. But then he began to play. It was soon obvious that we were "experience"ing something unique and special. And I truly believe that his genius was the main reason the crowd remained pretty quiet.
He played beautifully and yet effortlessly. I was a spellbound 11 year-old. I remember he played "Wild Thing" because I recognized it from when the Troggs did it, and I'm pretty sure he played "Hey Joe" and "All Along the Watchtower". Anyway, it was a great first concert. When the Monkees did their set, you couldn't hear over the teenyboppers. But it really didn't matter.
Oh, yeah...that same night I ate my first Burger King "Whopper" after the concert.....Mike
