Legitimacy

Concerning Chuck Philips’ Nov. 26 article, “Experiencing Jimi Hendrix”:

Once again, the Powers That Be at Calendar are trying to tell the black community, in addition to everyone else by using Jimi Hendrix as an example, that rock ‘n’ roll is still the only legitimate music. All others, including such black contributions as soul, funk, rap and reggae, are seen as secondary in importance.

While Hendrix’s atonal, amplified, electronically distorted feedback was an innovation in his time, after 20-plus years it has been run into the ground by a plethora of successors, mostly white. Meanwhile, many artists, especially in the black community, have come forward with their own innovations, which have largely been ignored or swept under the rug by the rock-oriented, baby-boomer-dominated media.

Although rock was invented by black musicians, 35 years of anglicization by everyone from Elvis Presley to Axl Rose has led the black community to develop new musical styles that it can identify with. As Philips admits, even Jimi Hendrix had done his share of cozying up to the white mainstream by being “. . . unafraid to experiment with Anglo-cultural influences.”

CHRIS ELLIS, San Bernardino