Living Colour Guitarist on ‘Star Spangled Banner,’ Hendrix and Racism

Regarding my comments in the Nov. 26 article “Experiencing Jimi Hendrix” and the letters to Calendar that followed: I did not mean to imply that the song “Machine Gun” related specifically to African-American soldiers or that Hendrix’s “The Star Spangled Banner” had power only because Hendrix was black.

What I was saying was that “The Star Spangled Banner” had power for me, as a black person, because of where the country was with civil rights and the anti-war effort.

Every question that I was asked related to how Hendrix influenced me as a black musician coming up. If I had been asked other questions about his influence on white musicians, fashions or the like, I would have answered accordingly.

But one thing that has to be remembered about Hendrix is that he is hardly ever seen in the black context, and I think it is important that he be connected to the music that really spawned his work--music like Muddy Waters’ or Jimmy Reed’s, of which his art is a logical extension.

Regarding mail about the Black Rock Coalition, the thing that has to be understood is that racial politics exist in almost every aspect of American society and the record business is no exception.

One of the hardest things for me to face starting out as a young musician was the realization that the color of my skin would play some part in determining whether my music was ever going to be heard. The main reason the Black Rock Coalition was created was to deal with racial problems that began long before we were born.

VERNON REID

New York

Reid, guitarist for the rock group Living Colour, is a founder of the Black Rock Coalition.