Jimi Hendrix and Miles Davis Sought Paul McCartney for What Could Have Been a Sublime Project

Did you know that Jimi Hendrix wanted to make a super group with Miles Davis and Paul McCartney? Yes, Hendrix apparently wrote a letter to McCartney to join his band. Davis and Hendrix were already in touch and were ready to start jamming a jazz session, and really wanted Paul to be part of the picture.

The group would have included Hendrix on guitars, Davis on the trumpet, McCartney on the bass, and Tony Williams, a jazz musician of the times, on drums. Paul McCartney’s manager did get back to Jimi’s manager for the project, but busy schedules kept the musicians from getting together to start recording.

Jimi Hendrix obviously died before this jam took place. Too bad! This would have been legendary! Indeed, it would have set some new standards for the music industry with such masters of the trade putting together some tunes to listen.

If this supergroup would have taken place, the record would have been a solid hit just because of the names involved. McCartney being a great songwriter would have been backed up by two prodigies of two different styles of music.

Many could argue that the three might have not worked well together, but that will never be found out. Can you imagine hearing Jimi Hendrix soloing over Paul McCartney’s bass playing while Mile Davis and Tony Williams jazzed on? This could have been epic, but the death of Hendrix took it all away.

McCartney was dealing with his own struggles.

This started out with Hendrix and Miles getting together and wanting to record an LP. Jazz drummer Tony Williams was recruited shortly, and, later, the three decided to send McCartney a telegram.

Back in London, McCartney’s manager responded to the telegram and told the trio that the bass player was gone on vacation for a couple of weeks. It was during that time that a radio DJ spread rumors that McCartney had died in a car accident and was replaced by an impostor.

The Beatles were also struggling internally, so the telegram was sent at a wrong time. At the same time, the brief break for McCartney with a new player would have been ideal since the Beatles were not on a good note.

An Untimely Death

Anyway, by the time things started to settle, Hendrix died. Jimi’s death was a huge blow to the music industry, as Jimi managed to bring about a new genre in rock and roll. His psychedelic blues was candy to music lovers’ ears at the time. Additionally, many were left to wonder what could have been with Jimi in the following years.

Miles Davis admitted later that he had jammed with Hendrix in closed rooms. However, they never had the chance to record anything, because they always chose to jam when studios were closed or busy with other artists.

What could have been if those jams were recorded? If they would have recorded some of their ideas on a four track recorder, it would have been released already for the masses to hear. Who knows? Maybe Paul McCartney would have added his part later. It is a very sad thought to think that these giants were possibly going to get together and create the ultimate candy for human ears.

In the end, an LP with one of the greatest songwriters and musicians was missed by a few days or months. Indeed, it does add a very sad chapter in rock history, but the idea makes music lovers dream. Perhaps someone could make a movie about this, something! Still, the ending result of an actual materialistic piece would amount to a monolith next to the imagination of any person when putting Jimi Hendrix, Miles Davis, and Paul McCartney together. This is truly a dream deferred that can only exist in the heavens where musicians end up to have their ultimate jam.