"Fire" is a song written by
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...
and recorded by
the Jimi Hendrix Experience in early 1967. It has been described as "an exercise in soul, psychedelic rock, and polyrhythmic jazz-inspired drumming" by
AllMusic critic Matthew Greenwald.
The song was remixed in stereo for the American release of the album. In 1969, it was released as a stereo single in the UK with the title "Let Me Light Your Fire".
One of Hendrix's most popular songs, he frequently played it in concert. Several live recordings have been released and the original song is included on numerous Hendrix compilations, such as ''Smash Hits'', ''
Experience Hendrix: The Best of Jimi Hendrix'', ''
Voodoo Child: The Jimi Hendrix Collection'', and ''
Fire: The Jimi Hendrix Collection''.
Overview
Despite its sexual overtones, the song had an innocuous origin.
Noel Redding, bass player for the Experience, invited Hendrix to his mother's house on a cold New Year's Eve in Folkestone, England, after a performance.
Hendrix asked Noel's mother if he could stand next to her fireplace to warm himself. She agreed, but her German Shepherd was in the way, so Hendrix let out with, "Aw, move over, Rover, and let Jimi take over".
Hendrix later joked with the lyric: "Old Mother Hubbard went to the cupboard to find her poor dog a bone, but when she bent over Rover took over, 'cause Rover had a bone of his own! Shakespeare, page 35!"
Music video
In 1992, an animated music video was produced by director Susan Young, based on archive footage from the live rendition of "Fire" by Hendrix at the 1970 edition of the
Isle of Wight music festival.
Red Hot Chili Peppers version
The
Red Hot Chili Peppers began performing "Fire" in 1983 and recorded it as a B-side for their 1987 "
Fight Like a Brave" single and a year later released it on ''
The Abbey Road E.P.''. The song was also included on their 1989 album, ''
Mother's Milk Mother's milk is milk produced by mammary glands located in the breast of a human female to feed a young child.
Mother's Milk may also refer to:
Entertainment
* ''Mother's Milk'' (album)'', an album by Red Hot Chili Peppers
** Mother's Milk Tou ...
'', as a tribute to the band's founding guitarist
Hillel Slovak who died in 1988. The Chili Peppers version features lead singer
Anthony Kiedis
Anthony Kiedis ( ; born November 1, 1962) is an American singer and songwriter. He is a founding member and lead vocalist of the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers. Kiedis and his fellow band members were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fa ...
changing some of the lyrics such as "Move over, Rover, and let Jimi take over" to "Move over, Rover, and let Mr. Huckleberry take over" for Slovak (who was also known by his nickname, "Mr. Huckleberry").
Other versions
A 1968 rendition by
Five by Five reached number 52 on the national ''Billboard'' singles chart.
covered it on their 1992 debut album ''
I''. In 1994, the accordion-based rock band
Those Darn Accordions recorded a version for their 1994 album ''
Squeeze This!'', where it was sung by a then 79-year-old Clyde Forsman, one of the group's accordionists.
Alice Cooper covered it on his 1995 compilation album ''
Classicks''.
SSQ covered the song as a B-side to their single "
Synthicide
"Synthicide" is a song performed by the short lived American synthpop group SSQ, from their only studio album '' Playback''. The song reached #47 on the U.S. Dance chart.
References
1983 songs
1983 debut singles
American new wave son ...
".
The song is frequently performed by the
University of California, Los Angeles'
marching band at
UCLA football games.
References
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1967 songs
The Jimi Hendrix Experience songs
Red Hot Chili Peppers songs
Songs written by Jimi Hendrix
Song recordings produced by Chas Chandler
1969 singles