"Highway Chile" is a song by

the Jimi Hendrix Experience 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 ...

, issued as the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

to their 1967 third British single "

The Wind Cries Mary "The Wind Cries Mary" is a rock ballad written by Jimi Hendrix. Hendrix wrote the song as a reconciliatory love song for his girlfriend in London, Kathy Mary Etchingham. More recent biographical material indicated that some of the lyrics appeared ...

". The song was written by vocalist and guitarist

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 titled to reflect his pronunciation of "child" without the "d" (a spelling subsequently used for "

Voodoo Chile "Voodoo Chile" ( ) is a song written by Jimi Hendrix and recorded in 1968 for the third Jimi Hendrix Experience album ''Electric Ladyland''. It is based on the Muddy Waters blues song " Rollin' Stone", but with original lyrics and music. At 15 min ...

"). Biographers Harry Shapiro and Caesar Glebbeek describe it as "a joyful autobiographical stomp" about the pursuit of the American Dream. Matthew Greenwald of

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

feels that the song is autobiographical: "It's easy to see that Hendrix was writing about himself here, and his life as a musician on the road in the R&B/

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

Chitlin' Circuit The Chitlin' Circuit was a collection of performance venues throughout the eastern, southern, and upper Midwest areas of the United States that provided commercial and cultural acceptance for African American musicians, comedians, and other enterta ...

', and forming his own unique vision and style." He adds that musically, it is "A funky shuffle... a great place for Hendrix's mid-tempo, R&B riffing, based on a blues pattern." The song is also included on several Hendrix compilations, such as the UK edition of ''

Smash Hits ''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand fo ...

'' (1968), ''

War Heroes ''War Heroes'' is a compilation album by American guitarist Jimi Hendrix. Released in the UK on October 1, 1972, and in December 1972 in the US, it was the third album of mostly unreleased studio recordings to be issued after Hendrix's death. ...

'' (1972), and '' Experience Hendrix: The Best of Jimi Hendrix'' (1997). The single was mixed in

monaural Monaural or monophonic sound reproduction (often shortened to mono) is sound intended to be heard as if it were emanating from one position. This contrasts with stereophonic sound or ''stereo'', which uses two separate audio channels to reproduc ...

, while a true

stereophonic Stereophonic sound, or more commonly stereo, is a method of sound reproduction that recreates a multi-directional, 3-dimensional audible perspective. This is usually achieved by using two independent audio channels through a configuration ...

version is included on ''

The Jimi Hendrix Experience 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 ...

'' box set (2000).

References

{{authority control 1967 songs The Jimi Hendrix Experience songs Songs written by Jimi Hendrix Song recordings produced by Chas Chandler