Jimi Hendrix - Voodoo Child (Slight Return)

First performance: 01/06/1969


Coverinfo

Bruce performed the song only once:
 
 
1969-06-01 Monroe Park, Richmond, VA

Complete set details are not known, although the three mentioned songs are from a fan recollection that's deemed reliable. "Jennifer" is a known Springsteen composition from the period that has yet to circulate on any tape. This is Child's first trip to Richmond (and Bruce's first known appearance in Virginia) and is a free outdoor concert. New Jersey band Brother Duck also make the trip and open the show. Child's performance here has a huge impact and many more trips to Richmond will follow over the next eighteen months. 
 
 
There’s a slight confusion about the titles 'voodoo Chile'  'voodoo Child' 'Voodoo Child (Slight Return)' . 'Voodoo Child (Slight Return)' evolved from a jam session of 'Voodoo Chile', recorded the night before. The version Bruce covered with 'Child' was definitely 'Voodoo Child (Slight Return)' . 
 
Thanks Vini Lopez for confirmation

Child consisted of Springsteen (guitars & vocals), Vinnie Roslin (bass), Vini Lopez (drums) and Danny Federici (keyboards). The date of their first show is unclear, but is believed to be in early April of 1969. The four band members had been playing together in public during February and March, but the show on April 2nd at Pandemonium in Wanamassa is their first known advertised gig. Child changed their name to Steel Mill in November 1969 when they learned that another band had just released a record under that name. However, promotional material used both names in the months after to avoid confusion. 
 

Songinfo

"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 fifteen minutes, it is Hendrix's longest studio recording and features additional musicians in what has been described as a studio jam. "Voodoo Chile" was recorded at the Record Plant in New York City, after a late night jam session with Hendrix, Experience drummer Mitch Mitchell, organist Steve Winwood, and bassist Jack Casady. The song became the basis for "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)", recorded by the Experience the next day and one of Hendrix's best-known songs. "Voodoo Chile" evolved from "Catfish Blues", a song which Hendrix performed regularly during 1967 and early 1968. "Catfish Blues" was an homage to Muddy Waters, made up of a medley of verses based on Waters' songs, including "Rollin' Stone", "Still a Fool", and "Rollin' and Tumblin'". In April 1968, Hendrix recorded a number of solo demos in a New York hotel, including an early "Voodoo Chile", which he had been developing for some time. It used elements of "Catfish Blues" with new lyrics by Hendrix and included a vocal and guitar unison line. Music critic Charles Shaar Murray describes "Voodoo Chile" as "virtually a chronological guided tour of blues styles" ranging from early Delta blues, through the electric blues of Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker, to the more sophisticated style of B.B. King, and the "cosmic blurt" of John Coltrane. Lyrically, he adds, the song is "part of a long, long line of supernatural brag songs". 
 
 
 

Other cover versions

Bruce on the artist

Lyrics

Well, I stand up next to a mountain
And I chop it down with the edge of my hand
Well, I stand up next to a mountain
And I chop it down with the edge of my hand
Well, I pick up all the pieces and make an island
Might even raise a little sand
Yeah
'Cause I'm a voodoo child
Lord knows I'm a voodoo child, baby
I want to say one more last thing
I didn't mean to take up all your sweet time
I'll give it right back to you one of these days, hahaha
I said I didn't mean to take up all your sweet time
I'll give it right back one of these days
Oh yeah
If I don't meet you no more in this world, then
I'll meet you in the next one
And don't be late
Don't be late
'Cause I'm a voodoo child, voodoo child
Lord knows I'm a voodoo child, baby
I'm a voodoo child, baby
I don't take no for an answer
Question no
Lord knows I'm a voodoo child, baby