Audio Interview: James Blunt

James Blunt, muse to Elton John, former protector of the Queen and sometimes pop star recently dropped by the Rolling Stone offices for one clear purpose: "I came for a free lunch," Blunt joked. Surrounded by sandwiches and the Rolling Stone staff, he fielded questions about everything from his past as a soldier, to his plans for recording album number two, to the identity of the woman who inspired his heartbreaker hit "You're Beautiful." Blunt, who is off to Europe for a summer tour, explained why he never gets sick of performing "You're Beautiful" night after night after night: "Every single night the song continues to get me laid."

Before discovering the side benefits of a hit song, Blunt studied engineering at Bristol University, then honored a long-standing family tradition by serving as a soldier in the Queen's army (Blunt's father is a recently retired colonel). Eventually, Blunt found himself in Kosovo with the NATO peacekeeping force, an experience that has informed many songs on his debut, Back to Bedlam. He left the army in 2002 and became a full-time musician, quickly drawing the attention of such industry heavies as producers Linda Perry and Tom Rothrock (who produced Bedlam). For more on the songwriter's rise to fame (including his musical experience in Carrie Fisher's bathroom), listen to the interview.

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Song Stories

“All Along the Watchtower”

The Jimi Hendrix Experience | 1968

Jimi Hendrix got hold of Bob Dylan's early John Wesley Harding tapes and in late 1967 recorded a version of "All Along the Watchtower" with the Experience in London. Dissatisfied with that first development, Hendrix brought those tapes with him to New York in early 1968 when he began work on Electric Ladyland. Eddie Kramer, Hendrix's engineer at the time, told Rolling Stone that Hendrix "was still looked upon by his basically white audience as the mammoth black guitar hero. There was a constant fight within him to expand himself." Hendrix's successful take on Dylan's work has long been recognized by the songwriter. "I liked Jimi Hendrix's record of this and ever since he died I've been doing it that way," Dylan wrote in the liner notes to his Biograph box set. "Strange how when I sing it, I always feel it's a tribute to him in some kind of way."

More Song Stories entries »

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