Hendrix Comes to Guitar Hero

The ultimate guitar hero, Jimi Hendrix, is finally coming to the Guitar Hero game franchise, according to Janie Hendrix, who oversees his estate. The Hendrix estate, which had difficulty locating the original masters until now, has delivered multiple songs — including "Purple Haze," "Foxy Lady" and "Little Wing" — to GH's developers, although it's not yet clear which tracks they will use. The next edition of the game, Guitar Hero: World Tour, hits stores October 27th.

The estate has also authorized an official Hendrix avatar for the game. "Guitar Hero really was on the ball and and they were biting at the bit to get this out this year, so, we just accommodated them," Janie Hendrix tells Rolling Stone. "Jimi was a kid at heart — he definitely would have played these games." A spokesperson for Red Octane/Activision had no comment. For more news on Guitar Hero and Rock Band, see the next issue of Rolling Stone.

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Song Stories

“The A Team”

Ed Sheeran | 2011

This debut track from the then-20-year-old British singer-songwriter has a dark story behind it. Sheeran says he culls songwriting inspiration from "viewing other people's situations," which, for the heroine in "The A Team," involves drug addiction and prostitution that began as a teen. Sheeran paints the woman's trials with haunting imagery such as "But lately her face seems/Slowly sinking, wasting/Crumbling like pastries." "I did a gig at a homeless shelter, [and the song] is about one of the women there. It's her story," he said.

More Song Stories entries »

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