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Jimi Hendrix: Remembering the Guitar God on the Anniversary of His Death

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September 18, 2009 2:17 PM ET

Today marks the 39th anniversary of the death of Jimi Hendrix, who passed away in London after changing the way the world handles six strings. In honor of the greatest guitar player who ever lived, check out our tribute written by none other than Pete Townshend; see how many times he places in the 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time; and see all the great riff writing on Rolling Stone's Essential Guitar Coverage.

To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

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Song Stories

“He Will Break Your Heart”

Jerry Butler | 1960

A lightly swinging Latin-influenced, almost cha-cha groove and close harmonies decorated Jerry Butler's early soul hit "He Will Break Your Heart," delivering a stately warning that his rival would never love his girl like he did. The melody came to Butler as he was driving on the highway from Atlantic City, New Jersey, to Philadelphia with Curtis Mayfield, and as Butler told Rolling Stone, "I just sang the melody and Curtis put the chords to it." The song's premise, Butler added, "was something that I'd lived ...The lyric was an experience rather than a revelation. Whereas music is usually a revelation."

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