Spanish Castle Magic

1967 song by the Jimi Hendrix Experience

"Spanish Castle Magic"

Song by the Jimi Hendrix Experience
from the album  Axis: Bold as Love
Released|

* December 1, 1967 (1967-12-01) (UK)
* January 15, 1968 (US)

Recorded| October 27 & 28, 1967
Studio| Olympic, London
Genre|

* Rock[1]
* proto-heavy metal[2]

Length| 3:06
Label|

* Track (UK)
* Reprise (US)

Songwriter(s)| Jimi Hendrix
Producer(s)| Chas Chandler

"Spanish Castle Magic" is a song written by Jimi Hendrix and performed by the Jimi Hendrix Experience. Produced by Chas Chandler, it is the third track from the album Axis: Bold as Love. The lyrics refer to a club near Seattle, where Hendrix sometimes played early in his career. The song was a staple of live shows and several live recordings were released after Hendrix's death.

## Background

[edit]

The lyrics were inspired by Hendrix's high school years (roughly 1958–1961), when he regularly visited a roadhouse called "The Spanish Castle". The club was situated to the south of Seattle in what was then unincorporated King County (now the city of Des Moines, Washington). It was built in the 1930s to avoid Seattle's then restrictive nightclub laws. By 1959, the club began featuring top local rock groups such as The Fabulous Wailers and occasional touring stars. For a time, events were hosted by Pat O'Day, a Seattle's disc jockey of the era.[3]

## Recording

[edit]

The song features Noel Redding playing an eight-string Hagstrom bass routed through an Octavia effects unit, which Hendrix later overdubbed using the same bass.[4][clarification needed] Hendrix also overdubbed some jazz chords on the piano, which he had heard sound engineer Eddie Kramer playing.[4] Hendrix biographer Harry Shapiro commented on the song's instrumentation: "[The] guitar and bass in unison has the immediate effect of locking up a song in a strong rhythmic voice ... [Hendrix uses] some unusual chord progressions and a large number of note bends in the solo ending up with a crazy double-stop."[5] AllMusic's Matthew Greenwald calls the progression "proto-heavy metal" and compares it to the earlier Experience song, "Foxy Lady".[2]

## Live releases

[edit]

"Spanish Castle Magic" is one of the few songs from Axis: Bold as Love that Hendrix regularly performed in concert.[6] Live recordings of the song are found on BBC Sessions, Live at the Oakland Coliseum, Stages, Live in Ottawa, Live at Woodstock, Blue Wild Angel: Live at the Isle of Wight, Winterland, and The Jimi Hendrix Experience box set.[7]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Masley, Ed (May 30, 2017). "Sgt. Pepper and beyond: A look back at 20 great albums released in 1967". azcentral. Retrieved November 3, 2023. "...And the rockers are great...to the trance-inducing "Spanish Castle Magic"
2. ^ a b Greenwald, Matthew. "Jimi Hendrix/The Jimi Hendrix Experience: Spanish Castle Magic". AllMusic. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
3. ^ "A Conversation with Pat O'Day". www.historylink.org. Retrieved 2025-03-06.
4. ^ a b McDermott, John; Kramer, Eddie; Cox, Billy (2009). Ultimate Hendrix. Backbeat Books. pp. 73–74\. ISBN 978-0-87930-938-1.
5. ^ Shapiro, Harry; Glebbeek, Cesar (1990). Jimi Hendrix: Electric Gypsy. St. Martin's Press. p. 223. ISBN 0-312-05861-6.
6. ^ Shadwick, Keith (2003). Jimi Hendrix: Musician. Backbeat Books. p. 129\. ISBN 0-87930-764-1.
7. ^ "Jimi Hendrix: 'Spanish Castle Magic' – Appears On". AllMusic. Retrieved August 20, 2014.

Jimi Hendrix related articles

* v
* t
* e

Jimi Hendrix

* Original discography
* Posthumous discography
* Songs
* Videography
* Death

Original studio albums|

* Are You Experienced
* Axis: Bold as Love
* Electric Ladyland

Posthumous studio albums|

* The Cry of Love
* Rainbow Bridge
* War Heroes
* Loose Ends
* Crash Landing
* Midnight Lightning
* Nine to the Universe
* Voodoo Soup
* First Rays of the New Rising Sun
* South Saturn Delta
* Valleys of Neptune
* People, Hell and Angels
* Both Sides of the Sky

Live albums|

* Band of Gypsys
* Historic Performances Recorded at the Monterey International Pop Festival
* Experience
* Isle of Wight
* Hendrix in the West
* More Experience
* The Jimi Hendrix Concerts
* Jimi Plays Monterey
* Johnny B. Goode
* Band of Gypsys 2
* Live at Winterland
* Radio One
* Stages
* Live Isle of Wight '70
* Woodstock
* BBC Sessions
* Live at the Fillmore East
* Live at Woodstock
* Blue Wild Angel: Live at the Isle of Wight
* Live at Berkeley
* Live at Monterey
* Winterland
* Miami Pop Festival
* Freedom: Atlanta Pop Festival
* Machine Gun: The Fillmore East First Show
* Songs for Groovy Children: The Fillmore East Concerts
* Live in Maui
* Los Angeles Forum: April 26, 1969
* Live at the Hollywood Bowl: August 18, 1967

Anthologies and
retrospective
albums|

* Smash Hits
* Soundtrack Recordings from the Film Jimi Hendrix
* The Essential Jimi Hendrix
* The Essential Jimi Hendrix Volume Two
* The Singles Album
* Kiss the Sky
* Live & Unreleased: The Radio Show
* Cornerstones: 1967–1970
* Lifelines: The Jimi Hendrix Story
* The Ultimate Experience
* Blues
* South Saturn Delta
* Experience Hendrix: The Best of Jimi Hendrix
* The Jimi Hendrix Experience
* Voodoo Child: The Jimi Hendrix Collection
* The Singles Collection
* Martin Scorsese Presents the Blues: Jimi Hendrix
* West Coast Seattle Boy: The Jimi Hendrix Anthology
* Fire: The Jimi Hendrix Collection

Official bootlegs|

* Live at the Oakland Coliseum
* Live at Clark University
* Morning Symphony Ideas
* Live in Ottawa
* Baggy's Rehearsal Sessions
* Paris 1967/San Francisco 1968
* Hear My Music
* Live at the Isle of Fehmarn
* Burning Desire
* Live in Paris & Ottawa 1968
* Live at Woburn
* Live in Cologne

Concert tours|

* The Cry of Love Tour

Films, books,
and tributes|

* Rainbow Bridge
* Jimi Hendrix
* Stone Free: A Tribute to Jimi Hendrix
* Hendrix
* Power of Soul: A Tribute to Jimi Hendrix
* Room Full of Mirrors
* An Illustrated Experience
* Becoming Jimi Hendrix
* Jimi: All Is by My Side

Related people
and acts|

* Curtis Knight
* Lonnie Youngblood
* Jimmy James and the Blue Flames
* The Jimi Hendrix Experience
* Noel Redding
* Mitch Mitchell
* Chas Chandler
* Eddie Kramer
* Roger Mayer
* Michael Jeffery
* Billy Cox
* Buddy Miles
* Alan Douglas
* Leon Hendrix
* Kathy Etchingham
* Monika Dannemann

Related articles|

* Canadian drug charges and trial
* Handel & Hendrix in London
* Fender Stratocaster
* Electric Lady Studios
* Black Gold
* Unfinished fourth album

* Category

* v
* t
* e

Jimi Hendrix songs

Are You Experienced
(UK and US)|

* "Foxy Lady"
* "Manic Depression"
* "Red House"
* "I Don't Live Today"
* "May This Be Love"
* "Fire"
* "Third Stone from the Sun"
* "Are You Experienced?"
* "Purple Haze"
* "Hey Joe"
* "The Wind Cries Mary"

Axis: Bold as Love|

* "Up from the Skies"
* "Spanish Castle Magic"
* "Wait Until Tomorrow"
* "Little Wing"
* "If 6 Was 9"
* "Castles Made of Sand"
* "One Rainy Wish"
* "Bold as Love"

Smash Hits
(UK and US)|

* "Stone Free"
* "The Stars That Play with Laughing Sam's Dice"
* "Highway Chile"
* "Burning of the Midnight Lamp"

Electric Ladyland|

* "Have You Ever Been (To Electric Ladyland)"
* "Crosstown Traffic"
* "Voodoo Chile"
* "Come On (Part One)"
* "Gypsy Eyes"
* "1983... (A Merman I Should Turn to Be)
* "All Along the Watchtower"
* "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)"

Band of Gypsys|

* "Machine Gun"

Historic Performances
at Monterey Pop|

* "Like a Rolling Stone"
* "Rock Me Baby"
* "Wild Thing"

The Cry of Love|

* "Freedom"
* "Ezy Ryder"
* "Night Bird Flying"
* "Angel"

Rainbow Bridge|

* "Dolly Dagger"
* "The Star-Spangled Banner"
* "Hear My Train A Comin'"
* "Hey Baby (New Rising Sun)"

Hendrix in the West|

* "The Queen"
* "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band"
* "Johnny B. Goode"
* "Blue Suede Shoes"

War Heroes|

* "Bleeding Heart"
* "Peter Gunn"
* "Stepping Stone"

Loose Ends|

* "The Drifter's Escape"
* "I'm Your Hoochie Coochie Man"

...And a Happy
New Year|

* "The Little Drummer Boy"
* "Silent Night"
* "Auld Lang Syne"

Radio One/
BBC Sessions|

* "Day Tripper"
* "Killing Floor"
* "Hound Dog"
* "I Was Made to Love Her"
* "Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window?"
* "Sunshine of Your Love"

Other compilations|

* "Gloria"
* "Peace in Mississippi"
* "Born Under a Bad Sign"
* "Mannish Boy"
* "It's Too Bad"
* "Dear Mr. Fantasy"
* "Valleys of Neptune"
* "Tears of Rage"
* "Things I Used to Do"
* "Testify"
* "Mercy, Mercy"

Lists|

* List of songs (sortable)

* v
* t
* e

Jimi Hendrix singles discography

(1967–1982)

| 1967|

* "Purple Haze" / "51st Anniversary"
* "Hey Joe" / "51st Anniversary"†
* "Purple Haze"† / "The Wind Cries Mary"
* "Foxey Lady" / "Hey Joe"†

|

1968|

* "Up from the Skies" / "One Rainy Wish"
* "All Along the Watchtower" / "Burning of the Midnight Lamp"
* "Crosstown Traffic" / "Gypsy Eyes"

1969|

* "Stone Free" / "If 6 Was 9"

1970|

* "Stepping Stone" / "Izabella"

1971|

* "Freedom" / "Angel"
* "Dolly Dagger" / "The Star-Spangled Banner" (studio)

1972|

* "Johnny B. Goode"‡ / "Lover Man"‡
* "The Wind Cries Mary"‡ / "Little Wing"‡

1982|

* "Fire"‡ / "Little Wing"‡

(1966–1990)

| 1966|

* "Hey Joe" / "Stone Free"

|

1967|

* "Purple Haze" / "51st Anniversary"
* "The Wind Cries Mary" / "Highway Chile"
* "Burning of the Midnight Lamp" / "The Stars That Play with Laughing Sam's Dice"

1968|

* "All Along the Watchtower" / "Long Hot Summer Night"

1969|

* "Crosstown Traffic" / "Gypsy Eyes"
* "Let Me Light Your Fire" [sic] / "Burning of the Midnight Lamp"†

1970|

* "Voodoo Chile" [sic] / "Hey Joe"† & "All Along the Watchtower"†

1971|

* "Angel" / "Night Bird Flying"
* "Gypsy Eyes"† & "Remember" / "Purple Haze"† & "Stone Free"†

1972|

* "Johnny B. Goode"‡ / "Little Wing"‡

1973|

"Hear My Train A Comin'"‡ (solo acoustic) / "Rock Me Baby"‡

1982|

* "Fire"‡ / "Are You Experienced?"‡

1990|

* "Crosstown Traffic"† / "Voodoo Chile"† [sic]
* "All Along the Watchtower"† / "Voodoo Chile"† [sic] & "Hey Joe"†

International

(1997–present)

| 1997|

* "Dolly Dagger"† / "Night Bird Flying"†

|

1999|

* "The Star-Spangled Banner"‡ / "Purple Haze"‡

2010|

* "Valleys of Neptune" / "Cat Talkin' to Me"
* "Bleeding Heart" / "Jam 292"
* "Love or Confusion" / "12 Bar with Horns"

2011|

* "Fire" / "Touch You"
* "Johnny B. Goode"‡† / "Purple Haze"‡
* "Like a Rolling Stone"‡ / "Spanish Castle Magic"‡

2012|

* "Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window?"‡ / "Burning of the Midnight Lamp"‡
* "Come On (Let the Good Times Roll)" / "Calling All the Devil's Children"

2013|

* "Somewhere" / "Foxy Lady"
* "Fire"‡ / "Foxey Lady"‡
* "Dolly Dagger"† / "The Star-Spangled Banner"† (studio)

2015|

* "Purple Haze"‡ / "Freedom"‡

2018|

* "Mannish Boy" / "Trash Man"

Notes: † indicates a re-release, ‡ indicates a live recording

Authority control databases |

* MusicBrainz work

|

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