Jimi Hendrix Accomplishments

The Vietnam War remains one of the most controversial battles of the twentieth century. America’s involvement in Vietnam was solely to prevent the spread of communism from North Vietnam into South Vietnam. America underestimated the power of the Vietcong and with increased losses and casualties; many citizens began to question the nation’s purposes and actions, and whether the war could be won at all (Candaele). Many of these concerns were expressed upon in popular music of the 1960s. Musicians began to voice their anger and opposition through anti-war and protest songs. Many people were drawn to these anti-war musicians due to their ability to capture the essence of protest in a poetic, psychedelic way. In order to capture the attention

One of the most iconic displays of Vietnam’s physical destruction is Jimi Hendrix’s adaptation of “The Star- Spangled Banner”, preformed at Woodstock in 1969 (Hopkins). Hendrix morphed the traditional American classic, into the painstaking, ear pricing, sound of destruction and devastation. The performance “pushed the reality of the Vietnam War into the public’s face and ears, mimicking the screams and cries of fallen soldiers “(Candaele). Hendrix’s form of protest embodied what the physical destruction the Vietnam War was causing, from bombs to screams, nothing held the artist back, as he created one of the most iconic anti- war protest, from one of the most patriotic anthems. Legendary musician Bob Dylan also questioned the physical destruction of the Vietnam War during the early 1960s. Dylan’s poetic folk style allured audiences, due to his ability to relate and contradict America. Out of the many hits Bob Dylan has made, two songs in particular raise attention of the idea that war is physically destructive. Songs like “Blowin in the Wind” and “Masters of War” discuss the particular faults and deaths the Vietnam War. The song “Masters of War” opens up with a powerful invasive