Sunday, August 13, 2006

DEJA'VU Then & Now Mugshot: WILLIAM EDWARD COMPTON/hendrix


ABSOLUTELY must get this one posted and shared.
This is WEC in 1967/68 at KVIL Dallas, well before KRUX/KCAC/KDKB. Hank was in news there, in fact he WAS the news department, if I remember. Bill did afternoon drive, I did mornings. During this time, Bill was under tremendous stress; "Her name was McGill and she called herself Lil - but everyone knew her as Nancy". Nancy's dad was ex-FBI and Nancy - though pretty as a picture, seemed to have a Death Wish- a complicated problem for Daddy to have to deal with....... and everybody else as well.

Combine that scenario with major-market radio station publicity and pressure and you come up with what I call this "gunfighter pose". Bill hated this pic, I thought it was great because it captured the essence of his "no nonsense" charisma.

It was done by some advertising agency and this was back in the days where Xerox copy macines were just becoming art media.

It was just a few months before The Migration to Phoenix.

Songs of the time; "Scarborough Fair" - Simon & Garfunkel "All Along The Watchtower" - Jimi Hendrix.

By the way - for a YouTube/Hendrix rendition of "All Along The Watchtower", just click the mugshot headline masthead at the very top of this entry.

Ronco

6 comments:

vagabondvet said...

Yah, good pic, that would look good on the front of a T-shirt!

:~)

Anonymous said...

The Hendrix clip is reversed? Wasn't Jimi left handed?

freespeak@gmail.com said...

Yep, I noticed that too, so did Dan although I suspect that it would not have mattered where Jimi was concerned. He played with his axe reversed and behind him, he played with his TEETH, I expect he is playing NOW. I can't imagine anyone better connected to his instrument. It truly was his "other voice".

Ronco

Jimmy said...

You're right, Daniel -- this WOULD make a great t-shirt. I'm picturing something like this:
http://static.flickr.com/84/215232136_13c21cebaa_o.gif

vagabondvet said...

Ha! Well, there ua go, Bill an' Che. What a team! Clever, Jimmy!

Liz Boyle said...

That's funny, Jimmy.