“He came into the house, had this brand-new guitar in a case, and they said, ‘Ma, this is the new guitar player we just hired, Jimi Hendrix’”: Ernie Isley on growing up with Hendrix and witnessing his fast-developing guitar playing in his living room

Left-Ernie Isley of The Isley Brothers performs onstage during the Fool in Love Festival at Hollywood Park Grounds on August 31, 2024 in Inglewood, California; Right-Jimi Hendrix (1942-1970) performs live on stage playing a black Fender Stratocaster guitar with The Jimi Hendrix Experience at the Royal Albert Hall in London on 24th February 1969.

The Strat-wielding Isley Brothers guitarist Ernie Isley has etched his name in the upper echelons of funk, soul, and rock, famously introducing fuzz guitar to a new generation of R&B aficionados.

And it turns out that growing up in the company of Jimi Hendrix had a profound impact on his playing – especially since, as a preteen, Isley was listening to Hendrix before he was listening to anyone else.