The Cry of Love Tour

The Cry of Love Tour was a concert tour by American rock singer-songwriter and guitarist Jimi Hendrix, which ran from April 25 to September 6, 1970, in the United States and Europe. The tour turned out to be the last on which Hendrix performed before his death in September, and featured many songs that he was working on for his double album First Rays of the New Rising Sun. Though the band did not feature original bassist Noel Redding, the trio of Hendrix, Mitch Mitchell (drums) and Billy Cox (bass) was often billed as "the Jimi Hendrix Experience".

Band members

The original Experience broke up in June 1969, after bassist Noel Redding left the band. Hendrix subsequently formed Gypsy Sun and Rainbows, which performed at the 1969 Woodstock Festival. After only two more performances, the band split up; Hendrix kept bassist Billy Cox and formed the Band of Gypsys with drummer and vocalist Buddy Miles. After a similarly short run, the trio disbanded, and Hendrix and Cox re-recruited drummer Mitch Mitchell to form what was often billed as "the Jimi Hendrix Experience". The group was later sometimes referred to as "The Cry of Love", a name taken from the tour and the album on which they performed.

• Billy Cox – bass guitar, backing vocals
• Jimi Hendrix – lead vocals, guitar
• Mitch Mitchell – drums

Set list

The Cry of Love Tour set list included several new Hendrix songs still in development, including "Freedom", "Ezy Ryder", and "Hey Baby (New Rising Sun)". The group also regularly performed material from the Experience and Band of Gypsys albums, such as "Fire", "Red House", "Purple Haze", "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)", "Machine Gun", and "Message to Love". Some unrecorded songs which Hendrix had been performing since the Experience were also included: "Hear My Train A Comin'", "Lover Man", and "Room Full of Mirrors".

The following is the set list from the band's May 9 concert at the Will Rogers Coliseum in Fort Worth, Texas, which serves well as a sample set list for the tour.

1. "Fire"
2. "Lover Man"
3. "Hear My Train A Comin'"
4. "Foxy Lady"
5. "Room Full of Mirrors"
6. "Red House"
7. "Freedom"
8. "Ezy Ryder"
9. "Machine Gun"
10. "The Star-Spangled Banner"
11. "Purple Haze"
12. "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)"

"Fire" and "Lover Man" were regularly performed as concert openers, with "Purple Haze" and "Voodoo Child" closing the shows. Other new songs, such as "Straight Ahead", "Midnight Lightning", "Dolly Dagger", and "In from the Storm" were occasionally performed.

Tour dates

• ^1 A small charity event for Timothy Leary, not part of the tour.
• ^2 A small audience for a scene for the film Rainbow Bridge. Not part of the tour.
• ^3 Later mistakenly referred to as being in or near Haleakalā crater.
• ^4 Jimi Hendrix was unable to perform at the concert. After playing a couple of sets, the concert was cancelled. Leo Kottke did his best to fill in before the cancellation.

References