Jean-Paul Bourelly (git), Mark Batson (keys), Darryl Jones (b), Cindy Blackman (dr)
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"Machine Gun" is a song by American musician Jimi Hendrix, featured on his first live album Band of Gypsys (1970). It is a lengthy, loosely defined (jam-based) protest of the Vietnam War, and perhaps a broader comment on conflict of any kind. Although a proper studio recording was never released, there are several other live recordings on album, including Jimi Hendrix: Live at Berkeley and Blue Wild Angel: Live at the Isle of Wight.
The Band of Gypsys performance is often lauded as Hendrix's finest, and is widely considered one of the finest electric guitar performances in the history of recorded music. The Band of Gypsys version of "Machine Gun" is roughly 12 minutes long. Hendrix's long guitar solos and percussive riffs combine with controlled feedback to simulate the sounds of a battlefield, such as helicopters, dropping bombs, explosions, machine guns, and the screams and cries of those wounded or grieving.
"Machine Gun" debuted in September 1969 with a performance by Hendrix and his bandmates at that time, drummer Mitch Mitchell and bassist Billy Cox. The song was broadcast on the Dick Cavett Show the week of September 5. Most known performances are between ten and twenty minutes long, varying somewhat in their lyrics. The improvisatory material revolves around a core descending riff and bassline: the song opens with a Univibe pedal-based guitar riff intended to mimic the sound of a firing machine gun. The memorable bass and drum patterns then commence. The rather sparse lyrics, which differ in every performance, relate the point of view of a soldier fighting in war:

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