Writer: Bob Dylan
Producer: Chas Chandler
Recorded: January 21, 1968 at The Record Plant, New York
Released: September 1968
| Players: | Jimi Hendrix–vocals, guitar Dave Mason or Jimi Hendrix–bass Mitch Mitchell–drums |
| Album: | Electric Ladyland (Reprise, 1968) |
“All Along The Watchtower” was the only top 40 single for the Jimi Hendrix Experience, peaking at Number 20 in the U.S. In the U.K., it reached Number Five.
Bob Dylan manager Albert Grossman and publicist Michael Goldstein regularly provided Jimi Hendrix and some other artists with tapes of new Dylan songs before they had been recorded for Dylan's own albums.
Bassist Noel Redding walked out of the studio in frustration over the ongoing problem of casual, unproductive sessions. Dave Mason, who had jammed with Hendrix previously and had been invited to add acoustic guitar to the song, took Redding's place for that song, though Redding speculates that Hendrix replayed the bass part himself later.
It took 24 takes to complete the song, not counting rehearsal takes.
Dylan began injecting parts of Hendrix's arrangement into his own performances in the 1980s.
The original cover of Electric Ladyland, featuring a bevy of nude women, was withdrawn at Hendrix's request and replaced with a picture of Hendrix on the front cover and a photo of the band on the back. It was Hendrix's only Number One album.
