Writer: Jimi Hendrix
Producer: Chas Chandler
Recorded: February 1967, De Lane Lea Studios, London
Released: May 1967 (album)
| Players: | Jimi Hendrix – vocals, guitar Noel Redding – bass, backing vocals Mitch Mitchell – drums, backing vocals |
| Album: | Are You Experienced? (Reprise, 1967) |
The basic track for “Fire” was recorded live in the studio.
When Jimi Hendrix double-tracked the lead guitar, he played one of the parts higher on the neck to achieve the song's signature sound.
On March 31, 1967, the Jimi Hendrix Experience began a month-long British tour with the Walker Brothers. On the outing's first night, New Musical Express writer Keith Altham suggested to Hendrix that he should set his guitar on fire at the end of playing “Fire” — an idea he would soon embrace.
Paul McCartney was one of the people who suggested to the Monterey Pop festival committee that they book the Experience. That famous appearance was the last occasion on which Hendrix set fire to his guitar, and the most famous, since the festival was filmed.
“Fire” was not released as a single until 1982, and it did not chart.
The four-CD live set Stages contains a version of “Fire” in each of its four concerts: 1967 Stockholm; 1968 Paris; 1969 San Diego; and 1970 Atlanta.