His politics, some though were to be of the hippie kind. Flashing the peace sign, the songwriter was a counterculture figure, surely.
Bassist Billy Cox was also an ex-serviceman. He was part of the United States Army 101st Airborne Division. I used to have to sing it in school, they made me sing it at school”.
In fact, on The Dick Cavett show just weeks later Hendrix answered this question with, “I’m American, so I played it. Many speculate as to the inspiration behind performing the song. These included a version of ‘taps’ and a-bombed effect around the rocket’s red glare.’ And lots of distortion. The set included “Fire,” previously unreleased “Izabella,” his “Woodstock improvisation,” “Purple Haze,” “Voodoo Child (Slight Return)”, “Hear My Train A-Comin,” the encore of “Hey Joe,” and of course the “Star-Spangled Banner” with his own legendary guitarist spin. And what a close it was that Monday morning. Thanks to his manager’s suggestion, Hendrix closed the festival. Promoters and performances were running so far behind schedule that he went on hours late. But the festival was already running behind. It was a weekend festival, and Hendrix was supposed to play at 11 pm on Saturday. It was his first time performing since the Jimi Hendrix Experience had broken up just two months earlier. Jimi Hendrix’s stage band that day was Gypsy Sun & rainbows consisting of drummer Mitch Mitchell, percussionist Juma Sultan, guitarist Larry Lee, Jerry Velez, and bassist Billy Cox.