Hendrix called King Crimson best band in the world

apparently Pete Townsend considered a young Leslie West (Mountain) to be better than Hendrix. 

Yep there were so many great guitarists to come along in that era (67-73) that getting stuck on Hendrix was a bit silly. Perhaps it's the 'Freddie Mercury syndrome'. He's a star so just accept it

True. Beck spoke highly of Jimi.

I think that the main problem is that "rock music" is not considered important or as valuable in the history of music. The story also suggests that most "pop music" for hundreds of years (bards, minstrels gypsies ... whoever!), were not interested in anything except getting a giggle and some coins throw at them ... however, this also suggests that whoever wrote that, obviously thought that all these players were idiots and didn't know music from the _______________ they were playing and singing to, and doing funky/funny rhymes so that folks would laugh and leave more coins on the ground for them!

I guess nothing has changed, then, and even one of my colleagues here kept telling me that my wanting to raise its stature was stupid since most music is just "pop music" and history has not been kind to it whatsoever in terms of history and abilities.

Now comes the hard part ... seeing some of these jazz folks, a Squire, a Fripp, an Emerson, and so many others ... it's hard to not appreciate their work ... and then one day, a blind girl stands up and plays Keith Emerson on a solo piano (or organ), and if you don't see what a grand composition that is, and what a magnificent work for piano that is, you are not listening, and you will find a player that rivals anyone in the 20th Century all the way back to Chopin, and many others.

But, too many rock folks have never heard that, or Satie, or Rachmaninoff, to have any idea ... and this is what hurts ... it will continue to be a "pop music" until the day ... well ... that Keith and his mates are all dead, and gone, and we have shed our tears ... down the rains of life ... for nothing.

I was born in a house of 40K+ books of literature ... you can see two thirds of it in Lisbon if you are so inclined ... mostly Portuguese, Spanish and Brazilian Literature, and when you see that covering over 500 years, you learn VERY QUICKLY ... that there was always one or two out there ... but the problem is that the media/medias that we read are not that well read, or aware of the history, to realize ... that the art form never died ... it kept on going with someone else ... the 80's didn't have a death ... you did ... got a wife, a kid, and had to cut down on some expenses here and there, and going to a concert that was expensive, like Pink Floyd, was not easy! And then in the 90's you found a new band, and all of a sudden "progressive" was alive again ... wouldn't it be more honest to say that ... you woke up?

In the 80's I kept up with so much European stuff that NEVER DIED, and specially Peter Hammill and VdGG, not to mention that in America, fusion really took off big time, with the success that RETURN TO FOREVER, CHICK COREA and so many others ... which also fits in the total history of this stuff ... but no ... the top ten fanatic has not heard Stanley Clarke 454 times, or Pastorius 150 like he/she has Chris Squire a thousand times ... so how can you "measure" greatness, when the scale is tilted so far out of balance? And how the heck can you "define" music, when you are ignoring a huge segment of it?

My only hope and work, is elevating what we consider "pop music", because the time that it was just a bar room, for booze and dating and laughing has changed ... a lot of the music, these days, is not about that and hardly fits in those places, and considering it a part of that mentality ... is like admitting that you have had a drink or two too many, and you just want to take this girl home, and the music ... so what? It's not as important as getting laid!

The music has grown, and things like the Internet, are showing us ... that the model that we thought existed in 1929 (the proverbial model T of music), is long gone, and only worth of it standing on a museum these days. And it is high time, that we stop thinking of a lot of this music as a top ten song ... because we know they aren't and never will be!

well I knew I had read something to this affect but admittedly my memory had twisted the facts a bit.

It was the notes to a double CD compilation 'Mountain - Over The Top'.

The manager of Leslie West (Bud Proger) was talking to Townsend after a Who show and was blowing smoke up his ass so to speak calling him the best guitarist in the world. Townsend was in a grumpy mood and said 'Well you are a stupid ******* .You manage the greatest guitarist in the world. He can play anything I can play but I can't even begin to play what he can do'. Then he stalked off apparently. There is no timeline for this though and was probably after Hendrix had passed.