John Covach, a music professor and director of the Institute for Popular Music at the University of Rochester, adds that Hendrix's ear -- his ability to mesh feedback, backward recording and high amplification with rock's basic musical structures -- would be notable in any age. And along with Eric Clapton, Hendrix helped invent that virtuoso we call the "guitar hero," he adds.

"After (them), every guitar player wanted to have a solo, and guitar soloing and virtuosity (were) thought of as a central feature of rock music," he says. "Before that, Keith Richards' guitar solos, George Harrison's guitar solos, Roger McGuinn's guitar solos -- (they were) not really features of the tunes." Perhaps some instrumental artists, such as Duane Eddy or the Ventures, had a little of that touch, he says, but it wasn't until the extended jams of Hendrix and Clapton that solos became a mainstay of rock.