I just stumbled upon another freaky coincidence that is not unlike Germany’s 1966 one-off single by The Dead-Heads: In the year 1968, two artists – The Jimi Hendrix Experience and singer, Robert Ray Whitley – would both release original songs entitled “1983”! Am I the only one who finds that bizarre? Who wants to bet that Ray Whitley’s “1983” sounds even remotely similar to Hendrix’s epic 13-minute underwater odyssey?
That same year Dion (“Runaround Sue”) DiMucci would release his version of hoary Hendrix classic “Purple Haze” that is curiously – and musically – defiant. Dion uses the song’s lyrics .. and discards the rest! If you prefer your “Purple Haze” as a downbeat pastoral ballad, then you’re really in for a treat: