Steve Miller Band Shares ‘Peppa Sauce,’ an Instrumental Tribute to Jimi Hendrix Recorded on Sept. 18, 1970 – the Day Hendrix Died

It was 50 years ago today, Sept. 18, that Jimi Hendrix passed away — one of the most talented and gifted guitarists the world has ever seen, gone at just 27 years of age. That same fateful day in 1970, the Steve Miller Band took the stage at Pepperland, a now-defunct venue in San Rafael, California.

At the gig, the Steve Miller Band busted out a blistering musical homage to Hendrix in the form of “Peppa Sauce,” a seven-minute instrumental jam from the group that is about as on-point a musical tribute can be. To commemorate the 50th anniversary of Hendrix’s passing, Miller shared the track on Friday.

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Stream it below:

The fire and passion in Jimi Hendrix’s playing was a crucial component of the magnetism he possessed as a musician — and it’s one that keeps his name in conversation among all who were able to witness him perform live.

As David Crosby stated in our Musicians Recall ‘The First Time I Heard Jimi Hendrix’ piece from 2017:

“He could play dinosaurs fighting. He could play a war. He could play children crying. He was the guy. He’s still … the guy.”

Similarly, Hendrix comes up frequently in our ongoing series in which rockers recall their best live concert experiences ever. Here’s Bun E. Carlos of Cheap Trick on Seeing the Jimi Hendrix Experience:

“Psychedelic lights, band screaming, it was the ultimate for this 16-year-old. During intermission in the pisser, some guy asked if I wanted to “do some smoke.” I declined, pure excitement for this kid! The emcee introduced The Jimi Hendrix Experience and the band opened up with “Sgt Pepper.” It was the heaviest stuff I’d ever heard. The sound was rich, Hendrix was using Sunn Amps and there were only a couple mikes on the drums.

“The Jimi Hendrix Experience played a longer show with a bunch of different songs, “Catfish Blues,” “Hoochie Coochie Man,” “Little Wing,” “Up From The Skies,” and a few more. I took notes at both shows and a couple years later got a tape of the first show. It was as great as I remembered it as being too! On the bus on the way home I remember thinking the next day in school no one’s gonna believe how great Hendrix was! That night ranks up there with the night a couple years earlier Jeff Beck explained feedback to me, and the afternoon in July of 1968 when Pete Townshend gave me ten minutes of his time for all my Who questions, while he replaced a speaker in his torn up cabinet. Those were the days.”