"My Friend" is a song written and recorded by Jimi Hendrix in New York City in 1968 during the recording sessions for Electric Ladyland. The song was first released in 1971 on the posthumous album The Cry of Love and later appeared on the CD First Rays of the New Rising Sun. It was mixed posthumously by Hendrix's engineer Eddie Kramer. Because it was left unreleased at the time it was recorded some people have raised doubts if Hendrix had ever intended to use that song on any of his albums.
The recording of "My Friend" combines a humorous song with sound effects to create a bar or nightclub atmosphere. In late 1966 Frank Zappa had used the same ideas to record "America Drinks and Goes Home" on the album Absolutely Free. This song parodied Zappa's own experiences playing with drunken bar bands in the early 1960s. Similar songs were recorded by The Rolling Stones, On With The Show (1967) and The Beatles, You Know My Name (Look Up The Number) (recorded in 1967 and 1969, released in 1970.)
