Roger Daltrey claims Jimi Hendrix "copied" Pete Townshend's original guitar playing style.
The Who frontman insists his fellow bandmate is one of the most unique guitar players ever seen, so much so that Hendrix - who was regarded as one of the best musicians of his time before his death in 1970 aged 27 - adapted the way he played the instrument.
He said: "Pete's guitar style - there's nothing like it. People say the best guitarists are [Jimmy] Page, [Eric] Clapton; yeah, they're fantastic, no doubt about it - amazing - but are they original?
"I would say they are derivative of Robert Johnson and all those people. But you hear Townshend with a power chord and the things he does with a guitar, which was copied by Hendrix, and it's totally original.
"You think, 'Where the f**k did that come from?' I think the real root of it came because he was a banjo player before he was a guitarist. Then you start to see that make sense."
As well as Pete's different style, Roger admits he is "really proud" the group opted for a unique sound during the 1970s.
The 69-year-old singer added to NME magazine: "We were trying to find the next thing to make a film out of; we wanted to be more than just a rock band, a bit like maniacs.
"You've got to dare to be different and that's what we did. That's one thing about us I am really proud of - we weren't generic; we were a thing on its own."
Tagged in Jimi Hendrix Roger Daltrey Pete Townsend