 Jimi Hendrix often referenced him as being one of his main influences, saying that Guitar Shorty was the first person he saw using a wah pedal.Guitar Shorty let Hendrix borrow one of his wah pedals until he could afford his own, and the resulting sound became world-famous as a part of Hendrix's groundbreaking signature guitar tone.Guitar Shorty recalls during an interview, "He told me the reason he started setting his guitar on fire was because he couldn't do the back flips like I did."