How Winnie-the-Pooh unites Kim Gordon, Shirley Manson and Jimi Hendrix: “Inspired my lifelong love”
Winnie-the-Pooh, AA Milne's beloved teddy bear, has quietly shaped the creative lives of several major musicians, from Garbage's Shirley Manson to Sonic Youth's Kim Gordon and guitar legend Jimi Hendrix. Far Out Magazine traces how the childhood reading habits of these artists, spanning different genres and generations, converge on Milne's work, suggesting a link between early literary influences and later artistic sensibilities.
Manson has cited Milne's 1924 poetry collection When We Were Very Young, which introduced the character Winnie-the-Pooh in the poem "Teddy Bear", as sparking her lifelong love of poetry, alongside childhood favourite The Wind in the Willows. Gordon told The New York Times in 2015 that Winnie-the-Pooh was part of her childhood alongside A Wrinkle in Time and the Nancy Drew series, while Hendrix, known for his love of fantasy and fairy tales, named the bear among his favourites alongside the works of Hans Christian Andersen. The piece also notes Pooh's broader ties to rock music, including a Creedence Clearwater Revival song inspired by the character and a connection to Rolling Stones founder Brian Jones.
- Winnie-the-Pooh shaped the childhoods of several famous musicians
- Shirley Manson credits AA Milne's poetry with inspiring her love of verse
- Kim Gordon and Jimi Hendrix also named Pooh among childhood favourites
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Winnie-the-Pooh, created by AA Milne in the 1920s, is one of the best-known characters in British children's literature, appearing first in a poem before starring in his own storybooks. Far Out Magazine, a music and culture publication, has looked at how several well-known musicians have described Pooh and Milne's writing as an early influence on them growing up, long before they became famous.
The musicians named include Shirley Manson, singer with the band Garbage, Kim Gordon of the influential band Sonic Youth, and Jimi Hendrix, one of rock's most celebrated guitarists. Each has spoken at different times about the books they loved as children, with Winnie-the-Pooh coming up alongside other classics such as The Wind in the Willows and Nancy Drew.
The story matters less for any single revelation and more for what it says about how childhood reading can shape people who later become significant cultural figures, regardless of their genre or era. It also touches on other, older links between Pooh and rock music, including a Creedence Clearwater Revival song and a connection to Rolling Stones founder Brian Jones.