# Who plays the kazoo on Jimi Hendrix’s 1968 classic ‘Crosstown Traffic’?

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/who-plays-the-kazoo-on-jimi-hendrixs-1968-classic-crosstown-traffic/
- Published: 2026-11-12T03:00:00+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-12T03:19:39+00:00
- Original publisher: Far Out
- Original article: https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/who-plays-kazoo-jimi-hendrix-1968-classic-crosstown-traffic/
- Topics: Music

## Key points

- Hendrix made the kazoo sound with a comb and cellophane.
- He credited the instrument as “comb and paper”.
- The riff helps give ‘Crosstown Traffic’ its traffic-like character.

## Summary

Jimi Hendrix played the kazoo-like riff on ‘Crosstown Traffic’ himself, using a comb and a piece of cellophane rather than a conventional kazoo. The detail helps explain how the song created its distinctive traffic-like sound and adds to the inventive studio techniques behind the 1968 track.

‘Crosstown Traffic’ appeared on the Jimi Hendrix Experience’s album *Electric Ladyland*, recorded in London and New York. Hendrix credited himself with “comb and paper” in the liner notes; the makeshift instrument had also been used by artists including the Beatles on ‘Lovely Rita’.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.