Musician born 11/27/42 / TUE 11-27-12 / Bygone company with yellow-roofed kiosks / Pete Julie's Mod Squad partner / Conveyance in Ellington song

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Constructor: Peter A. Collins
Relative difficulty: Easy



THEME: JIMI HENDRIX (Musician born 11/27/42) — 70th birthday tribute puzzle

Word of the Day: LILI Taylor (41A: Actress Taylor of "Six Feet Under") —

Lili Anne Taylor (born February 20, 1967) is an American actress notable for her appearances in such award-winning indie films as Mystic Pizza, Say Anything..., Short Cuts and I Shot Andy Warhol, and the acclaimed TV show Six Feet Under. (wikipedia)

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I don't consider myself a particularly big JIMI HENDRIX fan, but I must know something because this puzzle went down very, very easily. I think the most trouble I had involved figuring out whom the wind was crying. I wanted "Mariah." Why did I want "Mariah?" Ah ... this is why:


Now I don't feel so bad. It's a pretty straightforward tribute, with no whistles or bells—just symmetrical songs. But it works. And the grid is quite solid. Nice to see FOTOMAT (5D: Bygone company with yellow-roofed kiosks), about which I haven't thought for many, many years. I also like TRUTH OR DARE (which I once used in a puzzle about Norse gods) and LEGAL ACTION, which reminds me of "Damages," which I am currently watching (via Netflix) and enjoying.

Theme answers:

• 5A: With 67-Across, song by 56-Across ("FOXY / LADY")
• 19A: With 32-Across, song by 56-Across ("ALL ALONG THE / WATCHTOWER")
• 11D: Song by 56-Across ("FIRE")
• 42A: Song by 56-Across  ("PURPLE HAZE)
• 9D: With 60-Down, song by 56-Across ("HEY / JOE")
• 54D: "The Wind Cries ___" (song by 56-Across) ("MARY") — odd to have just the lone partial, but really, it's not a big puzzle in a simple tribute puzzle like this.

Bullets:

• 64A: Pete and Julie's "Mod Squad" partner (LINC) — the show is before my time, but LINC is very identifiable to me. He had a righteous 'fro.
• 68A: Compound with a double-bonded carbon atom (ENOL) — a word I would never have encountered in my lifetime were it not for crosswords. It's LONE backwards. I'm sure this information will come in handy some day.
• 28A: Conveyance in an Ellington song (A-TRAIN) — pretty common answer, as 6-letter answers go. I know Ella's vocal version, but here's Ellington doing a gorgeous version of the instrumental. 

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld