The lyrics were inspired by Hendrix's high school years (roughly 1958–1961), when he regularly visited a roadhouse called "The Spanish Castle".
By 1959, the club began featuring top local rock groups such as The Fabulous Wailers and occasional touring stars.
[2] Hendrix biographer Harry Shapiro commented on the song's instrumentation: "[The] guitar and bass in unison has the immediate effect of locking up a song in a strong rhythmic voice ... [Hendrix uses] some unusual chord progressions and a large number of note bends in the solo ending up with a crazy double-stop.
"[3] AllMusic's Matthew Greenwald calls the progression "proto-heavy metal" and compares it to the earlier Experience song, "Foxy Lady".
[4] "Spanish Castle Magic" is one of the few songs from Axis: Bold as Love that Hendrix regularly performed in concert.