Songfacts®:

• In "Night Bird Flying" Jimi Hendrix sings about about having one night to spend with the woman of his dreams, telling her, "just wrap me up in your beautiful wings." It's not the first time Jimi used an avian metaphor: His 1967 classic "Little Wing" was inspired by the vibe at the Monterey Pop Festival.
• The song's original title was "Ships Passing In The Night," but Hendrix renamed it in honor of New York radio station host Alison "Nightbird" Steele, who was known for her late-night shows.
• Using pieces from October 1968 jams hosted after the recording of Electric Ladyland, his third and final studio album, Hendrix began pulling "Night Bird Flying" together as a proper song in 1969. He went through multiple demos and then, on recording day in 1970, did 32 takes before completing the master. He did overdubs on July 19 and August 22 and completed the final mix on August 24, 1970.
• Hendrix recorded the piece on June 16, 1970, with bandmates Mitch Mitchell on drums and Billy Cox (who had recently replaced Noel Redding) on bass. It was intended to be included on Hendrix' fourth album, but his death in 1970 cut that project short. Reprise gathered the track with nine others and published them on the posthumous collection The Cry of Love in 1971.
• In 1970, construction was completed on Hendrix's new Electric Lady Studios in New York City. Hendrix played "Night Bird Flying" at the studio's opening night party on August 26.
• "Night Bird Flying" was released as the B-side to the "Angel" single released in the UK.
• Voodoo Soup (1995) and First Rays of the New Rising Sun (1997) were both posthumous Hendrix albums that included "Night Bird Flying."