Jimi Hendrix vs. Eric Clapton: How a real-life guitar battle inspired period drama 'Chevalier'

Spoiler alert! Contains minor details about the classical music drama “Chevalier” (now streaming on Hulu and available to buy on digital platforms).

He’s the greatest composer you’ve probably never heard of.

Joseph Bologne – also known as Chevalier de Saint-Georges – was a violin virtuoso, a skilled fencer and a favorite of Marie Antoinette. Now, he’s the subject of the historical drama “Chevalier,” which stars Kelvin Harrison Jr. as the Black French maestro whose extraordinary music is frequently compared to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

“Chevalier” director Stephen Williams (HBO’s “Watchmen”) breaks down the real-life story behind the film, and how rock legends Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton inspired a key scene.

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Who was Joseph Bologne, and did he actually know Marie Antoinette?

Bologne was born in 1745 in the French colony of Guadeloupe to a wealthy plantation owner and enslaved Senegalese maid. He began studying violin at age 5, and two years later, was taken to France to continue his education. As he grew older, he not only became a great composer of concertos and operas, but a champion equestrian and marksman.

“He was this incredibly accomplished, talked-about man about town in the upper echelons of French society in the mid-1700s,” Williams says. “He was quite a remarkable person.”

As depicted in the movie, Antoinette (Lucy Boynton) was a fan of Bologne and invited him to play private performances for her royal court. But their friendship was, at times, a detriment: In 1776, Bologne put himself forward to be the next director of the Paris Opera, which caused an outcry in the music community because of his mixed race. Not wanting to embarrass Antoinette with the uproar, Bologne withdrew his name from consideration. He died in Paris in 1799 at 53.

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How did Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton inspire that concert-crashing scene?

In the opening sequence of “Chevalier,” Mozart (Joseph Prowen) is interrupted by Bologne midshow and challenged to a violin battle. The latter handily wins the duel, much to Mozart’s chagrin.

“That was a bit of a fanciful flourish on our behalf,” Williams says. Although there is no evidence that actually happened, screenwriter Stefani Robinson (FX’s “Atlanta”) was inspired to write the scene after hearing a story about Jimi Hendrix, who at a 1966 concert in London, asked Eric Clapton if he could join his band Cream on stage.

"Clapton had no idea who Hendrix was, but humored him and invited him (to play)," Williams says. "Hendrix proceeded to shred Clapton off the stage. Apparently, Clapton ran to the wings of the venue they were at and asked his manager, ‘Who is that guy?’

“That felt like an appropriate analog for the story we were trying to tell (with Bologne)," he continues. "What would it have felt like to be a rock star in Joseph’s time in prerevolutionary France?”

What role did Bob Marley have in 'Chevalier' movie?

Robinson was heavily influenced by larger-than-life artists such as Hendrix and Prince, while Williams saw parallels between Bologne and reggae legend Bob Marley. In fact, every “call sheet” (or shooting schedule) included a Marley lyric during the film’s production

“What I was interested in was this journey Joseph Bologne undertook, where he moves to a greater sense of self-awareness and self-determination,” Williams says. “It reminded me of the lyric from Bob Marley’s ‘Redemption Song,’ which goes, ‘Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery/none but ourselves can free our minds.’ Joseph’s journey over the course of this movie is analogous to someone freeing his mind from a former way of thinking and adopting a new posture in the world.”

Why is he called the 'Black Mozart?'

It’s unclear whether Mozart and Bologne ever interacted with each other. But “they were contemporaries, and as I understand it, Mozart was aware of Joseph,” Williams says. “In fact, there is an anecdote that suggests that both Joseph and Mozart shared the same apartment building for a short time. There is also some anecdotal evidence to suggest that Mozart based at least one of his characters in his operas on Joseph.”

But even in the coverage of this film, many historians and journalists continue to use the nickname “Black Mozart” when writing about Bologne. Williams says he finds the phrase “a bit reductive. It implies that Mozart is the gold standard to which everyone else needs to be compared. I just feel like everyone should be received and valued and interpreted and understood within the context and confines of their own life.”

For people who watch “Chevalier” and want to learn more about his music, Williams recommends starting with Bologne’s “Violin Concerto No. 9.”

“It’s melodic and not intimidating to those of us, myself included, who are not particularly educated in the world of classical music,” he says. “It’s a great access point.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Chevalier' true story: What's fact, fiction in new Hulu movie?