Jimi Hendrix

Jimi Hendrix burning his guitar at the Monterey Pop Festival, June 18, 1967.

### **Biography**

Jimi Hendrix was born Johnny Allen Hendrix in Seattle, Washington, on November 27, 1942, the son of Al Hendrix and Lucille Jeter.

His father—a gifted jazz dancer who worked at a number of jobs, including landscape gardening—bore much of the responsibility of raising the boy and his brother, Leon, as did their grandmother and various family friends.

This was due to the unreliability of Lucille, who drank excessively and who would disappear for extended periods.

Al Hendrix changed his son's name to James Marshall Hendrix in 1946.

Al and Lucille divorced in 1951;

Al Hendrix won custody of his sons and exercised as much discipline as he could, but the boys—young Jimi especially—worshipped their absentee mother.

Jimi Hendrix wanted a guitar early on.

Before acquiring his first real instrument, he "played" guitar on a broom and on a one-stringed ukulele.

At last Al got his son a guitar, and the twelve-year-old Jimi began to teach himself to play.

Jimi restrung the guitar upside down—as a left-hander, he was forced to turn the instrument in the opposite direction from how it is usually played, which left the strings at the bottom unless he rearranged them.

He learned blues songs from records by greats like Robert Johnson , Howlin' Wolf,   B. B. King and Muddy Waters

The guitar rarely left Jimi's side, even as he slept.

By his mid-teens, Hendrix had formed a band called the Rocking Kings.

He played behind his back, between his legs, and over his head—as had many blues guitarists before him. Thus he became later a favorite to audiences, if not to all musicians.

### **1961 - 1965**

After dropping out of Garfield High School in Seattle, Hendrix joined the army in 1961. at age seventeen to avoid a jail sentence for riding in a stolen car.

He volunteered as a para-trooper (a person who jumps from planes using a parachute) and was soon jumping out of airplanes.

Eventually he sent for his guitar and continued playing whenever he could.

He met another soldier, bass player Billy Cox, with whom he formed a band that entertained troops all over the region.

After leaving the army, the two friends formed the King Kasuals and began playing regularly at a club in Nashville, Tennessee.

Hendrix became known as the hottest guitarist in town. At the time he lacked confidence in his singing and was content to back other artists.

Over the next few years Hendrix toured with several different bands, often stealing attention away from bandleaders who expected him to stay in the background.

During 1963, in addition to playing in his own band, Hendrix performed as a backing musician for various soul, R&B, and blues musicians, including Wilson Pickett, Slim Harpo, Sam Cooke, Ike & Tina Turner and Jackie Wilson

Hendrix's looks and on-stage behavior were influenced by the early rocker Little Richard .

in 1964. Hendrix played with the Isley Brothers, with saxophonist King Curtis, and later with friend Curtis Knight.

Hendrix toured with the Isleys during much of 1964, but near the end of October, after growing tired of playing the same set every night, he left the band.

Soon afterward, Hendrix joined Little Richard's touring band, the Upsetters

and  in February 1965, he recorded his first and only single with Richard, "I Don't Know What You Got (But It's Got Me)",

In 1965 he signed a contract with Knight's manager, Ed Chalpin, receiving an advance of one dollar.

He then formed his own group, Jimmy James & the Blue Flames, and moved to New York.

### **Jimi Hendrix Experience**

In September 1966 Hendrix was brought to London, England, by Chas Chandler, a member of the rock group the Animals who wanted to be a manager.

Chandler suggested changing the spelling of Hendrix's first name to Jimi and helped him form the Jimi Hendrix Experience with bass player Noel Redding and drummer John "Mitch" Mitchell.

Recording began the following month.

By December the Experience had released its first hit single, "Hey Joe."

Hendrix amazed even London's biggest rock stars with his electrifying stage show.

He once said, "I sacrifice part of my soul every time I play."

The Experience's first album, *Are You Experienced?,* was a huge success.

He favored overdriven amplifiers with high volume and gain, and was instrumental in popularizing the previously undesirable sounds caused by guitar amplifier feedback.

He was also one of the first guitarists to make extensive use of tone-altering effects units in mainstream rock, such as fuzz distortion, Octavia, wah-wah, and Uni-Vibe.

Back in the United States, crowds were stunned by Hendrix's performances, which included the burning of his guitar.

The band's next album, *Axis: Bold as Love,* showed Hendrix's growth as a songwriter, but he was unhappy with the way it sounded.

He was also becoming tired of audiences who expected a "wild man" act.

Hendrix tried to expand his musical range on third album , *Electric Ladyland,* an album he had complete control over, and that was the greatest achievement of his brief recording career.

A double album, it was the only record from the Experience with production solely credited to Hendrix become the band's most commercially successful release and its only number one album,

### **Legal disputes and death**

In October 1965, he and Knight recorded the single, "How Would You Feel" backed with "Welcome Home".

Despite his two-year contract with Sue, Hendrix signed a three-year recording contract with entrepreneur Ed Chalpin.

While the bussines relationship with Chalpin was short-lived, his contract remained in force, which later caused legal and career problems for Hendrix.

Hendrix's managers decided to build Electric Ladyland Studios, hoping to save money on recording costs.

To help pay for the studio, Hendrix was forced into endless touring, which caused the Experience to break up.

Hendrix's first solo performance following the breakup of band was at the Woodstock Music Festival in 1969.

At that time  Hendrix was among the world's highest-paid rock musician

Hendrix then formed Band of Gypsys with his old friend Cox and drummer Buddy Miles.

Band of Gypsys recorded only a live album before drummer Miles left.

Mitchell returned, and Hendrix began recording tracks for a new album, to be titled *First Rays of the New Rising Sun.*

Before it was finished, Hendrix died from aspirated his own vomit and died of asphyxia while intoxicated with barbiturates .

His girlfriend at that time Monica Dannemann stated that Hendrix had taken nine of her prescribed Vesparax sleeping tablets, 18 times the recommended dosage.

### **Legacy and discography :**

Jimi Hendrix was elected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame describes him as "arguably the greatest instrumentalist in the history of rock music

Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most influential electric guitarists in the history of popular music, and one of the most celebrated musicians of the 20th century.

The following year he received the Grammy Awards Lifetime Achievement Award.

Many rock, rap, and blues artists contributed versions of his songs to the 1993 tribute album *Stone Free.*

In 1999 Al Hendrix published *My Son Jimi,* a biography of his son's family life.

#### **Studio albums and notable singles:**

1.     Are You Experienced (1967)

·       Notable tracks: "Purple Haze," "Hey Joe," "The Wind Cries Mary"

2.     Axis: Bold as Love (1967)

·       Notable tracks: "Little Wing," "If 6 Was 9," "Castles Made of Sand"

3.     Electric Ladyland (1968)

·       Notable tracks: "All Along the Watchtower," "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)," "Crosstown Traffic"

4.     Band of Gypsys (1970)

·       Recorded live in 1969

·       Notable tracks: "Machine Gun," "Who Knows," "Message to Love"

Posthumous Studio Albums: (Note: After Hendrix's death, several albums of unreleased and partially completed material were released.)

1.     The Cry of Love (1971)

2.     Rainbow Bridge (1971)

3.     War Heroes (1972)

4.     Hendrix in the West (1972)

5.     Crash Landing (1975)

6.     Midnight Lightning (1975)

7.     Nine to the Universe (1980)

8.     Radio One (1988)

9.     First Rays of the New Rising Sun (1997)

**Notable Singles:** (Note: Hendrix released several singles throughout his career, both as a solo artist and with the Jimi Hendrix Experience.)

1.     "Hey Joe" (1966)

2.     "Purple Haze" (1967)

3.     "The Wind Cries Mary" (1967)

4.     "Burning of the Midnight Lamp" (1967)

5.     "All Along the Watchtower" (1968)

6.     "Crosstown Traffic" (1968)

7.     "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" (1968)

8.     "Stone Free" (1969)

9.     "Freedom" (1971)

10. "Angel" (1971)

11. "Dolly Dagger" (1971)

#### Most important and influential concert and festival performances include:

1.    Monterey Pop Festival (1967): Hendrix's performance at the Monterey Pop Festival is often considered a breakthrough moment in his career. His onstage antics, including setting his guitar on fire during his rendition of "Wild Thing," became legendary and helped solidify his status as a guitar virtuoso.

2.    Woodstock Festival (1969): Hendrix's performance at Woodstock is one of the most iconic moments in music history. His rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner" on his guitar, mimicking the sounds of bombs and gunfire, was a powerful and controversial commentary on the state of the world at the time.

3.    Isle of Wight Festival (1970): This was one of Hendrix's last major festival performances before his death. His performance at the Isle of Wight Festival showcased his evolving sound and included tracks like "Message to Love" and "Machine Gun."

4.    Atlanta International Pop Festival (1970): Hendrix's performance at this festival is often cited as one of his best live performances. He played to a massive audience and delivered a set that demonstrated his incredible skill and improvisational abilities.

5.    Fillmore East (1969): Hendrix's New Year's Eve performance at the Fillmore East in 1969, with his Band of Gypsys lineup, is considered one of his finest live recordings. The performance was later released as the "Band of Gypsys" album.

6.    Royal Albert Hall (1969): Hendrix's two nights at the Royal Albert Hall in London showcased his versatility as a musician. These performances featured a mix of blues, rock, and experimental sounds.