Born November 27, 1942 in Seattle, Washington, Jimi Hendrix accomplished more in 27 years than most people could in 100. On top of that, his musical career lasted just 4 years before his untimely death. Hendrix began playing guitar at age 15. He enlisted in the U.S. Army a few years later, choosing service over jail time for being caught twice riding in stolen cars, but was granted an honorable discharge after just one year on the basis of unsuitability. While in the Army, he met Billy Cox, who would later play bass in Hendrix's Band of Gypsys. Cox overheard Hendrix practicing and described it as a combination of "John Lee Hooker and Beethoven."
After his discharge, Hendrix moved to Clarksville, Tennessee and began to play with a band called the King Kasuals, where Hendrix learned to play with his teeth. Hendrix eventually began performing up and down the Chittlin' Circuit, a community of venues at which it was safe for African Americans to perform. During this time, he performed in backing bands for Wilson Pickett, Sam Cooke and more. Hendrix would then move up to Harlem, where playing around the local circuit would earn him a place in the Isley Brothers' backing band. After touring with the Isley Brothers for most of 1964, Hendrix grew tired of playing the same set every night, so he left the band and soon joined Little Richard's backing band.
Hendrix's big break came when Keith Richards' girlfriend, Linda Keith, noticed his playing at a club and became friends with him. After Rolling Stones manager Andrew Oldham rejected him, Keith referred him to Chas Chandler, who was leaving The Animals to concentrate on managing and producing. Chandler recognized the guitarist's talent, brought him to live in London and began putting together a band for him, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, which would lead to Noel Redding on bass guitar and Mitch Mitchell on drums. The trio immediately hit it off, and the rest is history.
While playing the club circuit in London, Hendrix earned the respect of the biggest stars of the day: John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Brian Jones, Mick Jagger, Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Pete Townshend, etc. This would lead to his #1 biggest break in his entire musical career. The Beatles were asked to play at a music festival in California called the Monterey Pop Festival. While the band declined, they recommended the Jimi Hendrix Experience. While Hendrix was not well known in America yet, the festival accepted this recommendation, which led to one of the most iconic rock & roll gigs in history. With their debut album Are You Experienced? released, the band took that stage by storm, followed by the rest of America and the world. The Jimi Hendrix Experience would go on to release 2 more studio albums, Axis: Bold As Love and Electric Ladyland, before Redding left the band in June 1969 due to tensions between him and Hendrix. Hendrix added his friend Billy Cox on bass, a rhythm guitarist, Larry Lee, and two conga players, Juma Sultan and Jerry Velez, for his historic Woodstock performance less than 2 months later.
As the result of a legal dispute, Hendrix still owed an album of original material. To resolve the matter, Hendrix put together an all-black power trio, with Billy Cox on bass and Buddy Miles on drums, and recorded Band Of Gypsys live at the Fillmore East, taking material from 4 shows to assemble the official live album. This lineup played one more performance together, which failed miserably when Hendrix left the stage after just one song. Cox and Miles stated later that he had been given LSD by his manager before the show. Miles commented that he believed it was an attempt to sabotage the current lineup and bring back the original Jimi Hendrix Experience and was fired immediately for his comments. The aftermath of the failed Band of Gypsys experiment saw the return of Mitch Mitchell on drums, but Billy Cox remained on bass instead of the original bassist Noel Redding. The trio spent the first half of 1970 touring and recording material for a fourth studio album.
On September 18, 1970, Hendrix's girlfriend woke up to find him unconscious and unresponsive. After an ambulance took him to the hospital, Hendrix was pronounced dead at 12:45 pm. A post-mortem examination provided evidence that he had breathed in his own vomit and died of asphyxia, but the verdict was left open dude to insufficient evidence. Hendrix's girlfriend later revealed that he had taken 9 of her prescribed Vesparax sleeping tablets, 18 times the recommended dose.
During his lifetime, Hendrix spent countless hours recording and mixing material that was not released. Since his death, 12 posthumous studio albums of previously unreleased material have been released, along with numerous live albums and bootleg recordings. Hendrix remains to this day one of the most influential and innovative guitarists (and musicians for that matter) in history. Even with all of the movements, genres, instruments, technology and innovation that have exponentially improved over the past few decades, Hendrix remains more than relevant. He is essential listening for anyone who wants to be a musician, and musicians and listeners alike celebrate his life and achievements to this day and will continue to do so for many years to come. Rest in peace Jimi!
