Jimi Hendrix

• Born: November 27, 1942
• Birthplace: Seattle, Washington
• Died: September 18, 1970
• Place of death: London, England

Rock-and-roll musician

Hendrix is one of the most influential rock-and-roll guitarists in history. His style, unconventional technique, showmanship, and innovation are legendary. Although his career was brief, his extensive catalog of live and studio recordings continues to inspire new generations of musicians.

Area of achievement: Music: rock and roll

Early Life

James Marshall Hendrix, better known as Jimi Hendrix (JIH-mee HEHN-drihks), was born in Seattle, Washington, to Lucille Jeter Hendrix and James Allen “Al” Hendrix. Hendrix had African, Cherokee, and Irish ancestry. With his father serving in the military, Hendrix was initially raised by Lucille, who registered his name as Johnny Allen Hendrix. Lucille struggled to care for him properly, and Hendrix was raised partially by neighbors and relatives. When Al Hendrix was discharged from the Army in 1945, he took charge of the boy and, in 1946, changed Hendrix’s name to James Marshall Hendrix. Hendrix attended school in Seattle. His parents divorced in 1951, and Al was granted custody of Hendrix and his two younger brothers. Lucille died in 1958. After seeing Hendrix try to play guitar on a broom, Al bought him a cheap instrument. Hendrix dropped out of high school and played guitar in local bands. He was left-handed and typically played a right-handed guitar strung upside-down and backward.

In 1961, Hendrix enlisted in the 101st Airborne Division of the U.S. Army. After his discharge in 1962, he played guitar in bands in and around Nashville, supporting such performers as Curtis Mayfield and Little Richard. He moved to New York City in 1964 and played with the Isley Brothers and Curtis Knight, among others. In 1966, Hendrix formed his own band, Jimmy James and the Blue Flames. While performing in Greenwich Village in New York City, he was discovered and invited to London. Jimmy became Jimi, and stood on the brink of fame.

Life’s Work

Soon after his arrival in London in September, 1966, the Jimi Hendrix Experience was formed, with bassist Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell. Hendrix’s virtuosity attracted the attention of Great Britain’s top stars.

Hendrix’s performance at the Monterey International Pop Festival in California on June 18, 1967, brought him international fame. In 1967, he toured in the United States and Europe and recorded his first two albums, Are You Experienced and Axis: Bold as Love. His debut album was groundbreaking. The second one, no less innovative, includes songs like “You Got Me Floatin’,” “Spanish Castle Magic,” “One Rainy Wish,” and “Little Wing.” The album features intriguing sonic explorations with effects pedals, backward guitar, multitracked guitar parts, and stereo panning.

In 1968, the Jimi Hendrix Experience toured extensively and recorded the masterful double long-playing albumElectric Ladyland, which includes driving songs like “Come On (Part One)” and “Voodoo Child (Slight Return),” beautiful ballads like the title track, jazzy jams like “Rainy Day, Dream Away,” and an extraordinary fourteen-minute science-fiction soundscape of haunting beauty, “1983…(A Merman I Should Turn to Be)”/“Moon, Turn the Tides…Gently Gently Away.”

In early 1969, the band toured Europe and the United States. The Experience played its final show in June of 1969. Hendrix formed a new but short-lived band, Gypsy Sun and Rainbows, for the Woodstock Festival in August, 1969. This band retained drummer Mitchell, added two percussionists and a second guitarist, and substituted bassist Billy Cox for Redding. The film of Hendrix’s performance of “The Star-Spangled Banner” at Woodstock is iconic.

At the end of 1969, Hendrix formed a new group with bassist Cox and drummer Buddy Miles—his first all-African American band since he found fame. The Band of Gypsys recorded concerts at the Fillmore East in New York for a live album, Band of Gypsys. This album introduced new material, including the tour-de-force “Machine Gun.”

In late January of 1970, that group disbanded. In April of 1970, Hendrix formed his final band, retaining Cox on bass, and bringing back Mitchell on drums. Hendrix recorded and toured with the band throughout the spring and summer.

Hendrix died before completing another studio album, but many of the songs he was working on in 1969 and 1970 appear in posthumous collections such as First Rays of the New Rising Sun, South Saturn Delta, Blues, and Valleys of Neptune. Standout tracks include rock classics such as “Freedom,” “Ezy Rider, ” and “Earth Blues,” and delicate ballads such as “Angel” and “Drifting.” Three studio masterpieces, “Pali Gap,” “Hey Baby (Land of the New Rising Sun),” and “Dolly Dagger,” were all recorded in a single session in July of 1970.

Hendrix asphyxiated on vomit in a London flat on September 18, 1970, after taking an overdose of a prescription sleep aid. He was twenty-eight years old.

Significance

Although Hendrix released only three studio albums in his lifetime (along with a live album and a greatest-hits package), his inexhaustible work in the studio and in performance produced enough material for a seemingly endless supply of high-quality posthumous albums. Hendrix’s principal legacy is as a virtuoso guitarist: He approached the instrument in a fundamentally new way, producing innovative, inspirational music. He won a number of top awards in his lifetime, and his work influenced countless musicians. It is not just the legacy of his guitar skill that endures, however. Hendrix’s singing and songwriting are celebrated in the numerous covers of his work that have been recorded and performed. His creative work in the studio, exploring the resources of analogue sound effects, multitracking, and stereo panning, has altered the sonic vocabulary of modern music.

Bibliography

Aledort, Andy. In Deep with Jimi Hendrix: A Complete Exploration of His Innovative Guitar Style. Milwaukee, Wis.: Hal Leonard, 1995. Valuable analysis of Hendrix’s style. Aledort is responsible for many of the transcriptions of Hendrix’s guitar work in the excellent series of Transcribed Scores books, also published by Hal Leonard.

Geldeart, Gary, and Steve Rodham. Jimi Hendrix: From the Benjamin Franklin Studios. 3d ed. Warrington, Cheshire, England: Jimpress, 2008. The most useful discography, identifying multiple versions of each song—well over one hundred extant variants of songs like “Purple Haze” and “Foxy Lady.” Rodham publishes Jimpress, the best Hendrix magazine focusing on discographical matters.

Glebbeek, Caesar, and Harry Shapiro. Jimi Hendrix: Electric Gypsy. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1995. The most authoritative of many Hendrix biographies, with extensive and useful appendixes, including discography, time line, and information about his equipment. Glebbeek publishes UniVibes, the best Hendrix magazine focusing on historical matters.

McDermott, John, Billy Cox, and Eddie Kramer. Ultimate Hendrix: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Live Concerts and Sessions. New York: Backbeat Books, 2009. Describes most of Hendrix’s studio recording sessions, offering valuable technical information and providing set lists for many concerts. Includes index.

Murray, Charles Shaar. Crosstown Traffic: Jimi Hendrix and Post-War Pop. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2001. Places Hendrix’s music in its cultural context, examining Hendrix’s musical sources and his prodigious influence on blues, rock, soul, funk, and jazz.

Shadwick, Keith. Jimi Hendrix: Musician. San Francisco: Backbeat Books, 2003. An excellent overview of Hendrix’s career, focusing on his work, rather than his life.

Willix, Mary. Jimi Hendrix: Voices from Home. San Diego, Calif.: Creative Forces, 1995. The best source of information about Hendrix’s early life in Seattle.