Jimi Hendrix

Early Life  Born James Marshall Hendricks.  Listened to his father’s record collection  Blues and R&B  Started harmonica at age 4, acoustic guitar at age 10  His father bought him an electric at age 11.  Guitar Influences  Elmore James (Blues), Muddy Waters (R&B), BB King (Blues)

Rise to Fame  Gained fame as a teen as an outstanding guitarist  Played backup for Ike and Tina Turner, Little Richard, BB King, The Isley Brothers.  In 1965, he forms his own band – Jimmy James and the Blue Flames  Bob Dylan, Pete Townshend, and Eric Clapton are new inspirations.  “The Animals” bassist (Chas Chandler) hears him play and invites him to London.

London  He goes back to his old name, but with an alternate spelling.  Chas Chandler puts him with bass (Noel Redding) and drums (Mitch Mitchell) to form The Jimi Hendrix Experience.  First single “Hey Joe” released at end of 1966 becomes #4 hit  3 more hit singles drop in 1967  “Purple Haze,” “And the Wind Cries Mary,” and “The Burning of the Midnight Lamp”

Return to America  1967 Paul McCartney tells him to return to America  The Experience plays at the Monterey Pop Festival  Ends with setting fire to and smashing his guitar  Booked at the Fillmore West venue with Jefferson Airplane  Hendrix rocked it, Jefferson Airplane backed out.

Albums Released  1967 – Are You Experienced?  Widely regarded as one of the best classic rock albums  Double Album - Axis: Bold as Love and Electric Ladyland  Electric Ladyland is the most successful and his only #1 album.  He headlined 1969 Woodstock Festival

Unhappy with his Music  1969 – Jimi is unhappy with his music  Disbanded The Experience  Records a live album (Band of Gypsies) with a new bassist and drummer.  It’s not successful and he reforms The Experience  Wanted to stay loyal to The Experience but wanted his music to progress.

Quote  “I’ve turned full circle. I’m right back where I started. I’ve given this era of music everything, but I still sound the same…When the last American tour finished I just wanted to go away and forget everything. I wanted to record and see if I could write something…Something new has to come and Jimi Hendrix will be there.”

End of His Life  Shied away from live performances  Thinking more about recording than playing live  Within days of death started to work with orchestrator and arranger Gil Evans (who worked with Miles Davis)  Died Sept 18, 1970 (age 27) basically from an overdose.

Guitar  Left-handed, but mostly played a right-handed Fender Stratocaster upside down with the strings reversed  Able to use the controls and tremolo arm in a unique way.  Used Marshall amps – usually played past the limit during performances (which created lots of challenges for road crews).

Legacy  1968 – Rolling Stone Performer of the Year, Billboard Artist of the Year.  1992 – Jimi Hendrix Experience in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame  Made only 5 albums  Since his death, 300 recordings (not including bootleg copies) have been on the market.  Many are jam sessions that weren’t intended for release.  1990 – 20 th anniversary of his death, music re-released on CD.

Influence  Career only lasted for four years, but he’s still considered one of the most influential electric guitarists.  Rolling Stone – ranked as #1 guitarist  Quote from RnR HoF: Jimi Hendrix was arguably the greatest instrumentalist in the history of rock music. Hendrix expanded the range and vocabulary of the electric guitar into areas no musician had ever ventured before. His boundless drive, technical ability and creative application of such effects as wah-wah and distortion forever transformed the sound of rock and roll.

Influence  Redefined possibilities of guitar  Style and effects he created were totally new  Popularized wah-wah pedal and developed the guitar amplifier feedback technique  Basically made feedback and distortion part of rock guitar music.  His work is still being re-evaluated and better understood.

Influence  Combined diverse musical genres (blues, R&B, British Rock, Soul, American Funk, Jazz, 50’s rock and roll)  Influence on many modern guitarists with his technique and delivery from all genres.  Prince, George Clinton, Beastie Boys, Run DMC, Stevie Ray Vaughn  Showmanship - Unmatched and CRAZY  Played guitar with his teeth, set fire to guitars, smashed guitars, etc.

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