Jimi Hendrix

By:  Jessica Lehmann

 

            Innovative, creative, electric, and untouched are just a few ways to describe Jimi Hendrix’s effect on music history, specifically his guitar playing.  Before Jimi made his way into the spotlight, he had to pay his dues to get there.

            Jimi Hendrix was born James Marshall Hendrix on November 27, 1942 in Seattle Washington.  Hendrix was raised by his father after his parents were divorced while Jimi was still a young child.  Al, Jimi’s father, was the first to take notice of his son’s interest in the guitar.  By 1958, Al had purchased a five-dollar second-hand guitar for Jimi.  Hendrix was entirely self-taught on the guitar, his profound ability to read music allowed him to concentrate harder on the music that he heard.  Like many artists, Jimi was heavily influenced by performers before and during his time.  Some of them include B.B. King, Muddy Waters, Howlin Wolf, Buddy Holly, and Robert Johnson.

            Shortly after Al gave Jimi his first guitar, he joined his first band The Velvetones.  After a quick three months, Jimi left the band to pursue his own interests.  The following summer, Al purchased Jimi his first electric guitar, a purchase that would change the course of music history.

            Jimi’s life went down a different path then music when he enlisted in the United States Army and became a paratrooper in the Screaming Eagle division.  All though he was in a different career path, he still found time for music.  He formed a band named the King Casuals with bassist Billy Cox.  After being discharged from the Army due to an injury suffered after a parachute jump, Jimi began working as a session guitarist under the name Jimmy James.

            As a session guitarist, he worked with the likes of Ike and Tina Turner, Sam Cooke, the Isley Brothers, and Little Richard.  Having spent enough time in the background Jimi stepped out into the spotlight.  During the later part of 1965 and into 1966 Jimi played smaller venues through out Greenwich Village in New York.  This is where he got his “big break.”  Chas Chandler was the bassist for a group named The Animals’ and was looking to transition from musician to manager.  He saw Jimi as his opportunity.  Chandler approached Hendrix with an agreement to move to London and forma new band.  In the fall of 1966 along with drummer Mitch Mitchell and bassist Noel Redding the Jimi Hendrix Experience became the talk of London.

            “Hey Joe,” was the first single and spent 10 weeks on the UK charts topping off at number six in the early 1970’s.  Their first album was “Are You Experienced,” which remains on of the most popular rock albums of all time.  Jimi was very popular in Britain and he returned to the States in June of 1967 performing at the Monterey International Pop Festival.  With his incendiary performance of Wild Thing, he left audience members in awe and became a megastar overnight.

            Jimi went on to work with different musicians and rock the music business.  He performed at many festivals and became an icon in music history.  His machine gun type rendition of “The Star Spangled Banner” to close Woodstock is a true defining moment in his career.  It combined his patriotic side along with his free-spirited hippie, and let us not forget that Jimi Hendrix is the only one who could ever get that type of emotion and sound out of a guitar.  Few have come close to Jimi Hendrix’s ability with the guitar.

            Unfortunately, Jimi Hendrix died at the age of 27 on September 17, 1970.  There is somewhat of a mystery around Hendrix’s death.  It is said that he want to get some rest before embarking on a trip to America.  He took some sleeping pills, only never to wake up.  He was confirmed dead at his arrival at a London Hospital.  It was extremely sad to lose such a person.  He changed the way of the electric guitar.  Since him, no artist has ever paralled Jimi’s ability to play the guitar.

 

Sources and links:

http://members.tripod.com/~banjowillie/JH_Bio.html

http://www.lovelynepal.com/Music/Jimi/Jimi.htm

http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/bio/asp?oid=354

http://www.1stopjimihendrix.com/jimibio.html

http://www.jimi-hendrix.com/magazine/604/604,biography.html