Jimi Hendrix
Ignorant in the reading and writing of music, the musical career and legacy of Jimi Hendrix is quite remarkable. A singer, songwriter and the most innovative electric guitarist in history, Jimi’s musical capabilities involved the incorporation of rock, jazz, blues and R&B and according to Wikipedia, he was one of the first to experiment with stereophonic and phasing effects for rock recording. His love for music took control over him and he would play the guitar with his teeth, behind his back, over his head and between his legs.
Born Johnny Allen Hendrix, his father legally changed his name to James Marshall Hendrix, after taking custody of him.
Jimi’s childhood was quite unstable. Growing up in an insecure family environment and having a mother as a heavy drinker had quite an influence on the young boy, preferring himself to be reserved and shy in the company of others. His parents divorced when he was 9 and his mother died when he was 15.
As a young child, Jimi had a great love for and was inspired by music. Jimi would quite often, if not always, take a broom and strum it as though it were a real guitar. At age 15, Jimi purchased an acoustic guitar from an acquaintance of his father for $5 and self taught himself to play the instrument by watching others play, listening to music and through constant practice. Seeing his sons’ enthusiasm for music, his father purchased an electric guitar for Jimi when he was 17. It was at this age that he was already playing blues and R&B together with his band, The Rocking Kings.
The Jimi Hendrix Experience
Throughout his life, Jimi was involved in many bands, some of which were his own and others he joined. At age 24, he formed his own band The Blue Flame, which primarily played at the Café Wha? in New York. Later that year, in October of 1966, Hendrix signed a production contract with Chas Chandler and ex-Animals manager Michael Jeffrey. Together they built up for Jimi a new band, The Jimi Hendrix Experience. The first album, Are You Experienced, by the new-found band became and has remained one of the most popular rock albums to ever be produced. The first single, Hey Joe, maintained a position on the UK charts for 10 weeks, with its greatest position No. 6. Click below to watch a free music download of this hit single.
Like many other musicians, Jimi Hendrix did not have a clean slate with the law. After being caught driving a stolen vehicle on two separate occasions, Hendrix was given the option of serving a jail term or a 2 year service in the army, he chose the latter. Much to everyone’s amazement, he left his guitar behind. However, it wasn’t long before the music lover requested for his guitar to be sent to him. Jimi was dismissed from the army after 1 year, having claimed to have injured himself during a parachute accident. Once back in the ‘real world’, Jimi, once again, heavily involved himself with his music. People were amazed with his musical talent. As quoted from MOG, “what caught most people’s attention at first was his virtuosic guitar playing, which employed an arsenal of devices, including wah-wah pedals, buzzing feedback solos, crunching distorted riffs, and lightning, liquid runs up and down the scales”.
Jimi Hendrix and his Flaming Guitar
Associated with the 27 Club, a group of iconic rock stars who all suffered with drug related issues and died at age 27, Jimi was seemingly influenced by his mothers’ bad habits. He smoked cannabis, used psychedelic drugs and indulged himself in an over consumption of alcohol which often led him onto violent rampages, leaving other people badly hurt and wounded.
Jimi died in 1970, just 2 months short of his 28th birthday, from an overdose of barbiturate. His legacy lives on through his great contribution and influence in the music world, having been the first person to be inducted into the Native American Music Hall of Fame and having won a large number of prominent rock music awards including, the US Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the UK Music Hall of Fame.
Jimi was one of the most important musicians in the 20th Century having influenced many genres. In the opinion of Billboard, “Jimi Hendrix expanded the vocabulary of the electric rock guitar more than anyone before or since”. However this is not all he was. In the words of Musiccourt, “Hendrix was a pretty skilled wordsmith”, who had a great passion for writing songs.
Tags: Hey Joe, Michael Jeffrey, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, The Rocking Kings