imi Hendrix

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2008)

"Hendrix" redirects here. For other uses, see Hendrix (disambiguation).

Jimi Hendrix
Royal Albert Hall, 18 February 1969
Background information
Birth name	Johnny Allen Hendrix
Born	November 27, 1942(1942-11-27) Seattle, Washington, USA
Died	September 18, 1970 (aged 27) London, England
Genre(s)	Hard rock, blues-rock, acid rock, psychedelic rock
Occupation(s)	Singer, guitarist, songwriter, producer
Years active	1965 – 1970
Label(s)	RSVP Track Barclay Polydor Reprise Capitol MCA
Associated acts	Curtis Knight and the Squires The Jimi Hendrix Experience Gypsy Sun and Rainbows Band of Gypsys The Isley Brothers Little Richard
Website	JimiHendrix.com
Notable instrument(s)
Fender Stratocaster Gibson Flying V 12-string Zemaitis acoustic

Jimi Hendrix (November 27, 1942 – September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Hendrix is considered one of the greatest and most influential guitarists in rock music history.^[1] After initial success in Europe, he achieved fame in the USA following his 1967 performance at the Monterey Pop Festival. Later, Hendrix headlined the iconic 1969 Woodstock Festival.

Hendrix helped develop the technique of guitar feedback with overdriven amplifiers,^[2] incorporating into his music what was previously an undesirable sound. He built upon the innovations and influences of blues stylists such as B.B. King, Muddy Waters, Albert King, and Elmore James,^[3][4][5][6] and derived style from rhythm and blues and soul guitarists Curtis Mayfield, Steve Cropper, and Cornell Dupree, as well as from modern^[7] jazz. Part of Hendrix's flamboyant stage persona may have been inspired by rock pioneer Little Richard, with whom he toured as part of Richard's back-up band, "The Upsetters".

Hendrix is also widely thought to have been influenced by Pete Townshend of The Who, who performed in London when Hendrix started his career there in 1966. Carlos Santana has also suggested that Hendrix's music may have been influenced by his Native American heritage.^[8]

Hendrix strove to combine what he called "earth," a blues, jazz, or funk-driven rhythm accompaniment, with "space," the high-pitched psychedelic sounds created by his guitar improvisations. As a record producer, Hendrix also broke new ground in using the recording studio as an extension of his musical ideas; he was one of the first to experiment with stereophonic and phasing effects during recording.

Hendrix was inducted into the USA's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992 and the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2005. His star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (at 6627 Hollywood Blvd.) was dedicated in 1994. In 2006, his debut USA album, Are You Experienced, was inducted into the United States National Recording Preservation Board's National Recording Registry. Rolling Stone named Hendrix number 1 on their list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time in 2003.^[9]

Contents [hide] 1 Biography 1.1 Early life 1.2 Army 1.3 Early career 1.4 The Jimi Hendrix Experience 1.4.1 UK success 1.4.2 Are You Experienced? 1.4.3 US success 1.4.4 Axis: Bold as Love 1.4.5 Electric Ladyland 1.4.6 Breakup of Jimi Hendrix Experience 1.5 Legal troubles 1.6 Gypsy Sun and Rainbows 1.6.1 Woodstock 1.7 Band of Gypsys 1.8 Cry of Love band 1.8.1 Electric Lady Studios 1.8.2 European tour 1.9 Death 1.10 Gravesite 2 Personality 2.1 Fashion 2.2 Politics and racism 2.3 Drug use 3 Legacy 3.1 Financial legacy 3.2 The Jimi Hendrix Foundation 3.3 Guitar legacy 3.3.1 Fender Stratocaster 3.3.2 Amplifiers and effects 4 Discography 4.1 Studio albums 4.2 Live albums 5 See also 6 References 7 Further reading 8 External links

Biography

Early life

Hendrix was born on November 27, 1942, in Seattle, Washington, USA. Named Johnny Allen Hendrix at birth by his mother,^[10] he was re-named James Marshall Hendrix in memory of his father's deceased brother, Leon Marshall Hendrix.^[11][12] Hendrix's parents (James "Al" Hendrix and Lucille Jeter) divorced when he was nine years old, and in 1958 his mother died. On occasion, he was sent to live with his grandmother in Vancouver, Washington because of his unstable household. Hendrix grew up as a shy and sensitive boy, deeply affected by the conditions of poverty and neglect that he was raised in, and by the troubling family events of his childhood. In an unusual experience for African Americans of his era, Hendrix grew up with children of diverse ethnic origin. Most American inner cities of the 1950s were heavily segregated by race, but Seattle's Central District was a mix of White, African American, Hispanic, Native American and Asian residents.

Hendrix was particularly fond of Elvis Presley, whom he saw perform in Seattle, in 1957.^[13] His fascination with Presley continued into adulthood, and watching Presley's King Creole during his time in Paris 1968, gave Hendrix considerable inspiration.^[14]

At age 14, he acquired his first acoustic guitar, according to both his father and Hendrix himself, for $5 from an acquaintance of his father, to replace the one-string ukulele his father had found while cleaning out a garage, on which he reportedly managed to play several tunes and the earlier broom stick he would strum in imitation.^[15][16] He learned by practicing almost constantly, watching others play, through tips from more experienced players and listening to records. At 15 (around the time his mother died) he was bought his first electric guitar, but without an amplifier, it was a white Supro Ozark that his father, Al Hendrix, had purchased for him. That same year his only failing grade in school was an F in music class. Learning quickly^{[citation needed]}, and emulating the flashy moves of T-Bone Walker and the duck walk of Chuck Berry, he played in many local bands, playing as far away as Vancouver.

Hendrix was equally impressed when Little Richard appeared in his Central District neighborhood and he shook hands with the R&B star. Jimi's early exposure to Blues music came from listening to records by Muddy Waters and BB King that his father owned.^[17] Another impressionable image came from the 1954 western Johnny Guitar, in which the hero carries no gun but instead wears a guitar slung behind his back.

His first gig was with an unnamed band in the basement of a synagogue. After too much wild playing and showing off, he was fired between sets. The first formal band he played in was The Velvetones, who performed regularly at the Yesler Terrace Neighborhood House without pay. His flashy style and left-handed playing of a right-handed guitar already made him a standout. When his guitar was stolen (after he left it backstage overnight), Al bought him a white Silvertone Danelectro which he painted red and emblazoned with the words Betty Jean, the name of his high school girlfriend.

Hendrix had completed middle school with little trouble but didn't graduate from Garfield High School, although he would later be awarded an honorary diploma, and in the 1990s a bust of Hendrix was placed in the school library. After he became famous in the late 1960s, Hendrix told reporters that he had been expelled from Garfield by racist faculty for holding hands with a white girlfriend in study hall. However, Principal Frank Hanawalt insisted that it was simply due to poor grades and attendance problems.^{[citation needed]}

Jimi was always inspired by a saying he once heard from his grandmother: "I want to need to have you. First I have to need to want you."^{[citation needed]}

Army

Hendrix got into trouble with the law twice for riding in a stolen car. He was given a choice between spending two years in prison or joining the army. Hendrix chose the latter and enlisted on May 31, 1961. After completing boot camp, he was assigned to the 101st Airborne Division and stationed in Fort Campbell, Kentucky. His commanding officers and fellow soldiers considered him to be a sub-par soldier: he slept while on duty, had little regard for regulations, required constant supervision, and showed no skill as a marksman. For these reasons, his commanding officers submitted a request that Hendrix be discharged from the military after he had served only one year. Hendrix did not object when the opportunity arose to do so.^[18] Hendrix would later tell reporters that he received a medical discharge after breaking his ankle during his 26th parachute jump. The 2005 biography Room Full of Mirrors by Charles Cross claims that Hendrix faked being homosexual—claiming to have fallen in love with a fellow soldier—in order to be discharged, but has never produced any sound evidence to support this contention.

At the post recreation center, he met fellow soldier and bass player Billy Cox, and forged a loyal friendship that would serve Hendrix well during the last year of his life. The two would often play with other musicians at venues both on and off the post as a loosely organized band named The King Kasuals.^[19]

As a celebrity in the UK, Hendrix never mentioned his military service in published interviews, except in two, one in 1967 for the film "See My Music Talking", (much later released under the title "Experience") which was intended for TV to promote his recently released Axis: Bold As Love LP, in which he spoke very briefly of his first parachuting experience: "...once you get out there everything is so quiet, all you hear is the breezes-s-s-s..." This comment has later been used to claim that he was saying that this was one of the sources of his "spacy" guitar sound. The other was for a magazine "Music Maker" in 1968, where he spoke of his dislike of the army.^[20] In interviews in the US, Hendrix almost never mentioned it, and when Dick Cavett brings it up in his TV interview, Hendrix' only response is to verify that he was based at Fort Campbell.^[21]

Early career

After his release, Hendrix and army friend Billy Cox moved to nearby Clarksville, Tennessee, where they formed a band called "The King Kasuals", playing mainly in low-paying gigs at obscure venues. The band eventually moved to Nashville's Jefferson Street, the traditional heart of Nashville's black community and home to a lively rhythm and blues scene.^[22]Where, according to Cox and Larry Lee, who had joined them on guitar , they were basically the house band at 'Club del Morrocco'.^[23] Hendrix and Cox shared a flat above - "Joyce's House Of Glamour"^[24]Hendrix' girlfriend at this time was Joyce Lucas.^[25] In November 1962, Hendrix participated in his first studio session, where his over the top playing found him cut from the soundboard.

For the next two years, Hendrix made a precarious living on the Theatre Owners' Booking Association (TOBA) or Chitlin Circuit otherwise known as "Tough On Black Asses", performing in black-oriented venues throughout the South with both Bob Fisher and the Bonnevilles^[26] ")^[27] and in backing bands for various soul, R&B, and blues musicians, including Chuck Jackson, Slim Harpo, Tommy Tucker, Sam Cooke, and Jackie Wilson. The Chitlin Circuit was an important phase of Jimi's career, since the refinement of his style and blues roots occurred there. His work garnered him little fame or profit, and the extremes of racism and poverty that he endured left an indelible mark on his memories of this era.^{[citation needed]}

Frustrated by his experiences in the South, Hendrix decided to try his luck in New York City and In January 1964 moved into the Hotel Theresa.^[28] in Harlem, where he quickly befriended Lithofayne (known as "Faye")^[29] Pridgeon (who became his girlfriend) and the Allen twins, Arthur and Albert (now known as Taharqa and Tunde-Ra Aleem). The Allen twins quickly became loyal friends who kept Hendrix out of trouble in New York. The twins also performed as backup singers (under the name Ghetto Fighters) on some of his recordings, most notably the funk anthem "Freedom". Pridgeon, a beautiful Harlem native with connections throughout the area's music scene, provided Hendrix with shelter, support, and encouragement during the poorest and most desperate years of his life.^{[citation needed]}. In February 1964, Hendrix won first prize in the Apollo Theater amateur contest. The win was encouraging, but in general he found breaking into the New York scene difficult. Then that spring, Hendrix earned a spot as the new guitarist for the Isley Brothers' band and joined their national tour, which included the southern Chitlin' circuit. Hendrix played his first successful studio session on the two-part Isley Brothers hit "Testify".^[30] In Nashville, he left the Isleys to work with Gorgeous George Odell on an R&B package tour, that had Sam Cooke as the headliner. (See http://www.earlyhendrix.com/over/time.htm)

Then in Atlanta, he was hired by Little Richard for his new backing band, "The Royal Company."^[31][32][33] During a stop in Los Angeles while touring with Little Richard in 1965, Hendrix played a session for Rosa Lee Brooks on her single My Diary, this was his first recorded involvement with Arthur Lee of the band 'Love'".^[34][35] While in LA he also played on the session for Richard's final single for VeeJay 'I Don't Know What You've Got, But It's Got Me'.^[36] He later made his first recorded TV appearance on Nashville's Channel 5 'Night Train' with 'The Royal Company' backing up 'Buddy & Stacy' on 'Shotgun'.^[37] Hendrix clashed with Richard, over tardiness, wardrobe, and, above all, Hendrix's stage antics. For a short while, Hendrix quit and toured with Ike and Tina Turner, but was quickly fired for playing wild guitar solos and returned to Richard's band. Months later, he was either fired or he left (depending on who you choose to believe) after missing the tour bus in Washington, D.C.. Around this time he refined his flamboyant stage guitar style, much of which was influenced by Johnny "Guitar" Watson.^{[citation needed]} Recorded guitar pioneer and producer Les Paul claims that he watched Hendrix audition for a nightclub gig in Greenwich VillageNYC, and was awestruck by his performance. An errand forced Les Paul to leave the club before he had the chance to speak with Hendrix. When he returned later to contact and sign Hendrix, Les Paul found that the club owner had turned Hendrix down for being too loud and crazy and that Hendrix had disappeared.^{[citation needed]}

Later in 1965, Hendrix joined a New York-based band, Curtis Knight and the Squires, after meeting Knight in the lobby of the Hotel America, off Times Square, where both men were living at the time.^[38]

Hendrix then toured for two months with Joey Dee and the Starliters before rejoining the Squires in New York. On October 15, 1965, Hendrix signed a three-year recording contract with entrepreneur Ed Chalpin, receiving $1 and 1% royalty on records with Curtis Knight. While the relationship with Chalpin was short-lived, his contract remained in force, which caused considerable problems for Hendrix later on in his career. The legal dispute was eventually settled. During a brief excursion to Vancouver in 1965, it was reported that Hendrix played in the (much later in 1968 Motown) band Bobby Taylor & the Vancouvers with Taylor and Tommy Chong (of Cheech and Chong fame). Chong, however, disputes this ever happened and that any such appearance is a product of Taylor's imagination".^[39]

In 1966 Hendrix seems to be quite in demand, playing on sessions with King Curtis and Ray Sharpe; Lonnie Youngblood; The Icemen; Jimmy Norman; Billy Lamont and get's his first composer credit on the Curtis Knight and The Squires instrumental single 'Hornets Nest'^[40] As well as forming his own band, Jimmy James and The Blue Flames, composed of Randy Palmer (bass), Danny Casey (drums), a 15-year-old guitarist who played slide and rhythm, named Randy Wolfe, and various stand-ins he would casually meet at Manny's Music Shop.^[41] Since there were two musicians named "Randy" in the group, Hendrix dubbed Wolfe (who had recently moved to NYC from California with his family) "Randy California" and Palmer (a Tejano) "Randy Texas". Randy California would later co-found the band Spirit with his step father, drummer Ed Cassidy.

Hendrix and his new band played several venues in NYC, but their primary spot was a residency at the Cafe Wha? on MacDougal Street in Greenwich Village, that runs along one side of "Washington (Square) Park" that Jimi sang of at least twice. Their last concerts before Hendrix left were at the Cafe A Go Go, as John Hammond Jr.'s backing group, billed as "The Blue Flame." Singer-guitarist Ellen McIlwaine and guitarist Jeff "Skunk" Baxter, at that time a sales assistant at Manny'´s also worked with Hendrix in this period.^[42]

The Jimi Hendrix Experience

Main article: The Jimi Hendrix Experience

Early in 1966 at the Cheetah Club on West 21st Street, Linda Keith, the girlfriend of Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards, befriended Hendrix and recommended him to Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham and producer Seymour Stein. Neither man took a liking to Hendrix's music, however, and they both passed. She then referred him to Chas Chandler, who was ending his tenure as bassist in The Animals and looking for talent to manage and produce. Chandler was enamored with the song "Hey Joe" and was convinced that he could create a hit single by remaking it into a rock song.

Impressed with Hendrix's version, Chandler brought him to London and signed him to a management and production contract with himself and ex-Animals manager Michael Jeffery. Chandler then helped Hendrix form a new band, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, with guitarist-turned-bassist Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell, both English musicians. Shortly before the Experience was formed, Chandler introduced Hendrix to Pete Townshend and to Eric Clapton, who had only recently formed Cream. At Chandler's request, Cream let Hendrix join them on stage for a jam on the song Killing Floor. Hendrix and Clapton remained friends up until Hendrix's death.

He had enough of a sense of humor to poke fun at himself, specifically with the song "Purple Haze." A mondegreen had appeared, in which the line "'Scuse me while I kiss the sky" was misheard as "Scuse me while I kiss this guy." It is claimed that, in a few performances, Hendrix deliberately enunciated the line so as to emphasize the mondegreen.^{[citation needed]} A volume of misheard lyrics has been published, with this mondegreen itself as the title, and Hendrix illustrated on the cover, taking the phrase literally.

UK success

After a number of European club appearances, word of Hendrix spread through the London music community. His showmanship and virtuosity made instant fans of reigning guitar heroes Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck, as well as members of The Beatles and The Who, whose managers signed Hendrix to their new record label, Track Records.

Hendrix's first single was a cover of "Hey Joe", crafted after folk-singer Tim Rose's slower revision of the song and adapted to Hendrix's emerging style. Backing the first single was Jimi's first songwriting effort, "Stone Free". Further success came with "Purple Haze" and "The Wind Cries Mary". The three singles were all UK Top 10 hits. Onstage, Hendrix was also making a huge impression with fiery renditions of the B.B. King hit "Rock Me Baby" and an ultra-fast revision of Howlin Wolf's blues classic, "Killing Floor".

Are You Experienced?

Main article: Are You Experienced (album)

Cover of Are You Experienced?

The first Jimi Hendrix Experience album, Are You Experienced, was released in the United Kingdom on May 12, 1967. It contained no previous UK singles or any B sides ("Hey Joe/Stone Free", "Purple Haze/51st Anniversary" and "The Wind Cries Mary/Highway Chile"). Only The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band prevented Are You Experienced from reaching No. 1 on the UK charts.

At this time, the Experience extensively toured the United Kingdom and parts of Europe. This allowed Hendrix to develop his stage presence, which reached a high point on March 31, 1967, when he set his guitar on fire. Later, after causing damage to amplifiers and other stage equipment at his shows, Rank Theatre management warned him to "tone down" his stage act. On June 4, 1967, the Experience played their last show in England, at London's Saville Theatre, before heading off to America. The Sgt. Pepper's album had just been released on June 1st and two Beatles (Paul McCartney and George Harrison) were in attendance, along with a roll call of other UK rock stardom: Brian Epstein, Eric Clapton, Spencer Davis, Jack Bruce, and pop singer Lulu. Jimi chose to open the show with his own rendition of "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band", crafted minutes before taking the stage, much to McCartney's astonishment and delight.

While on tour in Sweden, Hendrix jammed with the duo Hansson & Karlsson and later opened several concerts with their song "Tax Free", also recording a cover of it during the Electric Ladyland sessions.^[43]

Months later, Reprise Records released the US version of Are You Experienced with a new cover by Karl Ferris, removing "Red House," "Remember" and "Can You See Me" to make room for the first three UK single A-sides. Where the UK album kicked off with "Foxy Lady", the American one started with "Purple Haze". The UK and US versions both offered a startling introduction to the Jimi Hendrix Experience, and the album was a blueprint for what had become possible on an electric guitar, basically recorded on (mainly) four track, mixed into mono and only modified at this point by a 'Fuzz' pedal, reverb and a small bit of the experimental 'Octavia' pedal on 'Purple Haze'. A re-mix using the mostly mono backing tracks with the guitar and vocal overdubs separated and occasionally panned to create a stereo mix was also released, only in the USA & Canada .

US success

Although very popular internationally at this time, the Experience had yet to crack America, his first single there having failed to sell.^[44]. Their chance came when Paul McCartney recommended the group to the organizers of the Monterey International Pop Festival. This proved to be a great opportunity for Hendrix, not only because of the large audience present at the event, but also because of the many journalists covering the event that wrote about him. The performances were filmed by D. A. Pennebaker and later shown in some movie theaters around the country in early 1969 as the concert documentary Monterey Pop, which immortalized Hendrix's iconic burning and smashing of his guitar at the finale of his performance.

The opening song was Hendrix' very fast arrangement of Howlin' Wolf's 1965 R&B hit "Killing Floor". He played this frequently from late 1965 through 1968, usually as the opener to his shows. The Monterey performance included an equally lively rendition of BB King's 1964 R&B hit "Rock Me Baby", Billy Roberts' "Hey Joe" and Bob Dylan's 1965 Pop hit "Like a Rolling Stone". The set ended with Hendrix repeating the act that had boosted his profile in the UK (and internationally) with him burning his guitar on stage, then smashing it to bits and tossing pieces out to the audience. This show finally brought Hendrix to the notice of the US public. A large chunk of this guitar was on display along with the other psychedelically painted Stratocaster that Hendrix smashed (but didn't burn) at his farewell concert in England before he left for the US and Monterey, at the Experience Music Project in Seattle.

At the time Hendrix was playing sets in the Scene club in NYC in July 1967, he met Frank Zappa, whose Mothers of Invention were playing the adjacent Garrick Theater, and he was reportedly fascinated by Zappa's recently-purchased wah-wah pedal.^[45] Hendrix immediately bought one from Manny's and starting using it right away on the sessions for both sides of his new single, and slightly later on several jams he played on at Ed Chalpin's studio.^[46]

Following the festival, the Experience played as one of the opening acts for pop group The Monkees on their first American tour. The Monkees asked for Hendrix because they were fans,^{[citation needed]} but their (mostly early teens) audience sometimes did not warm to their act, and he quit the tour after a few dates. Chas Chandler later admitted that being "thrown off".^{[citation needed]} The Monkees tour was engineered to gain maximum media impact and publicity for Hendrix. At the time, a story circulated claiming that Hendrix was removed from the tour because of complaints made by the Daughters of the American Revolution that his stage conduct was "lewd and indecent". Australian journalist Lillian Roxon, accompanying the tour, concocted the story. The claim was repeated in Roxon's 1969 Rock Encyclopedia, but she later admitted it was fabricated.^{[citation needed]}

Meanwhile in Western Europe, Hendrix was also appreciated for his authentic blues renditions as well as his hit singles there and was often recognised for his avant-garde musical ideas, his wild-man image and musical gimmickry (such as playing the guitar with his teeth and behind his back - a major part of the blues/R&B tradition) had faded there, but later plagued him in the US following Monterey, becoming frustrated by the US media and audience when they concentrated on his stage tricks and hit (only outside US) singles.

Axis: Bold as Love

Main article: Axis: Bold as Love

The Jimi Hendrix Experience's second 1967 album, Axis: Bold as Love continued the style established by Are You Experienced, but showcased a profound use of melody, along with his well-known technical virtuosity, with tracks such as "Little Wing" and "If 6 Was 9". The opening track, "EXP", featured a stereo effect in which a ruckus of sound emanating from Jimi's guitar appeared to revolve around the listener, fading out into the distance from the right channel, then returning in on the left. This album marked the first time Hendrix recorded the whole album with his guitar tuned down one half-step, to E♭, which he used exclusively thereafter and was his first to feature the wah-wah pedal.

A mishap almost delayed the album's pre-Christmas release: Hendrix lost the master tape of side one of the LP, leaving it in the back seat of a London taxi. With the release deadline looming, Hendrix, Chas Chandler and engineer Eddie Kramer had to re-mix most of side one in an overnight session, but they couldn't match the lost mix of If 6 was 9. It was only saved by the discovery that bassist Noel Redding had a copy of it on tape, which had to be ironed flat as it was wrinkled.^[47] Hendrix was disappointed that the album had to be finished so quickly and felt it could have been better, given more time. He was also somewhat disappointed with the album's cover art. He had requested a cover that highlighted his Indian heritage, but the British designers who created the cover misunderstood, assuming that he meant the culture of India, not that of Native Americans. The final cover art depicted Hendrix and his Experience bandmates as the Vedic deities Durga and Vishnu, incorporating a portrait of them by Karl Ferris.

The album was released in the UK near the end of their first headlining tour there, after which the pace briefly settled down a bit, it being Christmas. In January 1968 the group went to Sweden for a short tour, and after the first show Hendrix, reportedly after drinking and according to Hendrix his drink being spiked, went berserk and smashed up his hotel room in a rage, injuring his hand and culminating in his arrest. Then on the 6th in Denmark his famous hat was stolen.^[48] The rest of the tour was uneventful, though Hendrix had to spend some time in Sweden waiting for his trial and eventual large fine.^[49]

Electric Ladyland

Main article: Electric Ladyland

Hendrix's third recording, a double album, Electric Ladyland (1968), was a departure from previous efforts. Following his third and penultimate French concert at the Paris Olympia, Hendrix flew to the US to start his first tour there, after two months of this he returned to his Electric Ladyland project at the newly opened Record Plant studios with engineers Eddie Kramer and Gary Kellgren and initially Chas Chandler as producer. As the album's recording progressed, Chas Chandler became so frustrated with Hendrix's perfectionism and with various friends and hangers-on milling about the studio that he decided to sever his professional relationship with Hendrix. Chandler's professional and musical education was very business-oriented, and it taught him that songs should be recorded in a matter of hours, and written with a view to releasing them as singles. His influence over the Experience's first two albums is clear in light of the facts that very few of the tracks are more than four minutes long, that both albums were recorded in a short time, and that most of the songs on both albums conformed to the structure of a typical pop song. However, as Hendrix began developing his own vision and started to assert more control over the artistic process in the studio, Chandler decided to move to other opportunities and ceded overall control to Hendrix. Chandler's departure had a clear impact on the artistic direction that the recording took.

Cover of Electric Ladyland

Hendrix began experimenting with different combinations of musicians and instruments, and modern electronic effects. For example, Dave Mason, Chris Wood, and Steve Winwood from the band Traffic, drummer Buddy Miles and former Bob Dylan organist Al Kooper, among others, were all involved in the recording sessions. This was one of the other reasons that Chandler cited as precipitating his departure. He described how Hendrix went from a disciplined recording regimen to an erratic schedule, which often saw him beginning recording sessions in the middle of the night and with any number of hangers-on.

Chandler also expressed exasperation at the number of times Hendrix would insist on re-recording particular tracks; the song "Gypsy Eyes" was reportedly recorded 43 times. This was also frustrating for bassist Noel Redding, who would often leave the studio to calm himself, only to return and find that Hendrix had recorded the bass parts himself during Redding's absence. The effects of these events can clearly be identified in the album's musical style. On a purely superficial level, the tracks no longer conformed to the standard pop song format, often lacked easily identifiable patterns or sections, and would sometimes lack even a recognizable melody. More particularly, however, the themes that the songs addressed, and the music that Hendrix set out to record, went far beyond anything that he had attempted to achieve before.

Electric Ladyland includes a number of compositions and arrangements for which Hendrix is still remembered. These include "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" as well as Hendrix's rendition of Bob Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower". Hendrix's version was a complete departure from the original, and includes one of the most highly praised guitar arrangements in modern music. It was around this time that Hendrix lived with his girlfriend Kathy Etchingham at her Brook Street home, now the Handel House Museum, in the West End of London.

Throughout the four years of his fame, Hendrix often appeared in impromptu jams with various musicians. A recording exists of Hendrix playing in March 1968 at Steve Paul's Scene Club, in which a rendition of the Beatles' 1966 Revolver album's closing track "Tomorrow Never Knows" is played. The band members remain largely unknown but singer Jim Morrison clearly can be heard contributing a growling, obscenity-laced vocal accompaniment. The band continued to play behind him, and Hendrix can be heard on the tape announcing Morrison's presence and offering him a better microphone. The recording, circulated among Hendrix and Doors collectors, is titled Morrison's Lament. Albums of the recording were sold under various titles (originally Sky High, then Woke Up this Morning and Found Myself Dead), some falsely claiming the presence of Johnny Winter. Johnny Winter has denied, several times, being a participant at that jam session, and to ever having met Morrison^[50].

Breakup of Jimi Hendrix Experience

The Jimi Hendrix Experience performed at London's Royal Albert Hall February 18 and February 24, 1969, two sold-out concerts which became the last British appearance of the band. A Gold and Goldstein-produced film titled "Experience" was also recorded at these two shows, but remains to this day unreleased.

Noel Redding felt increasingly frustrated by the fact that he was not playing his original and favored instrument, the guitar. In 1968, he decided to form his own band "Fat Mattress", which would sometimes open for the Experience (Hendrix would jokingly refer to them as "Thin Pillow"). Redding and Hendrix would begin seeing less and less of each other, which also had an effect in the studio, with Hendrix playing many of the basslines on Electric Ladyland.

Redding was also increasingly uncomfortable with the hysteria surrounding Hendrix's performances. The last Experience concert took place on June 29, 1969 at Barry Fey's Denver Pop Festival, a three-day event held at Denver's Mile High Stadium that was marked by rioting and tear gas. The three bandmates were smuggled out of the venue in the back of a rental truck which was crushed by a mob of fans. The next day, Noel Redding announced that he had quit the Experience.^[51]

Legal troubles

Throughout 1969, Hendrix also experienced a number of legal difficulties. First, a contractual dispute arose in relation to an unfavorable agreement Hendrix had entered into with producer Ed Chalpin long before he became successful. The dispute was resolved when the parties agreed that Hendrix would record an album specifically for Chalpin which would be released under his auspices. This was the genesis of the live album entitled Band of Gypsys. Then on May 3, 1969, Hendrix was arrested at Toronto's Pearson International Airport after heroin and hashish were found in his luggage. Hendrix argued in his trial defense that the drugs were slipped into his bag by a fan without his knowledge, and he was acquitted.

Gypsy Sun and Rainbows

After the departure of Noel Redding from the group, Hendrix rented the eight-bedroom 'Ashokan House' in the hamlet of Boiceville^[52]near Woodstock in upstate New York, where he spent some time through the summer of 1969. Manager Michael Jeffery, who had a house in Woodstock, arranged the stay, with hopes that the respite would produce a new album. To replace Redding as bassist, Hendrix had been rehearsing and recording with Billy Cox, his old and trusted Army buddy, since at least 21 April^[53]. Mitchell was unavailable to help fulfill his last commitment at the time, which was an appearance on The Tonight Show so Hendrix & Cox appeared with session drummer Ed Shaugnessy^[54]. In an effort to expand his sound beyond the power trio format, Hendrix then added rhythm guitarist Larry Lee (another old friend from his R&B days), and percussionists Juma Sultan and Jerry Velez.

He dubbed the new band Gypsy Sun and Rainbows, although this was never formally announced by management. The cohesion of the group in the relaxed, country atmosphere of 'Ashokan House'^[55] inspired fresh material like "Jam Back at the House", "Shokan Sunrise" (posthumous title for untitled jam), "Villanova Junction", and the funk driven centerpieces of Hendrix's post-Experience sound: "Message to Love" and "Izabella".

The band did not last long. After the Woodstock festival (actually 43 miles away in Bethel) they appeared on only two more occasions, at a street benefit in Harlem and in the Salvation club in NYC. Studio recordings of the band can be heard on the MCA Records box set The Jimi Hendrix Experience and on South Saturn Delta.

After the break-up of this band, Hendrix and Cox teamed up with another Hendrix friend, Buddy Miles (formerly with Wilson Pickett and The Electric Flag). They performed a short series of concerts under the name A Band of Gypsys.

Woodstock

Hendrix playing The Star-Spangled Banner, Woodstock, 1969

Hendrix's popularity eventually saw him headline the Woodstock music festival on August 18, 1969.

Due to enormous delays caused by bad weather and other logistical problems, Hendrix did not appear on stage until Monday morning, by which time the audience, which had peaked at over 500,000 people, had been reduced to, at most, 180,000, many of whom merely waited to catch a glimpse of Hendrix before leaving. The band was introduced at the festival as The Jimi Hendrix Experience, but Hendrix quickly corrected this to Gypsy Sun and Rainbows and launched into a two hour set (the longest of his career) which also notably included three songs by Larry Lee and also featured Lee trading solos with Hendrix and Lee soloing while hendrix played rhythm in places. The concert was relatively free of the technical difficulties that frequently plagued Hendrix' concerts, though one of his guitar strings snapped while performing Red House (he kept playing regardless). Although it was apparent that Jimi's new band, not used to playing large audiences and being exhausted after being up all night, occasionally could not keep up with his pace. Despite this, Hendrix managed to deliver a historic performance, which featured his highly-regarded rendition of the "Star-Spangled Banner,"^[56] a solo improvisation which stands as a special symbol of the 1960s era.^[57]

Band of Gypsys

The Gypsy Sun and Rainbows band was short-lived; after two post-Woodstock shows, some studio time, and an appearance on The Dick Cavett Show by just Hendrix, Cox and Mitchell, credited as the "Jimi Hendrix Experience" (with Juma Sultan), Hendrix disbanded the group, but retained bassist Billy Cox. After attending to the successful defense of his drug possession charges in Toronto, Hendrix added drummer Buddy Miles and formed a new trio: the Band of Gypsys. Rehearsing for ten days at Juggy's sound studio, the group gelled quickly and produced a surprising amount of original material, including the lively "Earth Blues", which featured The Ronettes on background vocals. Four memorable concerts on New Year's Eve 1969-70 at Bill Graham's Fillmore East in New York captured several outstanding pieces, including one of Hendrix's greatest live performances: an explosive 12-minute rendition of his anti-war epic Machine Gun. The release of the Band of Gypsys album--the only official live recording sanctioned by and also produced by Jimi (under the name "Heaven Research") brought to an end the contract and legal battles with Ed Chalpin.

The second and final Band of Gypsys appearance occurred one month later (January 28, 1970) at a twelve-act show in Madison Square Garden dubbed the Winter Festival for Peace. Similar to Woodstock, set delays forced Hendrix to take the stage at an inopportune 3am, only this time he was obviously high on drugs and in no shape to play. He belted out a dismal rendition of "Who Knows" before snapping a vulgar response at a woman who shouted a request for "Foxy Lady". He lasted halfway through a second song, then simply stopped playing, telling the audience: "That's what happens when earth fucks with space—never forget that". He then sat quietly on the stage until staffers escorted him away. Various explanations have been offered to explain this bizarre scene—Buddy Miles claimed that manager Michael Jeffery dosed Hendrix with LSD in an effort to sabotage the current band and bring about the return of the Experience lineup; blues legend Johnny Winter said it was Hendrix's girlfriend Devon Wilson who spiked his drink with drugs for unknown reasons.

Cry of Love band

Jeffery's reaction to the botched Band of Gypsys show was swift and firm; he immediately fired Buddy Miles and Billy Cox, then rushed Mitch Mitchell and Noel Redding over from England to begin press for the upcoming tour dates as a reunited Jimi Hendrix Experience. Before the tour began however, Jimi fired Redding from the band and reinstated Billy Cox. Fans refer to this final Hendrix/Cox/Mitchell lineup as the Cry of Love band, named after the tour.

Two of Hendrix's later recordings were the lead guitar parts on Old Times Good Times from Stephen Stills' hit eponymous album (1970), and on The Everlasting First from Arthur Lee's new incarnation of 'Love's, not so successful and aptly named LP 'False Start' both tracks were recorded with these old friends on a fleeting visit to London in March 1970, following Kathy Etchinghams marriage.^[58]

The next four months of 1970 was spent recording during the week and playing live on the weekends. "The Cry of Love" tour, begun in April at the LA Forum, was structured to accommodate this pattern. Performances on this tour were occasionally uneven in sound quality, but featured Hendrix, Cox, and Mitchell playing new material alongside extended versions of older recordings. The tour included 30 performances and ended at Honolulu, Hawaii on August 1, 1970. A number of these shows were professionally recorded and produced some of Hendrix's most memorable live performances.

Electric Lady Studios

In 1968, Hendrix and Jeffery had invested jointly in the purchase of the Generation Club in Greenwich Village. Their initial plans to reopen the club were scrapped when the pair decided that the investment would serve them much better as a recording studio. The studio fees for the lengthy Electric Ladyland sessions were astronomical, and Jimi was constantly in search of a recording environment that suited him. In August, 1970, Electric Lady Studios was opened in New York. Hendrix was among the first major music artists to own his own recording studio (the Beatles had opened their Apple studios in London in January 1969).^{[citation needed]}

Designed by architect and acoustician John Storyk, the studio was made specifically for Hendrix, with round windows and a machine capable of generating ambient lighting in a myriad of colors. It was designed to have a relaxing feel to encourage Jimi's creativity, but at the same time provide a professional recording atmosphere. Engineer Eddie Kramer upheld this by refusing to allow any drug use during session work.

Hendrix spent only four weeks recording in Electric Lady, most of which took place while the final phases of construction were still ongoing. An opening party was held on August 26, following a recording/dubbing session that generated his last studio recorded song, Belly Button Window.^{[citation needed]} He then boarded an Air India flight for London (with Billy Cox in tow), joining Mitch Mitchell to perform at the Isle of Wight Festival.

European tour

The group then commenced on a tour of Europe designed to earn money to repay the studio loans, temper Jimi's mounting back taxes and legal fees, and fund the production of his next album, tentatively titled First Rays of The New Rising Sun. Longing for his new studio and creative outlets, the tour was a requirement by Jeffery that the already restless Hendrix was not eager to perform. Audience demands for the older hits and stage trickery that he had long tired of performing only served to worsen his mood. In Aarhus, Hendrix abandoned his show after only two songs, remarking: "I've been dead a long time".

In the months before Hendrix's death, the British music press claimed that Hendrix had plans to join the band Emerson, Lake & Palmer which were prevented only by his death.^[59]

On September 6, 1970, his final concert performance, Hendrix was greeted with some booing and jeering by fans at the Isle of Fehmarn Festival in Germany, due to his non-appearance at the end of the previous nights bill, (due to the torrential rain and risk of electrocution) in a riot-like atmosphere reminiscent of the failed Altamont Festival. Shortly after he left the stage, it went up in flames during the first stage appearance of Ton Steine Scherben. Billy Cox quit the tour and headed home to Memphis, Tennessee, after reportedly being dosed with PCP.

Hendrix retreated to London, where he reached out to Chas Chandler, Eric Burdon, and other friends in a renewed attempt to divorce himself from manager Michael Jeffery. He caught up with Linda Keith, an old flame he still admired, and gave her a brand new black Fender Stratocaster as a token of his appreciation for her discovery efforts years earlier. Included in the guitar case was a stack of letters--all of their mutually written correspondence. Jimi's last public performance was an informal jam at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club in Soho with Burdon and his latest band, War.

One of Hendrix's later recordings was the lead guitar part on Old Times Good Times from Stephen Stills' hit LP eponymous album (1970), a track recorded at London's Island Studios on his previous fleeting visit to London in March.^[60]

Death

In the early morning hours of September 18, 1970, Jimi Hendrix was found dead in the basement flat of the Samarkand Hotel at 22 Lansdowne Crescent in London. Hendrix died amid circumstances which have never been fully explained. He had spent the night with his German girlfriend, Monika Dannemann, and likely died in bed after drinking wine and taking nine Vesperax sleeping pills, then asphyxiating on his own vomit. For years, Dannemann publicly claimed that Hendrix was alive when placed in the back of the ambulance; however, her comments about that morning were often contradictory and confused, varying from interview to interview. Police and ambulance reports reveal that not only was Hendrix dead when they arrived on the scene, but he had been dead for some time, the apartment's front door was wide open, and the apartment itself empty. A poem written by Hendrix that was found in the apartment has led some to believe that he committed suicide.^{[citation needed]} Following a libel case brought in 1996 by Hendrix's long-term British girlfriend Kathy Etchingham, Monika Dannemann committed suicide, though her later lover, Uli Jon Roth, has made accusations of foul play.^[61]

The story by Monika Dannemann that the paramedics escorted Jimi out of the apartment while he was still alive, did not support his head and that as a result he choked on his own vomit and died during the trip to the hospital^[62]has been totally discredited as mentioned above. Reports that Hendrix's tapes of the concept album Black Gold had been stolen from the London flat are in fact wrong: the tapes were handed to Mitch Mitchell by Hendrix at the Isle of Wight Festival three weeks prior to his death.^{[citation needed]} Hendrix's Greenwich Village apartment, however, was indeed plundered by an unknown series of vandals who stole numerous personal items, tapes, and countless pages of lyrics and poems, some of which have resurfaced in the hands of collectors or at auctions.^{[citation needed]}

Hendrix's unfinished album was partly released under the title Cry of Love. The album was well received and peaked at position #3 on US Billboard album chart. However, the album's producers, Mitchell and Kramer, would later complain that they were unable to make use of some tracks at the time. This was due to some tracks being used for Rainbow Bridge and War Heroes for contractual reasons. The Cry of Love album was re-released to include all the tracks that Mitchell and Kramer had wanted to include, and is called First Rays of the New Rising Sun (1997).

Gravesite

The original gravestone of Jimi Hendrix, incorporated into the granite base of his memorial where a large brass statue will someday be installed.

Although Hendrix had verbally requested to be buried in England, his body was returned to Seattle and he was interred in Greenwood Memorial Park, Renton, Washington. Al Hendrix created a five-plot family burial site to include himself, his second wife Akayo June, his adopted daughter Janie, and son Leon. The headstone for Jimi contains a depiction of a Fender Stratocaster guitar, the instrument he was most famed for using —– although the guitar is shown right-side up, and Jimi, being a left-hander, played it upside down.

As the popularity of Hendrix and his music grew over the decades following his death, concerns began to mount over fans damaging the adjoining graves at Greenwood, and the growing extended Hendrix family further prompted Al to create an expanded memorial site separate from other burial sites in the park. The memorial was announced in late 1999, but Al's deteriorating health led to delays. He died two months before its scheduled completion in 2002. Later that year, the remains of Jimi Hendrix, his father Al Hendrix, and grandmother Nora Rose Moore Hendrix were moved to the new site.

The memorial gravesite of Jimi Hendrix in Renton, Washington.

The memorial is an impressive granite dome supported by three pillars under which Jimi Hendrix is interred. Jimi's autograph is inscribed at the base of each pillar, while two stepped entrances and one ramped entrance provide access to the dome's center where the original Stratocaster adorned headstone has been incorporated into a statue pedestal. A granite sundial complete with brass gnomon adjoins the dome, along with over 50 family plots that surround the central structure, half of which are currently adorned with raised granite headstones.

To date, the memorial remains incomplete: brass accents for the dome and a large brass statue of Hendrix were announced as being under construction in Italy, but since 2002, no information as to the status of the project has been revealed to the public. In addition, a memorial statue of Jimi playing a Stratocaster stands near the corner of Broadway and Pine Streets in Seattle.

In May 2006 Seattle honored the music, artistry and legacy of Jimi Hendrix with the naming of a new park near Seattle's historic Colman School in the heart of the Central District.^[63]

Personality

Fashion

Hendrix was well known for his unique sense of fashion, and strived to perfect his hairstyle and wardrobe almost to the point of obsession. A set of hair curlers was one of the few possessions that travelled with him to England upon his discovery in 1966. When his first advance check arrived, Hendrix immediately took to the streets of London in search of clothing at famous fashion haunts like I Was Lord Kitchener's Valet, where he purchased an old Hussar's military dress jacket adorned with tasseled ropes. A traffic warden once ordered him to remove the jacket, citing it as an offense to the Queen.

Many photographs of Hendrix show him wearing various rings, medallions, and brooches, and Hendrix often peppered his attire with pins that professed his support for the hippie movement or his fascination with folk singer Bob Dylan. In late 1967 he started to wear a wide brimmed, Western style hat, (brand name - 'The Westerner') adorned with a narrow purple band and various brooches, - see original Jimi plays Monterey video with clip of him playing Olympia in London Dec 1967 - which was stolen in 1968, and replaced later with another, crowned with a longer purple scarf and a set of silver bangles, sometimes with an angled feather. http://www.empsfm.org/exhibitions/index.asp?categoryID=20&ccID=50, not a Bowler, or a Trilby, as simple comparative glance at these links will testify. His only vacation, a two week trip to Morocco with friends Colette Mimram and Deering Howe, deeply affected his sense of art and style, and upon his return Hendrix filled his Greenwich Village apartment with Moroccan art and decor. Mimram and Stella Benabou (Douglas), the ex-wife of producer Alan Douglas, created some of Hendrix's most memorable attire: the blue, shortened kimono style jacket. (A quick look at the link will dispel the myth that it was a dashiki) he wore on the Dick Cavett Show, and the white fringed jacket ornamented with blue glass beads, that he wore at Woodstock. Hendrix wore a green kaftan not it seems a dashiki for his interview & photos in Harlem, just prior to the Gypsy Sun and Rainbows street benifit, there - see photo in Electric Gypsy, Shapiro & Glebeek, page 392.

Politics and racism

Even after achieving worldwide success as a musician, Hendrix could not avoid experiences of racism, which was omnipresent whenever he returned to the Southern United States.

Hendrix was also shunned by much of the black community for playing "white music" and for having white musicians in his band. Weeks after Woodstock, his performance at a Harlem block party became a harrowing experience. Within seconds of arriving at the site, his guitar was stolen from the back seat of his car by two youths. When he appeared stageside to watch the early acts with his girlfriend Carmen Borrero (a Puerto-Rican model), the crowd verbally harassed the pair. When he appeared on stage, eggs were thrown from the crowd. After the show, drummer Mitch Mitchell and roadie Eric Barrett were physically assaulted while dismantling their set.

Hendrix was also constantly harassed by various civil rights oriented activist and extremist groups who wished to use his fame to further their own message or cause. The Black Panthers even went as far as posting signs for his appearance at a benefit concert that Hendrix never even knew existed.

Drug use

Hendrix is widely known for and associated with the use of hallucinogenic drugs, most notably LSD. A common opinion is that Jimi's use of LSD was integral in unlocking his creative process. He had never taken hallucinogens until the night he met Linda Keith, but likely experimented with other drugs in years prior. Various forms of sleeping pills and speed fueled his "stop and go" lifestyle throughout his career, and pictures exist of Hendrix smoking marijuana.

Jimi was also notorious among friends and bandmates for sometimes becoming angry and violent when he drank alcohol. Kathy Etchingham spoke of an incident that took place in a London pub in which an intoxicated Hendrix beat her with a public telephone handset because he thought she was calling another man on the pay phone. Alcohol was also cited as the cause of Hendrix's 1968 rampage that destroyed a Stockholm hotel room and led to his arrest. Musician Paul Caruso's friendship with Hendrix ended in 1970 when Jimi punched him during an alcohol-fueled argument.

The most controversial topic however, concerns his alleged use of heroin. The Hendrix family, along with a portion of his friends and biographers, emphatically maintains that Hendrix was never a heroin user, citing his irrational fear of needles. This condition was never medically diagnosed in Hendrix. A toxicology report prepared shortly after his death found no heroin in his body, nor were there any marks from needles.^[64]

Legacy

Hendrix synthesized many styles in creating his musical voice and his guitar style was unique, later to be abundantly imitated by others. Despite his hectic touring schedule and notorious perfectionism, he was a prolific recording artist and left behind more than 300 unreleased recordings.

His career and ill-timed death has grouped him with Brian Jones, Janis Joplin, and Jim Morrison as one of contemporary music's tragic "three J's", iconic '60s rock stars that suffered drug-related deaths at age 27 within months of each other, leaving legacies in death that have eclipsed the popularity and influence they experienced during their lifetimes.

Musically, Hendrix did much to further the development of the electric guitar repertoire. He moved the instrument to a higher level, establishing it as a unique sonic source, rather than merely an amplified version of the acoustic guitar. Likewise, his feedback and fuzz-laden soloing moved guitar distortion well beyond mere novelty, incorporating effects pedals and units (most notably the wah-wah pedal) with dramatic results.

Hendrix affected popular music with similar profundity; along with earlier bands such as The Who and Cream, he established a sonically heavy yet technically proficient bent to rock music as a whole, significantly furthering the development of hard rock and paving the way for heavy metal. He took blues to another level. His music has also had a great influence on funk and the development of funk rock especially through the guitarists Ernie Isley of The Isley Brothers and Eddie Hazel of Funkadelic, Prince and Jesse Johnson of The Time. His influence even extends to many hip hop artists, including ?uestlove, Chuck D of Public Enemy, Ice-T (who covered "Hey Joe" with his heavy metal band Body Count), El-P and Wyclef Jean. Miles Davis was also deeply impressed by Hendrix and compared his improvisational skills with those of saxophonist John Coltrane,^[65] and Davis would later want guitarists in his bands to emulate Hendrix.^[66] Hendrix was ranked number 3 on VH1's 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock behind Black Sabbath at the second spot, and Led Zeppelin, ranked number one. Hendrix was ranked number 3 on VH1's list of 100 Best Pop Artists of all time, behind the Rolling Stones and the Beatles. He has been voted by Rolling Stone, Guitar World, and a number of other magazines and polls as the best electric guitarist of all time.

In 1992, Hendrix was awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

Financial legacy

When Al Hendrix died of congestive heart failure in 2002, his will stipulated that Experience Hendrix, LLC was to exist as a trust designed to distribute profits to a list of Hendrix family beneficiaries. Upon his death, it was revealed that Al had signed a revision to his will which removed Jimi's brother Leon Hendrix as a beneficiary. A 2004 probate lawsuit merged Leon's challenge to the will with charges from other Hendrix family beneficiaries that Janie Hendrix Al's adopted daughter was improperly handling the company finances. The suit argued that Janie and a cousin of Jimi Hendrix' (Robert Hendrix) paid themselves exorbitant salaries and covered their own mortgages and personal expenses from the company's coffers while the beneficiaries went without payment and the Hendrix gravesite in Renton went uncompleted.

Janie and Robert's defense was that the company was not profitable yet, and that their salary and benefits were justified given the work that they put into running the company. Leon charged that Janie bilked Al Hendrix, then old and frail, into signing the revised will, and sought to have the previous will reinstated. The defense argued that Al willingly removed Leon from his will because of Leon's problems with alcohol and gambling. In early 2005, presiding judge Jeffrey Ramsdell handed down a ruling that left the final will intact, but replaced Janie and Robert's role at the financial helm of Experience Hendrix with an independent trustee. To date, the gravesite of Jimi Hendrix remains incomplete.

The Jimi Hendrix Foundation

In 1987, Leon Hendrix and some fans of Hendrix, commissioned the James (Jimi) Marshall Hendrix Foundation. This foundation is based in Renton, Washington. In August, 2006 a child-hood friend of Jimi Hendrix - James (Jimmy) Williams took control of the Foundation. It would appear that it has done very little.^[67] There is also a warning against doing any business with said foundation posted on the Univibes site.

Guitar legacy

Fender Stratocaster

Hendrix owned and used a variety of guitars during his career. His guitar of choice however, and the instrument that became most associated with him, was the Fender Stratocaster, or "Strat". He bought his first Stratocaster in 1965 and thereafter used it almost exclusively for his stage performances and recordings.

Hendrix's emergence coincided with the lifting of post-war import restrictions (imposed in many British Commonwealth countries), which made the instrument much more available, and after its initial popularizers Buddy Holly and Hank B. Marvin, Hendrix arguably did more than any other player to make the Stratocaster the biggest-selling electric guitar in history. Before his arrival in the UK, most top players used Gibson and Rickenbacker models. After Hendrix, many leading guitarists including Jeff Beck, Ritchie Blackmore and Eric Clapton switched to the Stratocaster. Hendrix bought dozens of Strats and gave many away as gifts, including one to ZZ Top guitarist Billy Gibbons, although a former ZZ Top roadie claimed this was one of Gibbons' many made-up stories to the press. Many others were stolen, and a few were destroyed during his notorious guitar-burning finales. The original sunburst Stratocaster that Hendrix burnt and broke the neck off at the Astoria in 1967, and that he kept as a souvenir, was given to Frank Zappa by a Hendrix roadie at the 1968 Miami Pop Festival. Zappa assumed it was the one Hendrix had played there, hence his statements as to this^[68], he had it hanging on a wall in his basement for years. He posed for the cover of Guitar Player holding this instrument, and recent news and an image of the refurbished instrument are available in the August 2006 issue of the magazine.

The Strat's easy action and narrow neck were also ideally suited to Hendrix's evolving style and enhanced his tremendous dexterity: Hendrix's hands were large enough to fret across all six strings with his thumb, and he could play lead and rhythm parts simultaneously. Another remarkable fact about Hendrix is that he was left-handed, yet used right-handed guitars, playing them upside-down but re-strung for playing left-handed, so that the heavier strings were in their standard position at the top of the neck.^[69] He preferred this layout because the tremolo arm and volume and tone controls were more easily accessible above the strings, but it also had an important effect on the sound of his guitar: because of the stagger of the pickups' pole pieces, his lowest string had a bright sound while his highest string had a mellow sound—the opposite of the Strat's intended design.^[70] This effect was exaggerated by the slant of the Strat's bridge pickup.

A new Stratocaster model (with a wide headstock) was launched in late 1968, and as the cohesion of the Experience began to deteriorate, Hendrix wished to vary his playing and his repertoire with this new design. Choosing Stratocasters with a light-tone maple fretboard (supposedly giving a "brighter" sound than the "darker" rosewood), he wanted to balance the high-power play with further versatility and velocity, so in early 1969, he opted for heavy-gauge strings which he combined with a tuning lowered a half-step from normal pitch, a technique which he picked up from Albert King in 1966. This enhanced the possibilities offered by the interlaced rhythm and solos during the Olmstead Studios sessions of April 1969. Later on tour, this stringing caused the drawback of more frequent losses in tuning after pushing down (or pulling) the tremolo bar; Hendrix would often ask the audience for a "minute to tune up" several times during the same concert.

In addition to Fender Stratocasters, Hendrix was also photographed playing Fender Jaguars, Gretsch Corvette, Duosonics and Jazzmasters, and Gibson Les Paul Customs and SGs (and in his pre- solo career, he was seen with an Ibanez Rhythm Guitar, very similar to today's Ibanez Jetking^[71]). Jimi used a white Gibson SG Custom for his performance on the Dick Cavett show in the summer of 1969, and the Isle of Wight film shows him playing a Gibson Flying V. While Jimi owned a number of Flying Vs throughout his career (included a black model with hand-painted designs by Hendrix), the Flying V used at the Isle of Wight was a unique left-handed guitar. Custom ordered from Gibson, Jimi's example featured gold hardware, a bound fingerboard and "split-diamond" fret markers that were not found on other 60s-era Flying Vs.

On December 4, 2006, one of Hendrix's custom 1968 Fender Stratocaster guitars with a sunburst design was sold at a Christie's auction for USD$168,000.^[72]

Amplifiers and effects

Hendrix was a catalyst in the development of modern guitar amplification and guitar effects. His high-energy stage act and the blistering volume at which he played required robust and powerful amplifiers. For the first few rehearsals he used Vox and Fender amplifiers. Sitting in with Cream, Hendrix played through a new range of high-powered guitar amps being made by London drummer turned audio engineer Jim Marshall; they proved perfect for his needs. Along with the Strat, the Marshall stack and Marshall amplifiers were crucial in shaping his heavily overdriven sound, enabling him to master the creative use of feedback as a musical effect, and his exclusive use of this brand soon made it the most popular amplifier in rock music.

The sound of Hendrix's recordings seemed to have progressively changed from the "sharp edge" of 1966 and 1967 to the warmer sounds of 1969 and 1970. The first two albums were recorded in England with his British-made Marshall amps operating at 240 volts/50 Hertz. He then recorded in the US (beginning in May 1968 on Electric Ladyland), under 110 volts/60 Hertz.^{[citation needed]} The evolution in the Stratocasters used (pre-1968 versus post-1968 models) may have contributed to this change as well. Weather conditions may also have had an effect on his amps: the warm sound of Woodstock contrasts to the "edgy" sound of the Isle of Wight recordings. During the Isle of Wight video Hendrix has numerous equipment problems, during "All Along the Watchtower" his wah pedal squeals at a high pitch instead of functioning normally, after struggling with it during a solo Hendrix can be clearly seen to turn toward the camera and his support crew and say "wah wah, get me another wah wah" as the show progresses further pieces of equipment are replaced.^[disputed]Both Fender Stratocasters and Marshall amps were evolving to a more edgy sound, the Marshall amps in particular went through numerous electronic changes between 1966 and 1970 with the 1970 amp having considerably more treble edge than the earlier units. These supposed sound changes are more likely caused by the erratic performance of Arbiter Fuzz Face units which were highly inconsistent, and subject to changes in tone due to both temperature and battery conditions. As Hendrix's recording career progressed he made greater use of customized and custom voiced fuzz units or reworked Fuzz Faces. In contrast the first albums were made under more basic, low budget conditions with less time spent obtaining guitar sounds and effects.

Hendrix constantly looked for new guitar effects. He was one of the first guitarists to move past simple gimmickry and to exploit the full expressive possibilities of electronic effects such as the Arbiter Fuzz Face and wah-wah pedal. He had a fruitful association with engineer Roger Mayer who later went on to make, the Axis fuzz unit, the Octavia octave doubler and several other devices based on units Mayer had created or tweeked for Hendrix. The Japanese made Univibe was another effect and is particularly interesting, designed to electronically simulate the modulation effects of the rotating Leslie speaker it provided a rich phasing sound with a speed control pedal. The Band of Gypsies track "Machine Gun" higlights use of the univibe, octavia and fuzz face pedals.

It should be noted that while Jimi never used an Electro-Harmonix Big Muff, he did try out prototypes before he died and the tone of the pedal was modeled after Hendrix's tone.^{[citation needed]}

The Hendrix sound combined high volume and high power, feedback manipulation, and a range of cutting-edge guitar effects. He was also known for his trick playing, which included playing with only his right (fretting) hand, using his teeth or playing behind his back, although he soon grew tired of audience demands to perform these tricks. Hendrix had large hands and used his thumb almost constantly to fret bass notes, leaving his fingers free to play melodic fills on top. A clear demonstration of this technique can be witnessed in the Woodstock video, during the song Red House there are excellent closeups of Hendrix fretting hand.

Discography

Main article: Jimi Hendrix discography

The albums released during Hendrix' lifetime.

Studio albums

Release Year	Album	US Chart	UK Chart	Notable Songs
1967	Are You Experienced	#5	#2	"Purple Haze" "Manic Depression" "Fire" "Foxy Lady" "Hey Joe" "The Wind Cries Mary"
1967	Axis: Bold as Love	#3	#5	"Bold as Love" "Castles Made of Sand" "If 6 Was 9" "Little Wing" "Spanish Castle Magic"
1968	Electric Ladyland	#1	#5	"Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" "Crosstown Traffic" "All Along the Watchtower" "Gypsy Eyes" "Burning of the Midnight Lamp" "1983... (A Merman I Should Turn to Be)"

Live albums

Release Year	Album	US Chart	UK Chart	Venue	Notable Performances
1970	Band of Gypsys	#5	#5	Bill Graham's Fillmore East Auditorium New York City December 31, 1970 January 1 (Two shows)	"Machine Gun" "Power of Soul" "Message to Love"

See also

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Jimi Hendrix

Visit the Guitar Portal

• Jimi Hendrix discography
• Rainbow Bridge concert (Maui, Hawaii, 1970)
• Electric Lady Studios
• Eire Apparent

References

1. ^ The Jimi Hendrix Experience. Induction Year: 1992. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, Inc.. Retrieved on 2007-09-19.
2. ^ Shadwick, Keith (November 2003). Jimi Hendrix, Musician. Hal Leonard, p. 92. ISBN 0879307641.
3. ^ The Making Of Are You Experienced by Sean Egan, A Cappella books, 2002, interview with Lonnie Youngblood
4. ^ Jimi Hendrix, Musician by Keith Shadwick, Backbeat books 2003, page 39
5. ^ :blues CD, MCA, sleeve notes by Jeff Hannusch, page 2
6. ^ A Film About Jimi Hendrix deluxe ed. DVD,Warner Bros. sp. feat: From The Ukelele to the Strat, Faye Pridgeon Interview
7. ^ Mary Willix, voices from home 195, pages 28, 38, 73
8. ^ Carlos Santana on Jimi Hendrix. UniVibes (February 1995). Retrieved on 2007-09-18.
9. ^ The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time. Rolling Stone (August 27, 2003).
10. ^ Steven Roby (2002). Black Gold: The Lost Archives of Jimi Hendrix. Billboard Books. ISBN 0-8230-7854-X.
11. ^ Hendrix, James A. (1999). My Son Jimi. AlJas Enterprises.
12. ^ Vital Event Index. BC Archives. Retrieved on 2008-01-16.
13. ^ Deloria, Philip (2002), "Voodoo Child: Jimi Hendrix and the Politics of Race in the Sixties", in Inglis, Ian & Doyle, Michael William, Imagine Nation: The American Counterculture of the 1960s and '70s, New York: Routledge., pp. 192, ISBN 0-415-93039-1
14. ^ Jimi Hendrix & Elvis Presley. Elvis Australia (2007-12-27). Retrieved on 2008-02-13.
15. ^ J. A. Hendrix, 1999, My Son Jimi, p. 113.
16. ^ Shapiro, Harry; Caesar Glebbeek (1990). Jimi Hendrix. Electric Gypsy. W. Heinemann Ltd., 36-37.
17. ^ J. A. Hendrix, 1999, My Son Jimi, p. 126.
18. ^ Jimi's Private Parts. The Smoking Gun.
19. ^ Prato, Greg. Billy Cox. Biography. Allmusicguide.com. Retrieved on 2008-02-12.
20. ^ Shapiro, Harry; Caesar Glebbeek (1990). Jimi Hendrix. Electric Gypsy. W. Heinemann Ltd., 61.
21. ^ Dick Cavett. Jimi Hendrix. The Dick Cavett Show [DVD]. Universal Island.
22. ^ Climbing Aboard 'Night Train to Nashville'. Country Music Television (2004).
23. ^ Woodstock DVD interview with Lee & Cox
24. ^ "A Film About Jimi Hendrix" DVD Cox interview
25. ^ (1990) Electric Gysy. W. Heinemann.
26. ^ univibes 2005
27. ^ Caesar Glebeek (2005). "Univibes #5".
28. ^ Shadwick, Jimi Hendrix musician, page 50
29. ^ Joe Boyd (1973). A Film About Jimi Hendrix. Warner Brothers.
30. ^ Shadwick, Jimi Hendrix musician, page 50
31. ^ EarlyHendrix > Artists-Confirmed > Little Richard. Retrieved on 2008-02-06.
32. ^ DRC Music Entertainment - Exceptional Music For Any Event - HEAR MUSIC NOW!. Retrieved on 2008-02-06.
33. ^ Jimi Hendrix the studio log (2008 ed.) by Geldeart & Rodham, Jimpress, 2007, page21
34. ^ Shadwick, Jimi Hendrix musician, page 55
35. ^ 45 record label composer credit, My Diary by Arthur Lee, Revis Records, 1964
36. ^ Shadwick, Jimi Hendrix musician, pages 56 &v 57
37. ^ Jimi Hendrix the studio log (2008 ed.) by Geldeart & Rodham, Jimpress, 2007, page 21
38. ^ Shapiro and Glebeek, 1990, Electric Gypsy, p. 95.
39. ^ Kayce, Aaron (2007). Tommy Chong: From Guitar to Bong. Harp. HarpMagazine.com. Retrieved on 2007-09-24.
40. ^ Gary Geldeart & Steve Rodham (2008). Jimi Hendrix The Studio Log. Jimpress, 22-24.
41. ^ Keith Shadwick (2003). Jimi Hendrix, Musician. Backbeat Books, 77.
42. ^ Rotimi Ogunjobi (2006). The Essential Jimi Hendrix. Lulu.com, 15. ISBN 1-41169-923-8.
43. ^ Sing Loffe Sing – The Curious Recording Career of Janne Carlsson. Vinyl Vulture.
44. ^ John McDermott (1995). Jimi Hendrix, Sessions. Little, Brown & Co., 34.
45. ^ Watson, Ben (1996). Frank Zappa: The Negative Dialectics of Poodle Play. St. Martin's Press, 88. ISBN 0312141246.
46. ^ Keith Shadwick (2003). Jimi Hendrix, Musician. Backbeat Books, p. 177.
47. ^ John McDermott (1995). Jimi Hendrix, Sessions. Little, Brown & Co., 45-46.
48. ^ Caesar Glebeek, Univibes #24, 1996, page 23
49. ^ Shapiro & Glebeek (1990). Electric Gypsy. William Heinemann Ltd., 238-240.
50. ^ Univibes #4, Caesar Glebeek, 1991, page 30
51. ^ Bob Wyman. Jimi Hendrix plays The Denver Pop Festival June 29, 1969.
52. ^ Caesar Glebbeek (2004). Univibes, 23.
53. ^ Gary Geldeart & Steve Rodham (2008). The Studio Log (2008 ed), 74.
54. ^ Keith Shadwick (2003). Jimi Hendrix, Musician. Backbeat Books, 191.
55. ^ Glebbeek, 2004, Univibes, p. 23.
56. ^ Jeffries, Vincent (1994). Jimi Hendrix: Woodstock. Allmusic.com. Retrieved on 2008-02-12.
57. ^ Daley, Mark (2006), "Land of the Free. Jimi Hendrix: Woodstock Festival, August 18, 1969", in Inglis, Ian, Performance And Popular Music: History, Place And Time, Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., pp. 57, ISBN 0-754-64057-4
58. ^ Harry Shapiro & Caesar Glebbeek (1990). Electric Gypsy, 420.
59. ^ Emerson, Lake & Palmer official website.
60. ^ Harry Shapiro & Caesar Glebbeek (1990). Electric Gypsy, 420.
61. ^ Official ULI JON ROTH Website.
62. ^ Companion booklet to The Essential Jimi Hendrix Volumes One And Two, 1989, Reprise Records, p. 7.
63. ^ Jimi Hendrix Park. City of Seattle.
64. ^ Cross, 2005, Room Full of Mirrors, p. 336.
65. ^ Davis, Miles; with Quincy Troupe (1989). Miles. The Autobiography. New York: Simon & Schuster, 282-283. ISBN 0 330 31382 7.
66. ^ Davis, with Troupe (1989), Miles, pp. 319-320; 374.
67. ^ Univibes #1, Caesar Glebeek, 1991
68. ^ Univibes #27, 1997, pp. 31-39
69. ^ Shapiro, Harry & Glebbeek, Caesar (1990), Jimi Hendrix. Electric Gypsy, London: William Heinemann Ltd., pp. 37-38, ISBN 0 434 69523 8
70. ^ Wilson, Tom (2004-11-13). Seven Fender Stratocaster Models That Pay Tribute to Jimi Hendrix. Modern Guitars Magazine. Retrieved on 2007-09-23.
71. ^ The sixties ibanez page. Retrieved on 2007-09-25.
72. ^ Hendrix guitar goes for $168K at auction. USA Today (AP) (2006-12-04). Retrieved on 2007-09-18.

Further reading

• Ken Matesich, Jimi Hendrix: A Discography, 1982
• David Stubbs, Jimi Hendrix: Voodoo Child: The Stories Behind Every Song, 2003
• John Kruth, Bright Moments: The Life & Legacy of Rahsaan Roland Kirk, 2004: ISBN 1-56649-105-3
• Brad Tolinski and Ross Halfin, Classic Hendrix: The Ultimate Hendrix Experience, Genesis Publications 2004
• Charles R. Cross, Room Full Of Mirrors: A Biography Of Jimi Hendrix', 2005
• Mark Lewisohn, The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions, Hamlyn 1988: ISBN 0600612074. See pp 164-5 re Apple recording studio.

External links

• Jimpress magazine; Warrington, Cheshire, UK
• Univibes magazine; Popiglio, Italy
• Experience Hendrix magazine; Seattle, USA
• The Jimi Hendrix Foundation - Comissioned by Al and Leon Hendrix
• Official Jimi Hendrix website
• Jimi Hendrix discography at MusicBrainz
• Photo gallery showing rare pictures inside Jimi's first Marshall JTM 45/100 amp
• Jimi Hendrix LIVE
• Official Estate release of the art and lyrics of Jimi Hendrix

[hide] v • d • e Jimi Hendrix

Bands[show] The Jimi Hendrix Experience • Band of Gypsys • The Cry of Love Related bands: The Dirty Mac • Ramatam Personnel[show] Noel Redding • Mitch Mitchell • Billy Cox • Buddy Miles • Larry Lee • Juma Sultan • Jerry Velez Discography[show] Original releases Studio albums: Are You Experienced (1967) • Axis: Bold as Love (1967) • Electric Ladyland (1968) Live albums: Band of Gypsys (1970) Compilations: Smash Hits (1969) Posthumous releases Studio albums: The Cry of Love (1971) • Rainbow Bridge (1971) • War Heroes (1972) • Loose Ends (1973) • Crash Landing (1975) • Midnight Lightning (1975) • Nine to the Universe (1980) Live albums: Monterey International Pop Festival (1970) • "Experience": Original Soundtrack from the Feature Length Motion Picture (1971) • Isle of Wight (1971) • Hendrix in the West (1972) • More "Experience" (1972) • Soundtrack Recordings from the Film "Jimi Hendrix" (1973) • The Jimi Hendrix Concerts (1982) • Jimi Plays Monterey (1986) • Live at Winterland (1987) • Jimi Hendrix: Woodstock (1994) • Live in Denmark (1995) • Live at the Oakland Coliseum (1998) • Woke up this Morning and Found Myself Dead (1998) • Live at the Fillmore East (1999) • Live at Clark University (1999) • Live at Woodstock (1999) • Live in Ottawa (2001) • Blue Wild Angel: Live at the Isle of Wight (2002) • Jimi Hendrix: Live at Berkeley (2003) • Stockholm Concert (2004) • Live at the Isle of Fehmarn (2005) • Live at Monterey (2007) Compilations and box sets: Jimi Hendrix (1972) • The Essential Jimi Hendrix (Vol. 1) (1978) • The Essential Jimi Hendrix (Vol. 2) (1979) • The Singles Album (1983) • Kiss the Sky (1984) • Johnny B. Goode (1986) • Band of Gypsys 2 (1986) • Radio One (1988) • Lifelines: The Jimi Hendrix Story (1990) • Sessions (1991) • Footlights (1991) • Stages (1991) • The Ultimate Experience (1993) • Bleeding Heart (1994) • Blues (1994) • Voodoo Soup (1995) • First Rays of the New Rising Sun (1997) • South Saturn Delta (1997) • BBC Sessions (1998) • Experience Hendrix: The Best of Jimi Hendrix (1998) • The Jimi Hendrix Experience (2000) • Morning Symphony Ideas (2000) • Voodoo Child: The Jimi Hendrix Collection (2001) • The Summer of Love Sessions (2001) • The Baggy's Rehearsal Sessions (2002) • Astro Man (2003) • Martin Scorsese Presents the Blues: Jimi Hendrix (2003) • Axis Outtakes (2003) • Live in Copenhagen (2004) • Hear My Music (2004) • 20th Century Masters Millenium Collection: Best of Jimi Hendrix (2005) • Rainy Day Dream Away (2006) • Burning Desire (2006) • Jimi Hendrix His Greatest Hits (2006) Anticipated releases Black Gold Songs[show] "All Along the Watchtower" • "Angel" • "Astroman" • "Bold as Love" • "Burning of the Midnight Lamp" • "Castles Made of Sand" • "Come On (Let the Good Times Roll)" • "Fire" • "Foxy Lady" • "Freedom" • "Gypsy Eyes" • "Hey Joe" • "I Don't Live Today" • "If 6 Was 9" • "Little Wing" • "Machine Gun" • "Manic Depression" • "My Friend" • "1983... (A Merman I Should Turn to Be)" • "Purple Haze" • "Red House" • "Spanish Castle Magic" • "The Star-Spangled Banner" • "Stone Free" • "Third Stone from the Sun" • "Up from the Skies" • "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" • "Voodoo Chile" • "Wild Thing" • "The Wind Cries Mary" Related articles[show] Electric Lady Studios • Chas Chandler • Michael Jeffery • Monika Dannemann • Stone Free: A Tribute to Jimi Hendrix

Persondata
NAME	Hendrix, James Marshall
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Hendrix, Jimi
SHORT DESCRIPTION	Rock musician
DATE OF BIRTH	November 27, 1942(1942-11-27)
PLACE OF BIRTH	Seattle, Washington
DATE OF DEATH	September 18, 1970
PLACE OF DEATH	London, UK

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimi_Hendrix"

Categories: Articles needing additional references from January 2008 | Semi-protected | All articles with unsourced statements | Articles with unsourced statements since February 2008 | Articles with unsourced statements since June 2007 | Articles with unsourced statements since July 2007 | Articles with unsourced statements since September 2007 | Articles with unsourced statements since October 2007 | Articles with unsourced statements since November 2007 | Articles with unsourced statements since February 2007 | All pages needing cleanup | Articles with disputed statements since August 2007 | Jimi Hendrix | The Jimi Hendrix Experience members | American rock guitarists | American rock singers | African American musicians | Black rock musicians | Washington musicians | American rock singer-songwriters | People associated with the hippie movement | People from Greenwich Village, New York | Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners | Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees | UK Music Hall of Fame inductees | Musical instrument destruction | United States Army soldiers | People of Cherokee descent | People from Seattle | Accidental human deaths in the United States | Cause of death disputed | Drug-related deaths | Alcohol-related deaths | 1942 births | 1970 deaths | American expatriates in the United Kingdom | Down Beat Jazz Hall of Fame inductees