Jimi Hendrix

Members

Jimi Hendrix - Guitar/ Vocals 

DOB: November 27, 1942, Seattle, WA 

DOD: September 18, 1970, London, England

The Jimi Hendrix Experience 

Mitch Mitchell - Drums 

DOB: July 9, 1947, Greenwich, London

DOD: November 12, 2008, Portland, OR

Noel Redding - Bass/ Backing Vocals

DOB: December 25, 1945, Kent, England

DOD: May 11, 2003, County Cork, Ireland

Bio

Jimi Hendrix was born in Seattle, Washington in 1942 and was raised mainly by his father. He began playing guitar at the age of 16 and would soon begin playing in local bands around the city. In 1961, when Hendrix was 19, he joined the army to avoid jail time. He would serve as a paratrooper until 1962 when he was sent home due to an ankle injury sustained from a jump. Soon after, Hendrix would begin touring with several club bands as a backing guitarist. These acts included Little Richard, the Isley brothers and Sam Cooke. He simultaneously fronted a band called Jimmy James and the Blue Flames. It was during a performance with this band that he was discovered by Chas Chandler, former bassist for the British band the Animals. Chandler persuaded Jimi to move to England to begin a new band, which he would front because it was clear that that was where he belonged and not backing other musicians.

Hendrix would form The Jimi Hendrix Experience in London with bassist Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell. The trio released their first album, Are You Experienced, in 1967 and became an overnight sensation. Audiences were in awe at Hendrix’s amazing guitar playing skill, empowering stage presence, and never-before-heard sound. Other greats of the time were impressed as well, including The Beatles, The rolling Stones, The Who, and Eric Clapton, all of whom living or starting out in England. Later that same year, the group made history at the Monterrey Pop Festival. It was Hendrix's first gig in the U.S. since leaving for England the year before. The performance was capped off with Hendirx lighting his guitar aflame. This became a common stunt for the musician after more shows.

Hendrix - Monterrey Pop Festival, 1967

The following year, the band released two studio albums, Axis: Bold as Love and Electric Ladyland, both to critical acclaim and making them all the more popular. The success was short lived, however, because of the mounting pressure of recording and touring. The group would disband in 1969. But Hendrix did not stop making music. In the summer of 1969, He would preform an unforgettable rendition of the Star Spangled Banner on the morning of the final day of the Woodstock Festival, waking up the entire audience. He would continue to record music on his own, experimenting with different effects that other guitarists wouldn't even touch because of how strange they were at the time, becoming a pioneer in that way. He was actually one of the first to use effects pedals, which could be used live without the need of an entire recording studio.

In late 1969, Hendrix would form a new band called Band of Gypsys but they never really gained steam so he eventually began a project with Mitch Mitchell and bassist Billy Cox. Unfortunately, Hendrix would die before anything ever came of the project. On September 18, 1970 died of suffocation due to a drug overdose at the age of 27.

Discography

Studio Albums

• Are You Experienced (1967)
• Axis: Bold as Love (1968)
• Electric Ladyland (1968)

Recommended Songs

• Purple Haze
• Hey Joe
• All Along the Watchtower
• Little Wing (Extended Version)
• Red House (Live Version, Although I prefer the Studio Version)
• Voodoo Child (Slight Return)