He would have turned 76 today: Jimi Hendrix

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Hat tip, This Day in Rock:

1942 – JIMI HENDRIX IS BORN IN SEATTLE ON THIS DAY IN ROCK MUSIC HISTORY!
Posted on 12:30 PM by ADMIN

Jimi Hendrix



Hendrix performing on the Dutch television show Hoepla in 1967

Background information

Birth name: Johnny Allen Hendrix
Born: November 27, 1942, Seattle, Washington, U.S.
Died: September 18, 1970 (aged 27), Kensington, London, UK
Genres: Rock, psychedelic rock, hard rock, blues, R&B
Occupation(s): Musician, songwriter, producer
Instruments: Guitar, vocals
Years active: 1963–1970
Labels: Track, Barclay, Polydor, Reprise, Capitol
Associated acts: Curtis Knight and the Squires, Jimmy James and the Blue Flames, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Band of Gypsys
Website: jimihendrix.com

James Marshall Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942 – September 18, 1970) was an American rock guitarist, singer, and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most influential electric guitarists in the history of popular music, and one of the most celebrated musicians of the 20th century. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame describes him as "arguably the greatest instrumentalist in the history of rock music".

Born in Seattle, Washington, Hendrix began playing guitar at the age of 15. In 1961, he enlisted in the U.S. Army and trained as a paratrooper in the 101st Airborne Division; he was granted an honorable discharge the following year. Soon afterward, he moved to Clarksville, Tennessee, and began playing gigs on the Chitlin' Circuit, earning a place in the Isley Brothers' backing band and later with Little Richard, with whom he continued to work through mid-1965. He then played with Curtis Knight and the Squires before moving to England in late 1966 after being discovered by Linda Keith, who in turn interested bassist Chas Chandler of the Animals in becoming his first manager. Within months, Hendrix had earned three UK top ten hits with the Jimi Hendrix Experience: "Hey Joe", "Purple Haze", and "The Wind Cries Mary". He achieved fame in the U.S. after his performance at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967, and in 1968 his third and final studio album, Electric Ladyland, reached number one in the U.S.; it was Hendrix's most commercially successful release and his first and only number one album. The world's highest-paid performer, he headlined the Woodstock Festival in 1969 and the Isle of Wight Festival in 1970, before his accidental death from barbiturate-related asphyxia on September 18, 1970, at the age of 27.

Ladies and gentlemen, will you all please take a knee and join us for the National Anthem:

The Troggs were great, but this is exceptional:

[Bradshaw3]

1. Still the greatest ever

Saw him live May 8, 1970, and he was as amazing as one would expect. I've seen many other greats over the years but his show (the second of two that night) was the best I ever attended. The audience was exhausted at the end but Jimi just kept wailing.

A not very high quality 8 track from that show:

[Ptah]

2. All Along The Watchtower

[flotsam]

3. Yeah but Mick Jagger and Steven Tyler

will tell you he'd have been too old to rock and roll...

[thucythucy]

4. I love how he breaks into "Strangers in the Night"

during the solo for "Wild Thing."

Hendrix does Sinatra! And decades before Dylan thought to try it.