The Rise and Fall of Jimi Hendrix
The Rise and Fall of Jimi HendrixJimi Hendrix, the greatest guitarist in rock history,
revolutionized the sound of rock. In 1967, the Jimi Hendrix
Experience rocked the nation with their first album, Are You
Experienced? Hendrix's life was cut short by the tragedy of drugs in
1970, when he was only twenty seven years old. In these three years
the sound of rock changed greatly, and Hendrix�s guitar playing was a
major influence.
Jimi was born in Seattle, Washington on November 27, 1942. As a
young boy, whenever the chance came, Jimi would try to play along with
his R & B records. However, music was not his life long dream. At
first, the army was. In the late 1950�s, Hendrix enlisted in the
101st Airborne Division. After sustaining a back injury during a
jump, he received a medical discharge. After his army career came to
an abrupt end, he decided to go into the music field. By this time
he had become an accomplished guitarist, and was soon to become known
as the greatest guitarist ever (Stambler, pg. 290).
However, he did not start out at the top. Jimi started
out playing as part of the back-up for small time R & B groups. It
did not take long before his work was in demand with some of the best
known artists in the field, such as B.B. King, Ike and Tina Turner,
Solomon Burke, Jackie Wilson, Littler Richard, Wilson Pickett, and
King Curtis (Clifford, pg. 181). Using the name Jimmy James, he
toured with a bunch of R & B shows, including six months as a member
of James Brown�s Famous Flames (Stambler, pg. 290).
At the Cafe Wha! in New York, in 1966, Hendrix decided to try
singing. Jimi lucked out when a man by the name of Charles �Chas�
Chandler from Eric Burdon's Animals heard him at the club and thought
he was sensational. When Chas heard him again later that year, he
talked Jimi into moving to England where he would really get the
chance to start his career (Stambler, pg. 290).
Along with Chas, Hendrix auditioned some musicians to complete
the new Hendrix group. They choose Mitch Mitchell, a fantastic
drummer, and Noel Redding, one of England's best guitar and bass
players (Stambler, pg. 290). In 1966, at the Olympia in Paris, the
Experience debuted. One year later, the Experience was breaking
attendance records right and left at European clubs. When the Monkees
toured England in 1967, they heard Jimi and liked him. The Monkees
asked Hendrix to join them on their tour through the U.S., and Jimi
was on his way home (Stambler, pg. 290).
"Jimi's erotic stage actions, suggestive lyrics, and guitar-
smashing antics..."...
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