James
Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix
(November 27, 1942 – September 18, 1970)
Widely hailed by music fans and critics alike,
Hendrix is arguably the greatest and most influential electric
guitarist in rock music history.
He achieved worldwide fame in 1967 playing at the Monterey Pop
Festival,
then headlined the iconic 1969 Woodstock Festival before his
sudden death in 1970, at the age of 27.
A self-taught musician, the left-handed Hendrix played a right-handed
Fender Stratocaster
guitar turned upside down and re-strung to suit him.
As a rock guitarist, Hendrix exploited the sonic tools of feedback
and distortion
to an extent that previous pioneers never achieved.
He built upon the innovations and influences of blues stylists
such as
B.B. King, Albert King and Buddy Guy,
derived style from rhythm and blues and soul guitarists Curtis
Mayfield and Cornell Dupree,
as well as that of traditional jazz.
Hendrix was also inspired by rock pioneer Little Richard,
having toured in Richard's back-up band "The Upsetters"
before forming his own rock group in 1966.
Hendrix's
style was unique.
He synthesized many styles in creating his musical voice,
and his guitar playing was truly inimitable and breathtakingly
exciting.
Despite his hectic touring schedule and notorious perfectionism,
he was a prolific recording artist and left behind more than
300 unreleased recordings.
His astonishing career and ill-timed death
has grouped him with Janis Joplin and Jim Morrison
as one of contemporary music's tragic "three J's",
iconic 60's rock stars that suffered drug-related deaths at
age 27 (see The 27 Club) within months of each other,
leaving legacies in death that have eclipsed the popularity
and influence they experienced during their lifetimes.
Musically, Hendrix did perhaps more than any other performer
to further the development of the electric guitar repertoire.
It is without question that he moved the instrument to a higher
level,
establishing it as more than merely an amplified version of
the acoustic guitar.
Likewise, his feedback and fuzz-laden soloing moved guitar distortion
well beyond mere novelty,
popularizing effects pedals and units (most notably the wah-wah
pedal) dramatically.
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 profound 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 Chuck D of Public Enemy, Ice-T (who covered Hey Joe),
El-P and Wyclef Jean.
Hendrix was listed as number 3 on VH1's
list of 100 Best Hard Rockers of all time
behind Black Sabbath at the second spot, and Led Zeppelin who
were ranked number one.
He 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 guitarist
of all time.
Purple
Haze Purple
Haze all through my brain,
lately things don't seem the same,
actin' funny but I don't know why
'scuse me while I kiss the sky.
Purple Haze all around,
don't know if I'm coming up or down.
Am I happy or in misery?
Whatever it is, that girl put a spell on me.
Purple Haze all in my eyes,
don't know if it's day or night,
you've got me blowing, blowing my mind
is it tomorrow or just the end of time?
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 an integral part of his creative process.
He had never taken hallucinogenics 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. (UH-OH
:))
Alcohol was also cited as the cause of Hendrix's 1968 rampage
that destroyed a Stockholm hotel room and led to his arrest.
HEROIN..NOT!
(Media Trash)
The most controversial topic however, concerns his alleged
abuse 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.
Known today as trypanophobia, this condition was never medically
diagnosed in Hendrix,
and snorting or smoking heroin were available (though less
common and less effective) methods of heroin use in Hendrix's
day.
An equally strong number of associates and writers (including
former bandmate Noel Redding) insist that Hendrix did use
heroin.
Some even hint that he was in a withdrawal period when he
died of asphyxiation in September 1970.
A toxicology report prepared shortly after his death found
no heroin in his body, nor were there any marks from needles.
If you can just get your mind together
Uh-then come on across to me
We’ll hold hands and then we’ll
watch the sunrise
From the bottom of the sea
But first, are you experienced?
Uh-have you ever been experienced-uh?
Well, I have
(well) I know, I know, you’ll probably
scream and cry
That your little world won’t let
you go
But who in your measly little world, (-uh)
Are you tryin’ to prove to that you’re
Made out of gold and-uh, can’t be
sold
So-uh, are you experienced?
Have you ever been experienced? (-uh)
Well, I have
Uh, let me prove it to you, yeah
Trumpets and violins I can-uh, hear in
the distance
I think they’re callin’ our
name
Maybe now you can’t hear them,
But you will, ha-ha, if you just
Take hold of my hand
Ohhh, but are you experienced?
Have you ever been experienced?
Not necessarily stoned, but beautiful
Paul McCartney recommended 'The Experience'
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 the performances were
filmed by D. A. Pennebaker
and later shown in movie theaters throughout
the country as the concert documentary
Monterey Pop,
which immortalized Hendrix's iconic burning
and smashing of his guitar at the finale
of his performance. Woodstock
69
Hendrix's popularity eventually saw him
headline the Woodstock music festival
on August 18, 1969.
Although a number of the world's most
talented and popular musicians were invited
to the festival,
including The Who, The Grateful Dead,
and Jefferson Airplane,
Hendrix was considered to be the festival's
main attraction.
The band's $18,000 stipend was the highest
of all Woodstock performers,
and the group was given the top-billing
position, scheduled to perform last on
Sunday night.
Due to enormous delays caused by bad weather
and other logistical problems,
he did not appear on stage until Monday
morning, by which time the audience,
which had peaked at over 500,000 people,
had depleted to at most 180,000 -
many of whom merely waited to catch a
glimpse of Hendrix before leaving.
The group was introduced at the festival
as The Jimi Hendrix Experience,
but Hendrix quickly conveyed the correct
name of the band as Gypsy Sun and Rainbows
and launched into a two hour set (the
longest of his career) that was plagued
with technical difficulties.
Besides suffering microphone level and
guitar tuning problems,
it was also apparent that Jimi's new,
much larger band
was not rehearsed enough, and at times
simply could not keep up with him.
Despite this, Hendrix managed to deliver
a historic performance,
which featured his highly-appreciated
rendition of the
'Star Spangled Banner"
Jimi
Hendrix's "Star Spangled Banner"
Listen Here!! (beta)
performed
by Jimi Hendrix at Woodstock in 1969
Poster's
and Art Prints, T-shirt Galleries Now
Updated
Featuring
Books, CD's, and DVD's
T-Shirt
Galleries
Poster
Galleries
Women's
T's
Provocative
Posters
Shakti's
Previews
Lovers
Market
You
can support 60s
& Further
by shopping at
AllPosters.com
