JIMI HENDRIX...he was the greatest guitarist ever. He was a guitar genius. What else can I say about this man. He lived like a king and died like a bum.
Hendrix was born in Seattle on November 27 1942. His parents divorced early and lived with his father Al, who was a blues and jazz fan. When Al realized Jimmy was a had talent, he bought him a cheap guitar. In May of 1961, Jimmy left the Army for the army. He was discharged a year later due to injury. During early Sixties, Hendrix played for Little Richard, The Isley Brothers and Sam Cooke.
In 1966, Jimmy went to England where Chas Chandler showed him around. Jimmy also changed the spelling of his name to Jimi. The Jimi Hendrix Experience was formed in October 6, 1996 with Noel Redding at bass and Mitch Mitchell at drums. They quickly put together Hey Joe and it became number 4 on the charts. Jimi was the hottest new name in Britain. A few months later they recorded Purple Haze and The Wind Cries Mary (both of which I can play) and created maximum anticipation for the album. By 1967 the band had been introduced to America. His breakout performance was at the Monterey Pop Festival where in finale he torched his guitar, believing in theory that the finish would burn off and not affect the guitar.
During 1969, Noel Redding left the band along with Mitch Mitchell. Mitchell came back soon after to join the group of musicians Jimi had been collecting. In August, Jimi Hendrix and his Band of Gypsys performed at Woodstock one of the most influential pieces of music. Ripping the National Anthem full of distortion at the height of war, it was a compelling statement. He was also planning on a new album called First Ray of the New Rising Sun.
In 1970, Jimi returned to Englad to care for his bass player, Billy Cox, who had fallen ill. During that time, Jimi stayed with his girlfriend Monika Dannemann. On the night of Thursday, September 17, Jimi took some sleeping pills hoping to sleep through the next day and wake up the day afterwards to go back to the United States. The next morning, Dannemann noticed Hendrix had thrown up during the night. She checked his breathing which was found to be normal. A few hours later, Jimi was dead. He had been working on a song called The Story of Life. The closing lines were:
The story
of life is quicker
than the wink of an eye
The story of love
is hello and goodbye
Until we meet again
