The significance of a musician is not always measured by longevity or album quantity. There are those who have brief careers, yet they leave lasting impressions. And some celebrities will always be enshrined in the pop culture psyche for their intense talent and tragically short lives. Taking a top spot of that list is Jimi Hendrix.
Hendrix is often considered the best guitarist of all time. Determined to do things his own way, he played the right-handed Fender Stratocaster upside down, as a left-hander. He experimented with the electronic properties of the guitar and could create a range of sounds from amplified instruments larger than any other. He was able to control feedback and distortion in ways that previous musicians could not.
Influenced by Delta blues, funk, soul, R&B, free jazz, and acid rock, Hendrix wasn’t pigeonholed into one musical genre. In addition to the hard rock style in “Purple Haze” and “Foxy Lady,” he had ballads in “Little Wing” and “Angel,” and rich blues in “Red House” and “Voodoo Chile.” His stage presence was also celebrated for the sexy demeanor and showmanship, when he’d play the guitar with his teeth or behind his back.
Born Johnny Allen Hendrix in Seattle, Washington on November 27, 1942, he had a difficult childhood, occasionally living with relatives. His mother was only 17 years old when he was born and abandoned the family after having two more kids, leaving his father with custody after the divorce. Hendrix saw her intermittently until she died in 1958. His father refused to take him and his brothers to the funeral, instead offering them shots of whiskey to deal with the loss.
Hendrix liked the blues and rock ‘n roll. He listened to blues artists like B.B. King and rockers like Chuck Berry, Eddie Cochran, and Elvis Presley. During his mid-teens he got his first guitar and taught himself how to play, and soon after was playing in the Rocking Kings and the Tomcats.
He dropped out of high school in 1959 and worked odd jobs while continuing to pursue music. In 1961 he followed in his father’s footsteps and joined the army. While training to become a paratrooper at Fort Ord in California, Hendrix still found time for music. After he left the military in 1963, he moved to Tennessee and formed the King Kasuals (later stylized as King Casuals). Getting more time in the business, he worked as a session musician, playing backup for the likes of Little Richard, B.B. King, Ike and Tina Turner, the Isley Brothers, and Sam Cooke, among others. It was in Tennessee where he started playing with his teeth, which was already a popular gimmick among other bands in that scene.
By 1966 he had formed the group Jimmy James and the Blue Flames, playing in Greenwich Village in New York City. Chas Chandler, a former member of the Animals, became Hendrix’s manager in 1966. He convinced Hendrix to go to London where he joined bassist Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell, forming The Jimi Hendrix Experience.
This full article will appear in The Overstreet Guide to Collecting Concert Posters out in February 2017.
