History of Rock
April 28, 2010
Jimi Hendrix Imagine yourself in the late 1960’s when the pop scene began to change. The Beatles had launched the rock world into its second decade, and yet, there were still more creative artists around. Bands like the Beach Boys and the Byrds were at the peak of their careers. They both came out with two of the most innovative singles to ever hit the Top Forty playlists. As rock progressed, a man named Jimi Hendrix merged onto the scene in 1967. Jimi Hendrix (John Allen Hendrix), was born on November 27, 1942 in Seattle, Washington to his mother, Lucille, and his father, Al . Lucille was a full-blooded Indian and was only 17 when she gave birth to Jimi . Jimi had a rough life as a child, as he was a single child being raised by an alcoholic single mother . He had a very poor relationship with his mother because of this . When Jimi’s mother became an alcoholic, he was sent to live with his grandparents in Berkeley, California . His father was currently enlisted in the armed forces, and was serving time in World War II . He often lived off of his relatives and his friends; he knew he could turn to them if he needed help. When his father got back from the war in 1945, he took Jimi back and divorced Lucille. He also changed his son’s name to, James Marshall Hendrix when he was three years old . Jimi had a shady relationship with his mother. Like Jimi Hendrix’s relationship with his mom, His mother’s bond with his father wasn’t much better. This lead to Jimi’s mother leaving the family after the couple had two more children together . After his mother departed, he hardly ever saw her before she died in 1958 . To deal with the struggles at home, Jimi turned to music. He taught himself how to play the guitar, sing, and write songs, and at the age of 14, he became a fan of Elvis. After hearing him perform, he got his own electric guitar . When Jimi was alone he would play guitar with his left hand, which is pretty rare . His father found that playing guitar with the left hand was a sign of the devil . Hendrix had the unusual skill of being able to play guitar with both his left and right hand, which came in handy . Jimi would sometimes audition guitars in music stores, where left handed guitars are not usually found . At the age of 17 Hendrix dropped out of high school and enlisted in the army . He didn’t last very long though. While he was training for a parachute jump, he broke his ankle on the landing . After this he was sent him due to honorable discharge . After leaving the military, Hendrix continued to pursue his music career. He worked as a backup performer on the rhythm and blues circuit . He eventually started his own group which played gigs around the Greenwich Village area in New York City, which he heard about through his friend, Curtis Knight . While in Greenwich, he began using drugs such as marijuana, cocaine, and pep pills .
Linda Keith, girlfriend of Keith Richards (guitarist for The Rolling Stones), was one of Jimi’s biggest fans while he was in Greenwhich . It was her that introduced Chase Chandler, a band manager, to Jimi . After hearing him play Chase asked Jimi to come to London to create his own band, he was hesitant at first . In mid 1966, Jimi was convinced by his owner, Chase Chandler, to tour London . While he was there, Chase made a change to his name from James to Jimi . In London, he joined forces with Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell to create the Jimi Hendrix Experience . In 1967 the band came out with their first single, “Hey Joe”, which was an instant hit in Britain and were followed by a couple other hits such as “Purple Haze” and “The Wind Cried Mary” . Hendrix eventually made American music fans go crazy with his performance at the Monterey Pop Festival in June 1967 . There was a mix-up back stage at the festival, so he was forced to follow The Who . This performance was concluded with Hendrix destroying his guitar and lighting it on fire . Jimi Hendrix continued on with his career with the creation of the albums, “Axis: Bold as Love” and catapulted him to the top of the charts . Jimi’s drug use created tension with his relationships . One of these relationships that fell apart, was the one with Chase Chandler . He quit his managing job in February 1968 . The same year, The Jimi Hendrix Experience came out with “Electric Ladyland”, the bands most successful album . In 1969, bassist Noel Redding left the band and was replaced by Billy Cox, who was an old friend of Jimi’s from the army that he used to rock out with . The new band only had one performance, but it was at the famous Woodstock Festival . The Woodstock Festival, which took place near Bethel, New York, was attended by over 400,000 people . Jimi and his band were assigned to perform the last act of the festival. By the time the last song came around, there were only about 25,000 people there . The reason for this was the heavy use of drugs and alcohol for numerous days in a row . For the last song, he performed his own rock version of “The Star-Spangled Banner” . The footage of this performance was one of the most studied pieces of music film ever . He continued on after Woodstock to create his last two albums, “The Band of Gypsys” and “Cry of Love” . However, Jimi had a drug problem that was starting to catch up with him .
On September 18, 1970, Jimi was staying in a London hotel with his girlfriend, Monika Danneman . Monika left for cigarettes at around 10:20 at night . When she returned she found Jimi collapsed on the ground with vomit all over him . She tried to wake him, but he wouldn’t wake up. Danneman called the hospital, and soon after the ambulance came .
“I will be dead in five years' time, but while I am here, I will travel many highways and I will, of necessity, die at a time when my message of love, peace, and freedom can be shared with people all over the world.” Jimi Hendrix did just that. He left the world as one of the best guitarists of his time. His impact on the rock guitar will be forever heard.