A musician who was recognized as the genius of the electric guitar during his lifetime. The most daring inventor of musical innovation, it was he who increased the scale of the possibilities of rock music.

early years

Jimi was born in Seattle, Washington on November 27, 1942. His mother, Lucille Jeter, was recorded as Indian, and his father, Al Hendrix, was from Vancouver at the time of their marriage, Lucille was only 16 years old. His childhood passed quietly and peacefully until his parents decided to dissolve the marriage and live separately. This event shocked young Jimi and led to depression. The boy was saved from self-destruction by his grandmother, who was a participant in a variety show in Vancouver. In her house, for the first time, he felt a love for music and wanted to create something so beautiful himself.

In 1958, his mother passed away trying to distract herself from the grief he buys acoustic guitar... While learning to play the guitar, he listens to records of famous blues performers. Things got more complicated because he was left-handed and had to re-tune his guitar for the left hand. To test his skills in business, he tried several times to perform with local bands. But his stage activity was interrupted due to the arrest, he was detained and accused of stealing a car. Fortunately, the lawyer was able to negotiate with the judge and instead of two years in prison, he was sent to two years of military service. The absolute lack of interest in military affairs was clearly visible in his actions. He lazed or slept all day long and ended up injuring his leg while skydiving. He was demobilized and sent to a military hospital for treatment.

Disclosure of talent

Having completely cured his injury, the guitarist returned to writing music. Together with his friend, he went to Clarksville to play in local clubs. After a short time to create a group and add a harmonious sound to it, they went to Nashville. Here they performed day and night in clubs, where they sometimes stayed overnight. The group performed often in places dominated by black society, as racial differences played a role at the time. In 1964, Jimi moved to New York, changing his stage name to Jimi Hendrix, he began work as a freelance musician. He joins the community with such famous performers as Tina Turner, Sam Cook and The Isley Brothers. After one of the concerts, Linda Keith noticed him. It was difficult for her to accept the fact that such a talented guitarist is still so little known. Keith decided to help Jimi and introduced him to producer Chas Chandler.

In 1965, it was decided to cooperate with Ed Chalpin, but the terms of the contract were not favorable for the guitarist, which in the future served as a source of long lawsuits. Since the summer of 1966, he has been making a steady income at the Cafe Wha? Club. Constant experimentation during performances reveals his early examples of rock, hard rock and musical psychedelic parts. During his free period of work, he collaborated with many guitarists who have achieved success in the field of show business, and all of them unanimously noted the talent of the young man. At one of the concerts, the guitarist met Frank Zappa.

The experimenter introduced Jimi to his new invention of the wah-wah pedal. Hendrix liked the novelty so much that in a fairly short time he learned to use it perfectly. In the future, this instrument became an integral part of all his shows, and it was this pedal that gave the performer his unusual sound. Sometimes the performer was so fond of the game that he began to dance with her and toss an instrument like that in those days no one dared to repeat and this warmed up the atmosphere created by the music even more.

British period

In 1967, the musician went to London and created his band The Jimi Hendrix Experience there. In connection with the creation of the collective, a small concert was arranged in Greenwich Village. Considering the fact that the concert was not mentioned anywhere during its holding, a lot of people who were interested in "good" music gathered. After a short period of time, the group had thousands of fans. The debut signal was the song "Hey Joe", the composition became so popular that it reached the top of the charts. The only competitors were The Beatles, which had their peak of popularity at that time. The sound, reminiscent of a blues-rock symbiosis, conquered the hearts of people more and more. Wasting no time in the same year, another disc was released. Although it aroused much less public interest, the sound was more confident and of high quality.

After one of the concerts, Jimi met his future muse Katie Itchingham. The couple moved in and began to live together in an apartment located in central London. Due to the success and the pressure that he put the musician, he used drugs and alcohol, which badly affected his behavior. Due to one of these mood swings, Hendrix was hospitalized in the middle of one of the concerts with severe burns to his hands. It seemed like a good idea for the performer to set fire to his guitar during the performance. The next album, Axis: Bold as Love, might not come out at the appointed time. The guitarist, while intoxicated, lost the final recording three days before the release. He had to create everything from scratch and rewrite the records over again. The end result was successful, but the musician himself was never happy with it.

Success

Success and fame proved to be an overwhelming burden for Jimi. He drank and used drugs more and more often, practically did not sleep. This state of affairs was bad for his health and behavior. Because of this, while visiting Scandinavia, he, being in a strong intoxication, destroyed a hotel room. The hotel management did not appreciate Hendrix's wild antics, and he was sent to the police station. After the release of the third album "Electric Ladyland", the musician decides to return to his homeland. After working for a short period of time on the creation of a new album, he decides to create his own recording studio. Having bought a building in New York, he created a special design project, the construction of which was completed in the late 70s.

Drinking problems returned and hit the guitarist's mind with renewed vigor. Previously neat and careful, Jimi turned into a chaotic and uncertain person. Working with him brought many problems and stress to those around him. Some refused to cooperate with him knowing that this could lead to a huge amount of wasted time. Even his producer Chas Chandler ran out of patience, he simply transferred his powers to Mike Jeffery and cut all ties with Jimi. The musician's meticulousness became simply unbearable, sometimes he re-recorded one song more than fifty times because the sound seemed to him not ideal. His self-confidence as a singer faded. Those close to Hendrix believe that this was the fault of his producer, who had a bad influence on the performer.

Many suspected Jeffery of cheating the star's royalties, which had a detrimental effect on the relationship with his family, who warned the guitarist about it. Friendly ties in the team deteriorated more and more and in the end it was decided to disband the team. The final performance of The Experience was on June 29 at the pop festival.

Last years

In the spring of 1969, Hendrix was arrested at the Toronto airport, and he was found with a packet of heroin, which was hidden in one of the backpacks. Jimi denied that the drugs belonged to him and was confident that a fan had planted them on him. The investigation was suspended because no drugs were found in the suspect's blood. After paying a deposit of $ 10,000, he continued his trip. Unfortunately, rumors that Jimi was using drugs spread very quickly, causing a wave of condemnation from fans. Soon Hendrix decides to create a new group and continue his musical activities. The goal of the guitarist was a Woodstock Music Festival that would help him recover from a drug situation. At the festival, his group performed many famous compositions, but the highlight of the performance was the national anthem in rock arrangement.

The group did not last long, because of the pressure of his relatives, he had to create a new group, which included only black musicians. In many of his performances, he showed dissatisfaction with the fact that fans did not want to listen to his new songs and always asked to play old songs. For this reason, at his last concert, the fans did not welcome him very well. But the situation quickly improved when the band started playing. Having decided to stay in London, the performer settled in the Samarkand Hotel. The hotel administration received complaints every day about the inappropriate behavior of the guest. On September 18, 1970, the performer died in a hotel room. A talented man died of asphyxiation while sleeping. According to a preliminary report, he was in a state of drug and alcohol intoxication. But according to the pathologist who opened it for a final conclusion, there was not a single gram of toxins in his body. His death is covered with a dense veil of secrecy and it is still difficult to say what the true cause of his sudden death is.

• Jimi was born left-handed, but his father Al tried to get him to play with his right hand, as he believed that left-handedness was associated with the devil. As a result, Jimi played with his right hand with his father, otherwise there was a risk of losing his guitar once and for all. However, when his father left, he turned the guitar over, and as a result was able to master the "upside-down" technique, that is, to play like a left-handed person, but with a guitar tuned for right-handedness. Later, when Jimi began to live alone, he tuned the guitar to his left hand.
• For the same reason, Hendrix wrote with his right hand.
• Jimi could also play with his teeth, bringing the guitar to his mouth
• Jimi Hendrix's posthumous discography includes over 350 recordings.

Awards:

• UK Music Hall of Fame
• Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
• Grammy Lifetime
• Achievement Award

Born Johnny Allen Hendrix, born November 27, 1942 in Seattle, Washington, he later received a different name from his father - James Marshall Hendrix. The man who raised the guitar skill to the rank of high art took the instrument in hand early and learned to play like a man possessed. He was self-taught and was excellent with both right and left hand guitar.

Jimi became familiar with the blues heritage of the American South, learning recordings of numerous artists - from (Robert Johnson) to (B.B. King). While still a schoolboy, he started playing in local R&B groups, which quickly replaced one after another. Higher education was replaced by the army, where Jimi mastered the wisdom of paratrooper service. It was here that he met Billy Cox, a bassist in a peaceful life, with whom he had to meet more than once at different stages of his career. In the meantime, they create a group of King Kasuals, which they will try to reanimate for a short time when they return to civilian life. Hendricks demobilized in July 1962 after injuring his right ankle.

Music becomes the source of existence and the meaning of his life. As a concert guitarist, he travels a lot, accompanying Impressions, Sam Cooke, Valentinos and other bands. He only half used the chance to learn from masters like the Isley Brothers, Little Richard and King Curtis: it was not in his nature to maintain the disciplinary framework for a long time. In any case, the musician has gained vast professional experience, invaluable for his future solo career.

By 1965, Jimi Hendrix was already firmly established in New York. In October, he started to play along with soul singer Curtis Knight and signed a very tough contract with his manager Ed Chalpin. This rash agreement will emerge in the future. And in June 66, Hendrix, who calls himself Jimmy James, formed the Rainflowers group, which he soon renamed Jimmy James and the Blue Flames. The quartet performed occasionally at the Wha Cafe in Greenwich Village, where he was spotted by Chas Chandler, bassist of the disbanding Animals. He convinced Hendrix to move to London and pursue a solo career.

In September 1966, ANIMALS bassist Chas Chandler brought the phenomenal guitarist he had found in the United States to London and began looking for musicians for his future band. And from that moment the countdown began in the history of THE JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE - a group destined to change the face of pop music. The drummer of the new project is Mitch Mitchell, a little-known, but already quite experienced musician, selected from a dozen applicants. The bass player, whose name was Noel Redding, was found by accident. As Mitchell recalled: "He was taken only because he had a decent haircut, and, in general, he did not look like a crook." When the band started rehearsals, it turned out that Noel was holding a bass guitar for almost the first time. Nevertheless, they decided to leave him.

After rehearsing for several weeks, the freshly baked band went to France to warm up the audience for Johnny Holiday's performances. Immediately after returning from this tour, the band recorded their first single, "Hey Joe", which reached # 6 on the charts by early 1967. The next single "" surpassed the success of the first, reaching third place. In the winter of the same year, the debut album "Are You Experienced?" Was recorded, which gave the impression of an exploding bomb. Suffice it to say that according to a critics survey conducted in the UK in the same year, the album came in second place, losing only one point to the legendary "Sgt. Pepper" s "THE BEATLES. By this time, THE EXPERIENCE was already quite well known among connoisseurs, but the managers were not yet sure that the band would "pull" solo performances and constantly "strapped" it to any doubtful, from the point of view of THE EXPERIENCE fans, performers like Engelbert Humperdinck and THE MONKEES.

It was during this period that Jimi especially clearly showed himself as a great showman. He performed in bright, extravagant outfits, which was not quite familiar to the English public (remember the stage costumes of the Beatles or early Pink Floyds). Hendrix demonstrated a virtuoso playing, using spectacular tricks from the arsenal and: he played the guitar with his teeth, elbows, threw it behind his back, making his "Fender Stratocaster" sound unheard of at that time. And on March 31, 1967, at a concert in London's Finsbury Park Astoria, he set his guitar on fire for the first time. All these tricks, coupled with solid material, made THE EXPERIENCE one of the best live bands.

In 1967, the performance at the Monteri Pop Festival was triumphant, and the final song, during which Hendrix burned his guitar, stunned everyone in attendance. The next day, Jimi was already a superstar. (The guitarist's performance at the Monterey Festival was featured in the documentary "Monterey Pop".)

At this time, THE EXPERIENCE had already started recording their second album, "Axis: Bold As Love". The musicians worked on it much longer than on the first one. It was then that friction between the band and Chas Chandler first began over producing the record. Chas insisted on maintaining full control over the recording and mixing process. This did not suit the musicians, who, having already gained some experience in studio work, wanted to define their own sound. At the same time, Jimi and Noel first began to conflict with each other. Noel did not like to be in the studio for a long time and sometimes it happened that he left there in the midst of work. Jimi, on the other hand, was distinguished by his phenomenal efficiency and self-discipline. Sound engineer Eddie Kramer talked about it:

"Jimi used to stick his head out of the booth and ask:" Is everything okay? Are you sure? "I say," Yes, Jimi, this time it worked out just fine, "and he says," Okay, then I'll try again. "And we continued to record takes, each of which was better than the last, but to him they never seemed perfect enough anyway. "

Shortly after finishing work on "Axis", THE EXPERIENCE embarked on a tour of Sweden, where Jimi had his first drug troubles. In Gothenburg, following a pogrom at a hotel by Hendrix, he was detained by the police, disrupting his touring schedule.

In April 1968 at Record Plant Studios in New York, work began on "Electric Ladyland", the band's third album. The recording process lasted until September, breaking all duration records. The main reason for this was that at the same time as the studio, THE EXPERIENCE was on a US tour. “It took a lot of effort from us,” Jimi said, “because we constantly had to go back to what we had already gone through and redo what we had to finish a few days before, and it is always very tiring to record in this way. interrupting work, rushing somewhere, playing concerts, and then getting on a plane and rushing back to the studio. With all this, we wanted our performance to be at the proper level. " By mid-1968, Hendrix's performances became less extravagant, the guitarist focused exclusively on music, experimented a lot in his New York studio "Electric Lady Land", played jam sessions with, with Traffic musicians. It was the protracted sessions that caused the group to break up with Chandler, who slammed the door after one of them, which was especially long. The relationship between Jimi and Noel also escalated to the breaking point. Noel reacted very painfully to the fact that a large number of "guests" took part in the recording, and he was constantly out of work.

But nevertheless, despite all the troubles, by the fall the album was finished and in September 1968 it was released. The result exceeded all expectations. The album was certified Gold in the US a week after its release. Critics were overwhelmed with delight, and public polls regularly ranked Hendrix and THE EXPERIENCE among the top performers. Now, after many years, it has become clear that this album has become the pinnacle of not only the creativity of THE JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE, but of all world rock music in general. It was after the release of "Electric Ladyland" that Hendrix became an iconic figure.

On October 25, the English edition of the album went on sale, the cover of which was decorated with a crowd of naked women (photos of the band members were placed on the envelope of the American edition). According to THE JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE fan club bulletin, Jimi's design "didn't make it to England by the time the print run started. So the guys had to come up with something of their own. They found the idea very funny." Jimi said about this: "People in Britain do not like this cover, and I quite understand them. I myself would never have put this picture there, but it was not up to me. In general, the English cover of this album really brought trouble to the band: the album was even banned from sale in California, no wonder Jimi hated her so much, but this design has since become a symbol of "conceptuality" thanks to a media scandal.

According to photographer Dave King, he conceived her as the exact opposite of the image of a woman cultivated by Playboy magazine:

"the original photograph had all these natural pink tones, but the cheap printing made the image dark, cave-like," and the girls, according to one of them, "looked like old prostitutes."

The unprecedented success of "Electric Ladyland" has transformed THE EXPERIENCE into superstars, and for the first time ever had the opportunity to choose when and where to tour. The band was just snapped up by the promoters: for just one 45-minute performance at the Newport Pop Festival, the musicians received an unheard-of fee of one hundred thousand dollars. They were even invited to perform at the New York Philharmonic - an honor that no rock band has ever received.

The band seemed to be in a golden age, but, as often happens, the high point of the band's career was the beginning of its end. Not the least reason for this was the hysteria that arose around THE EXPERIENCE. Mitch Mitchell talked about the last tour of THE EXPERIENCE this way: “We played all the time in big venues with disgusting sound. If it was our will, we would prefer small clubs where the audience would have a chance to hear at least something, although they seem These guys, for the most part, wanted as much equipment as possible to be crushed and as many guitars as possible to be set on fire. We all started to get sick of it, especially Hendrix. "

In addition, the relationship between Jimi and Noel was already completely ruined. Noel believed that Hendrix undeservedly got all the laurels and did not want to put up with the role of an extra. He started his own band, FAT MATTRESS, and even got them to open up THE EXPERIENCE in Europe. THE JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE's last concert took place in late June 1969 at Mile High Stadium in Denver. After the concert, one of the journalists asked Noel: "What are you doing here? I thought you had already left the band." Noel reacted very violently to this, flew to England and announced his departure from the group.

Mitch played along with Jimi at the Woodstock Festival (the band that accompanied Hendrix was called Electric Sky Church) and at a charity concert, after which they parted ways. Later in the fall, Jimi formed the Band Of Gypsys, which included his army friend Billy Cox on bass and drummer Buddy Miles. The debut of the group took place on the eve of 1970 in the famous New York Hall "Fillmore East" (this concert was recorded on a disc). A few months later, Hendrix, frustrated with his new band BAND OF GYPSYS, attempted to revive THE EXPERIENCE. The musicians gave a press conference, promised a big tour, but then Jimi and Mitch decided to refuse from Noel's servants. Billy Cox is the bassist for the band called CRY OF LOVE. This line-up recorded Jimi Hendrix's last lifetime album, "First Ray of the New Rising Sun". All this time, the guitarist was in great demand. His fellow musicians, the record company, the management team had their own views on him - all had their own ideas about what he should do first. Two years have passed since the release of the third studio album "Electric Ladyland", and although the musician constantly returned to studio work, the release of the long-play was postponed many times. But not only external circumstances were to blame for the fact that the upcoming album stalled for a long time. Hendrix himself added to this. The musician seemed to be in a vicious circle, unable to find permanent musicians, to decide in which direction to move, to bring the recording to its logical conclusion, instead of endlessly jamming. The trio - Hendrix, Mitchell and Cox - toured country after country with concerts shortly before the musician's death. The last performances of the guitarist and singer often became a disappointment for his fans: the expectations of the audience and his own goals were too different. And yet, the final appearance of Jimi Hendrix on the stage in the UK - at the Isle Of Wight festival - according to eyewitnesses, was a breathtaking sight.

The creative destiny of Jimi Hendrix is \u200b\u200binextricably linked with numerous rumors and speculations that haunted him throughout his "stellar" life. If you believe the testimonies of people who closely knew (or claim to know) the musician, then an extremely contradictory portrait is formed from individual stories. First of all, this concerns his state of mind and creative ideas in the last year of his life. According to some critics, Jimi intended to play jazz, according to others, he was attracted by the blues, others believed that he was going to continue what he had begun long ago, while others said that he did not understand what he was doing at all. Everyone who tries to understand the circumstances of his death faces the same discrepancies. Ultimately, the culprit was - as in many cases before and after - the drugs. Hendrix stayed in England and was found dead on the morning of September 18, 1970 in a suite at the Samarkand Hotel in London. He spent the night with his then German girlfriend Monica Dahnemann and died in bed, choking on vomit, after taking 9 sleeping pills. Dahneman noticed that something was wrong with Jimmy, but she was afraid to call an ambulance because of the drugs everywhere in the apartment. Several years later, Dahnemann claimed that Hendrix was still alive when he was transferred to the ambulance, but her comments on the case were highly controversial and varied from interview to interview. In the biography of Hendrix, the ambulance doctor at the time said that by the time Jimmy was taken to the hospital, it was already impossible to save him.

Jimi Hendrix was buried at Greenwood Memorial Park in Renton, Washington, USA, against his wishes to be buried in England.

Jimi Hendrix Memorial (Greenwood Memorial Park in Renton, Washington, USA). Photo - Glenn Watkins, date: 8 April 2007, 11:02

During his 27-year life (he did not live two months to 28) Hendrix left an incredible amount of studio recordings. Much of his legacy, including concert material, was eventually published. Some of the live albums turned out to be exceptional in quality, but when it comes to studio material, there was no unanimity from the very beginning. The first posthumous editions were chaotic (debuting with "The Cry of Love"), and since the mid-70s producer Alan Douglas took control of these projects. He handled Hendrix's legacy fairly freely, re-recording his compositions and supplementing them with new instrumental parts with session musicians. In the eyes of Jimi's loyal fans, it looked like a sacrilege, an encroachment on the very spirit of his work. Until 1995, Douglas did not abandon his attempts, bringing in drummer Bruce Gary (ex-Knack) to record new parts for his last of his lousy compilations "Voodoo Soup". After years of litigation and endless hearings, the right to dispose of the musician's entire creative heritage returned to his father Al Hendrix. This happened only in July 1995.

Jimi Hendrix Memorial (Fehmarn / Schleswig-Holstein, Germany). Photo by Joachim Mullerchen.

With the continued support of Janie Hendrix, Jimi’s half-sister, the late musician’s father formed Experience Hendrix and took care of his son’s archives and catalog. On his behalf, producer John McDermott and sound engineer Eddie Kramer, who worked with Jimi, oversaw the remastering process. They managed to find all the original master copies, including those that had never been processed for release on CD. Finally, in April 1997, on the 30th anniversary of the release of the debut album "Are You Experienced?", Jimi Hendrix's first three albums were released in a new, markedly improved version. Then came the compilation "First Rays of the New Rising Sun" (as the musician was going to name his last album), which was prepared on the basis of the tracklist compiled by the guitarist himself. All new editions followed: collections of the best songs, collections of unreleased tracks, recordings of radio sessions and concerts, including a performance on the Woodstock stage. Experience / MCA Records' almost completely reissued catalog of the outstanding musician in 1997 summed up some of Hendrix's complete works.

In the four years that Jimi Hendrix lived as a world star, he has enriched the vocabulary of guitar technique with so many innovations and improvements that his predecessors never dreamed of. However, the followers too. Hendrix was unparalleled in the ability to extract from his instrument an incredible palette of sounds, often unheard of and completely unexpected. His hurricane sound attacks, decorated with all virtuoso brilliance - he knew how to play, holding the guitar behind his back, clamping it between his legs, setting it on fire and even plucking the strings with his teeth - sometimes overshadowed his composing talent and vocal skill, made it difficult to see in him a performer who subtly feels wide a range of genres: blues, rock, R&B. When Jimi became an international superstar in the blink of an eye in 1967, he seemed like a Martian who had fallen from the sky. But the reality was more prosaic: he had to go through a multi-year course of study, playing in dozens of R&B groups. In the first half of the 60s, he worked with such grandees of rhythm and blues and soul as Little Richard, Isley Brothers, King Curtis, touring and acting as a session musician.

Jimi Hendrix at Woodstock 40 years ago, on monday morning, August 18th, 1969. Photo: © Henry Diltz / Courtesy Rhino Entertainment, pressphoto by Warner Bros. for the publishing of Woodstock 40 "

Audio and video (for information purposes)

Studio albums

Are You Experienced (May 1967)
Axis: Bold as Love (December 1967)
Electric Ladyland (October 1968)

Jimi Hendrix is \u200b\u200bone of the pioneers of virtuoso guitar playing. This man single-handedly managed to expand the understanding of rock music to limitless limits. Today, the performer is considered a real legend of a bygone era. What kind of person was he? What about the cult guitarist's career and personal life? What kind musical works Jimi Hendrix worthy of attention? Read about all this in our article.

Childhood of a musician

Jimi Hendrix was born in Seattle, Washington on November 27, 1942. The father of our hero Al was an ordinary average African American. Lucille's mother was of Indian origin. On the far line, there were Indian and Irish branches in the family of the future star. Such an amazing symbiosis of separate bloodlines and cultural traditions was largely reflected in the formation of the performer's unique guitar style.

Little Jimi Hendrix's parents divorced shortly after the birth of their son. Then the sudden death of the mother occurred. Due to the constant employment of his father, the boy was forced to be in the care of his grandparents almost all the time. The upbringing of the latter had a positive effect on the development of the innate talent of the baby, who began to get involved in high art and creativity. However, the love of playing the guitar was formed in young Jimi Hendrix absolutely spontaneously.

As a teenager, the guy bought a used acoustic instrument for a ludicrous five dollars. The study of the simplest chords followed. Learning the basics of playing the guitar took up almost all of the boy's free time. After a while, Jimi could no longer imagine himself without music.

Conviction and military service

Closer to adulthood, our hero was forced to leave his favorite pastime. The reason was the participation of young Hendrix in the car theft. The guy was convicted and received a prison sentence of two years in prison. However, the useful contacts and experience of a lawyer allowed the young man to avoid imprisonment. Serving in the army became a substitute for harsh punishment.

Grudgingly accepting the verdict, Jimi Hendrix became a member of the US Airborne Division. However, literally a year later he went to the hospital, seriously injuring his leg after an unsuccessful landing during a parachute jump. Due to injury, he was demobilized. Once at home, our hero returned to the development of the skill of playing the guitar.

Career start

Leaving military service behind, the talented musician took on the pseudonym Jimi James, starting to perform at concert venues in Nashville, where he moved with his longtime friend Billy Cox. Young performers began to collaborate with the popular artist Little Richard. However, a creative conflict soon erupted, which forced Hendrix to found his own collective Jimmy James and the Blue Flames.

After playing for some time in nightlife, Jimi began working with musician Chas Chandler, who was a member of the famous rock band Animals. Together they went to London. It was here that the guitarist decided to organize the Jimi Hendrix Experience project. By hiring the skillful drummer Mitch Mitchell and the bassist Noel Redding, the musician was able to fully realize his own hidden potential. Chas Chandler did everything to ensure that the new team took a place on the capital's pop scene as soon as possible. A year later, Jimi Hendrix's songs became the main topic of discussion in the creative circles of London.

The artist's finest hour

In 1967, Jimi Hendrix's group presented their debut album Are You Experienced to a wide audience of listeners. It was during this period that the musician began to attract the attention of the public with his extraordinary antics on stage, setting fire to the guitar while performing solo parts. Getting burned hands did not prevent our hero from starting recording the second album, which was named Axis: Bold as Love. The release of the disc almost fell through, as Jimi lost the recordings of some of the compositions. Musical developments were urgently restored, and at the end of the same year the long-suffering compositions were released.

Soon, rock lovers and respected critics recognized the album Are You Experienced as the most talented and successful work of the late 60s. The virtuoso guitarist at one point became a first-rate show business star. In the British charts, the musician's songs were second only to the most famous recordings of the Beatles. The composition Purple Haze by Jimi Hendrix, which was included in the release of the disc for the American market, was later recognized by the authoritative edition of Rolling Stone as worthy of a list of the hundreds of greatest guitar creations in the history of music. These days the song has the status of one of the anthems of the hippie movement.

Last performance and sudden death

While in the status of a world star, Hendrix began to abuse drugs. The legendary musician made his last appearance on stage at the Isle of Wight festival in London. Jimi went backstage early, being booed by the audience, who did not want to listen to the new compositions of the guitarist.

The interrupted concert was the final in the life of the cult performer. On the morning of September 18, 1970, Hendrix was found lifeless in a hotel room at the Samarkand Hotel in London. According to the guitarist's friend Monica Dahnemann, who also spent the night in the room, the musician took a huge amount of sleeping pills the day before, trying to fall asleep after a hard day. However, Jimi did not manage to wake up.

Films about Jimi Hendrix

In memory of the musician who suddenly passed away, several films were shot. In 2010, the documentary "Jimi Hendrix: Voodoo Child" was released by director Bob Smeaton. The film showcases live recordings, family photos, drawings and archives of the legendary guitarist's correspondence.

In September 2013, the film "Jimi: Everyone is on my side" was demonstrated to the visitors of the Toronto Film Festival. The picture tells about the life and work of a musician at the dawn of his career. The film focuses on the story of the release of the cult LP Are You Experienced.

American rock musician, singer, composer Jimi (Jimmy) Hendrix (Jimi Hendrix) was born on November 27, 1942 in Seattle (Washington, USA) in the family of a soldier of the American army Al Hendrix and was named Johnny Allen. Later, however, his father changed his son's name to James Marshall.

The band performed at coffee shops in New York's bohemian Greenwich Village. During this period, Hendrix met at the New York City Club with former Animals member Chas Chandler, who suggested he move to London and form a group there. Chandler coined the nickname "Jimi Hendrix" for the guitarist.

In the fall of 1966 in London, Jimi formed the Jimi Hendrix Experience (in addition to Hendrix, the trio included drummer Mitch Mitchell and bass player Noel Redding).

Chandler helped the band enter the London pop scene, and within a short time Hendrix became the main topic of conversation in the musical circles of the English capital.

Hendrix's first single Hey Joe, a reworking of a song written by Los Angeles-based band Leaves, topped the UK charts in early 1967 and was soon followed by Purple Haze, The Wind Cries Mary, Fire and the trio's first album Are You Experienced?

At concerts, Hendrix performed in bright extravagant outfits, played the guitar with his teeth and elbows, threw it behind his back. On March 31, 1967, at a concert in London's Finsbury Park Astoria, he set his guitar on fire for the first time, after which he was admitted to the hospital with burns to his hands.

This stage trick was later repeatedly used by him during the performance of the song Fire.

Hendrix's finest hour was the rock festival in Monterey (California, USA) in June 1967, where his trio eclipsed everyone. At the end of 1967, the second album of the group Axis Bold as Love was released.

In early 1968, the band embarked on an American tour with a new album. This trip was the beginning of Hendrix's return to the United States. In 1968, a new album by the group Electric Ladyland, recorded in the USA, appeared.

By mid-1968, the group began to tour less, and the musicians focused on studio work. Hendrix bought a studio in New York and experimented a lot there. A disagreement began in the group, caused by friction between Hendrix and Redding, as well as Jimi's idea of \u200b\u200breuniting with his old friends.

On February 24, 1969, Jimi Hendrix's band performed at London's Albert Hall. The concert was recorded and is considered the last official performance of the band. After that, the group toured for another six months. After a concert in Denver (USA), held at the end of June 1969, Noel Redding left the band.

In 1969, Hendrix started having legal problems. On May 3, 1969, he was arrested at the Toronto airport after heroin was found in his luggage, and was released on $ 10,000 bail.

In August 1969, Jimi performed at the legendary Woodstock Festival (his accompanying group was called the Gypsy Suns & Rainbows), and later formed a new trio, Band Of Gypsys, which included bassist Billy Cox, an army friend of Hendrix, and famous American drummer Buddy Miles.

The band debuted at the Fillmore East in New York.

After some time, an unsuccessful attempt was made to revive The Experience, as a result of which a group, sometimes called Cry Of Love, was formed, which included musicians from two groups The Jimi Hendrix Experience and Band Of Gypsys: Hendrix, Cox and Mitchell. The contract included three tours - in the USA, Europe and Japan.

Jimi Hendrix's posthumous discography includes over 500 albums.

During his lifetime, Hendrix was called the phenomenon and genius of the guitar, who discovered in the instrument an endless source of possibilities for new sound. Critics and admirers of the musician believe that Hendrix.

The material was prepared on the basis of information from RIA Novosti and open sources

Jimi Hendrix (real name James Marshall Hendrix) is a legendary musician who was called a rock classic during his lifetime. His phenomenal guitar playing, as well as his constant search for new sound formats made him one of the brightest stars of his time. Today, the legendary African American is no longer with us, but his musical legacy still continues. A pioneer in many industries, Jimi Hendrix expanded the understanding of rock music and became a true legend of this genre. That is why today we decided to talk about him. What kind of person was he? How did his career develop? Read about all this in our biographical review.

Early years, childhood and family of Jimi Hendrix, first songs

Our hero today was born in a cold and foggy Seattle in the family of Al and Lucille Hendrix. The father of the future musician was African American, and his mother was Indian. In addition, Irish and Native American branches are also traced on the paternal line in the genealogy of Jimi Hendrix. Such a strange symbiosis of blood, cultures and everything connected with them largely determined the unique musical style of the guitarist, and also influenced his usual expressive manner of performance.

In addition, the divorce of his parents, as well as the early death of his mother, had a significant impact on the creative and life path of our today's hero. Due to his father's constant employment, Jimi Hendrix spent most of his childhood with his grandparents. It was they who instilled in the young guy a love for art and creativity. However, our today's hero chose the musical path on his own. As noted in many sources, the future musician chose his guitar work almost by accident. As a teenager, he bought himself an acoustic guitar for five dollars and began to master chords on his own. This lesson fascinated the young guy so much that later he could not imagine his life without guitar music. Having learned to play the guitar well, Jimi Hendrix began performing with several Seattle bands, but very soon he was forced to leave this occupation.

The reason for this was the theft of a car, as well as the subsequent verdict of the court. Initially, the shocking musician was sentenced to two years in prison, but thanks to the skill of a lawyer, the prison sentence was replaced with two years of military service.

Deprived of any other choice, Jimmy went to serve in the airborne division, but a year later he was demobilized and sent to a military hospital with a serious leg injury.

Jimi Hendrix - "Foxey Lady"

After recovering from his injury, Jimi Hendrix began to study music again. Soon he, along with his then friend Billy Cox, moved to Nashville, where he began performing in the local clubs. During this period, he acted as an opening act for such artists as BB King, Curtis Knight, and Little Richard.

Jimi Hendrix's Star Trek, music career

In the mid-sixties, Jimi Hendrix played with several bands and often performed on stage. So, he met many famous musiciansamong them was Chas Chandler (known for his performances with The Animals). It was he who became the first producer of Jimi Hendrix. Together they traveled to London, where they later formed The Jimi Hendrix Experience. After that, the first performances of the group took place, which brought the group great fame.

In 1967, the first album of the ensemble, entitled "Are You Experienced?", Was released. During this period, during one of the performances, Jimi Hendrix set his guitar on fire for the first time, after which he was admitted to the hospital with burns to his hands. Despite this, already a few months later, our today's hero started recording the second studio album "Axis: Bold as Love", the release of which was almost disrupted due to the fact that the musician lost the recording of almost half of the songs. Ultimately, the musical material was restored, and already in December 1967, the band's second album was released.

After the release of these albums, Jimi Hendrix's group went on a tour. At first, Scandinavia became their destination, but later the group gave a number of concerts in Britain and the United States. Having settled in America, Jimi Hendrix in 1968 began recording his third album. During this period, in interviews with many of his acquaintances, admiring responses about the musician's unprecedented perfectionism began to slip through. The musician could record the same guitar part twenty times in order to choose at the end one single option that seemed suitable to him.

In October 1968, Jimi Hendrix's third studio album, Electric Ladyland, was released. From that moment on, the band resumed touring, appearing in London, Denver, and also at the Woodstock festival. This tour could have been even longer, but in May 1969, the musician was detained at a Canadian airport with a large consignment of drugs. This fact became the reason for a long trial, which prevented a number of concerts from being held.

The last performances and the death of the musician, the cause of death of Jimi Hendrix

It is worth noting that drug problems continued to haunt the legendary guitarist. At his last performance at London's Isle of Wight, he left the stage early due to audiences wanting to listen to his old songs while ignoring the new ones. After this episode, Jimmy Hendrix took the stage one more time, however, booed by the audience, he left it again.

That interrupted performance ultimately became the artist's last appearance on stage. On September 18, 1970, he was found dead in a room at the Samarkand Hotel in London. According to his then girlfriend Monica Charlotte Dahneman, who was with the musician at the time of his death, Jimmy died, choking on vomit caused by taking nine sleeping pills. Seeing her friend dying, the girl still did not dare to call an ambulance, since various drugs were scattered around the room at that moment.

After the death of the musician, his friends and acquaintances released about fifteen more concert recordings of the guitarist. Jimi Hendrix's posthumous discography includes over 350 different compositions.