Monday 18 September 2017

JIMI HENDRIX: THE GREATEST ROCK INSTRUMENTALIST

Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (November 27, 1942-September 18, 1970) was an American rock guitarist, singer, and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most influential electric guitarists in the history of popular music, and one of the most celebrated musicians of the 20th century. 

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame describes him as arguably the greatest instrumentalist in the history of rock music.

More information: The Official Jimi Hendrix Page

Born in Seattle, Washington, Hendrix began playing guitar at the age of 15. In 1961, he enlisted in the U.S. Army and trained as a paratrooper in the 101st Airborne Division; he was granted an honorable discharge the following year. 

Soon afterward, he moved to Clarksville, Tennessee, and began playing gigs on the Chitlin' Circuit, earning a place in the Isley Brothers' backing band and later with Little Richard, with whom he continued to work through mid-1965. He then played with Curtis Knight and the Squires before moving to England in late 1966 after being discovered by Linda Keith, who in turn interested bassist Chas Chandler of the Animals in becoming his first manager. 

Jimi Hendrix
Within months, Hendrix had earned three UK top ten hits with the Jimi Hendrix Experience: Hey Joe, Purple Haze, and The Wind Cries Mary

He achieved fame in the U.S. after his performance at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967, and in 1968 his third and final studio album, Electric Ladyland, reached number one in the U.S.; it was Hendrix's most commercially successful release and his first and only number one album. 

The world's highest-paid performer, he headlined the Woodstock Festival in 1969 and the Isle of Wight Festival in 1970 before his accidental death from barbiturate-related asphyxia on September 18, 1970, at the age of 27.

More information: BBC

Hendrix expanded the range and vocabulary of the electric guitar into areas no musician had ever ventured before. 


Music doesn't lie. If there is something to be changed in this world, then it can only happen through music.

Jimi Hendrix

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