Jimi Hendrix. Jimi Hendrix Who is Jimmy Hendrix

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

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 of art and creativity. However, our today’s hero chose his musical path independently. As noted in many sources, the future musician chose guitar creativity almost by accident. As a teenager, he bought himself an acoustic guitar for five dollars and began to learn chords on his own. This activity captivated the young guy so much that he subsequently couldn’t imagine his life without guitar music. Having learned to play the guitar well, Jimi Hendrix began performing with several Seattle bands, but very soon was forced to leave this activity.

The reason for everything was the theft of a car, as well as the subsequent court verdict. Initially, the outrageous musician was sentenced to two years in prison, but thanks to the skill of the lawyer, the prison sentence was replaced by 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 making music again. Soon he, along with his then friend Billy Cox, moved to Nashville, where he began performing in clubs there. During this period, he opened for such performers as B.B. King, Curtis Knight, and Little Richard.

Star Trek Jimi Hendrix, music career

In 1967, the ensemble’s first album, entitled “Are You Experienced?”, was released. During this period, during one of his performances, Jimi Hendrix set fire to his guitar for the first time, after which he was admitted to the hospital with burns to his hands. Despite this, a few months later, our today’s hero began recording his 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, the Jimi Hendrix group went on tour. At first their destination was Scandinavia, but subsequently the group gave a number of concerts in Britain and the USA. Having settled in America, Jimi Hendrix began recording his third album in 1968. During this period, in interviews with many of his acquaintances, admiring responses began to slip through about the musician’s unprecedented perfectionism. A musician could record the same guitar part twenty times, so that in the end he could choose 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 group resumed touring again, checking out London, Denver, and 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 shipment of drugs. This fact became the reason for a long trial, which prevented the holding of a number of concerts.

Last performances and death of the musician, cause of death of Jimi Hendrix

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 Daneman, who was with the musician at the time of his death, Jimmy died by choking on vomit caused by taking nine sleeping pills. Seeing how her friend was dying, the girl still did not dare to call an ambulance, since various drugs were scattered throughout 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 more than 350 different compositions.

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

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

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

Chandler helped the band break into the London pop scene, and within a short time Hendrix became the talk of the capital's musical circles.

Hendrix's first single Hey Joe, a reworking of a song written by Los Angeles band Leaves, topped the UK charts early in 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, and threw it behind his back. On March 31, 1967, at a concert in London's Finsbury Park Astoria, he set fire to a guitar for the first time, after which he was hospitalized with burns to his hands.

This stage trick was subsequently used by him several times 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 stole the show. At the end of 1967, the band's second album, Axis Bold as Love, was released.

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

By mid-1968, the group began touring less, and the musicians concentrated on studio work. Hendrix purchased a studio in New York and experimented a lot in it. Disagreements began within the group, caused by friction between Hendrix and Redding, as well as Jimi's idea of ​​teaming up with his old friends.

On February 24, 1969, the Jimi Hendrix Band performed at London's Albert Hall. The concert was recorded and is considered the group's last official performance. 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 group.

In 1969, Hendrix began to have problems with the law. On May 3, 1969, he was arrested at 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 (the band accompanying him was called Gypsy Suns & Rainbows), and later assembled a new trio, Band Of Gypsys, which included Hendrix's army friend, bassist Billy Cox, as well as the famous American drummer Buddy Miles.

The group's debut took place at the Fillmore East in New York.

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

Jimi Hendrix's posthumous discography includes more than 500 albums.

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

The material was prepared based on information from RIA Novosti and open sources

Jimi Hendrix is ​​one of the pioneers of virtuoso guitar playing. This man single-handedly managed to expand the idea of ​​rock music to limitless limits. These days, the performer is considered a true legend of a bygone era. What kind of person was he? What can you say about the career and personal life of the iconic guitarist? What musical works of Jimi Hendrix are worth listening to? Read about all this in our article.

Musician's childhood

Jimi Hendrix was born in Seattle, Washington on November 27, 1942. Our hero's father Al was an ordinary average African American. Lucille's mother was of Indian descent. Along the distant line, there were Indian and Irish branches in the family of the future star. Such an amazing symbiosis of individual bloodlines and cultural traditions largely affected 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 his father’s constant employment, the boy was forced to be in the care of his grandparents almost all the time. The upbringing of the latter had a positive impact on the development of the child’s innate talent, who began to become familiar with high art and creativity. However, young Jimi Hendrix developed a love for playing the guitar absolutely spontaneously.

As a teenager, the guy purchased a used acoustic instrument for a ridiculous five dollars. The study of the simplest chords followed. Understanding 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.

Criminal record 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 theft of a car. The guy was convicted and received a prison sentence of two years. However, useful connections and the experience of a lawyer allowed the young man to avoid imprisonment. A substitute for severe punishment was military service.

Reluctantly 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 again returned to developing his guitar skills.

Career start

Having left his military service behind, the talented musician took the pseudonym Jimi James and began performing 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 arose, which forced Hendrix to found his own band, Jimmy James and the Blue Flames.

After playing in nightlife for some time, Jimi began working with musician Chas Chandler, who was in the famous rock band Animals. Together they went to London. It was here that the guitarist decided to organize the Jimi Hendrix Experience project. Having recruited skilled drummer Mitch Mitchell and bassist Noel Redding into the team, the musician had the opportunity to fully realize his own hidden potential. Chas Chandler did everything to ensure that the new team took its 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 London's creative circles.

The artist's finest hour

In 1967, the Jimi Hendrix band 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 his guitar on fire while performing solo parts. Getting burns on his hands did not stop our hero from starting recording his second album, which was called Axis: Bold as Love. The release of the record was almost disrupted because Jimi lost the recordings of some of the compositions. The musical developments were urgently restored, and at the end of the same year the long-suffering compositions saw the light of day.

Soon, rock music lovers and authoritative critics recognized the Are You Experienced album as the most talented and successful work of the late 60s. The virtuoso guitarist suddenly became a show business star of the first magnitude. 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 record for the American market, was subsequently recognized by the authoritative publication Rolling Stone as worthy of the list of the hundred greatest guitar creations in the history of music. Nowadays, the song has the status of one of the anthems of the hippie movement.

Last performance and sudden death

Being in the status of a world star, Hendrix began to abuse drugs. The last time the legendary musician took to the stage was 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 guitarist's new compositions.

The interrupted concert turned out to be the final one in the life of the cult performer. On the morning of September 18, 1970, Hendrix was found lifeless in his hotel room at the Samarkand Hotel in London. According to the guitarist's friend Monica Daneman, who also spent the night in the room, the musician took a huge amount of sleeping pills the day before, trying to sleep after a hard day. However, Jimi failed to wake up.

Films about Jimi Hendrix

In memory of the musician who suddenly passed away, several films were made. In 2010, the documentary film Jimi Hendrix: Voodoo Child, directed by Bob Smeaton, was released. The film shows concert recordings, family photographs, drawings and archives of correspondence of the legendary guitarist.

In September 2013, the feature film “Jimi: Everyone is on My Side” was shown to visitors to the Toronto Film Festival. The film tells about the life and work of a musician at the beginning of his career. The film focuses on the story of the release of the cult record Are You Experienced.

Jimi Hendrix (Johnny Allen Hendrix) was born on November 27, 1942 in Seattle, Washington, USA. Father - Al Hendrix, mother - Lucille Jeter. When the boy was 9 years old, his parents divorced. In 1958, Jimmy's mother died. He was raised by his grandparents, actors on the Vancouver Variety Show. In his early youth, he bought a guitar and spent his days playing or listening to records by B.B. King, Robert Johnson and Elmore James. I never finished school.

Youth is hooligan. Jimmy went to jail for 2 years for stealing a car. After a while, the lawyer managed to replace the prison with 2 years of military service. Hendricks did not stay there long, having been discharged due to injury. Jimmy's army record is poor - he has been accused of being undisciplined and unreliable.

Music career

After returning from the army, Hendrix settled in Clarksville, where he formed the group “King Kasuals” with his friend Billy Cox. Then they lived in Nashville, where they played in clubs on Jefferson Street. In 1964 Jimmy moved to New York. He worked as a guest artist with Sam Cooke, etc. Hendrix founded the group “The Rain Flowers”, later renamed “The Blue Flames”.

A friend, Linda Keith, attended the group's performance. She was shocked by the musician's performance. Linda couldn’t believe that such a virtuoso could be unknown. The girl introduced Hendrix to producer Chas Chandler. A contract was signed and a new group, “The Jimi Hendrix Experience,” was created, which, in addition to Hendrix, included bassist Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell.

Working with Chas meant moving to England. Among other benefits that open up when moving, Jimi Hendrix highlighted the acquaintance with. Chandler replied that when Eric heard Jimmy play, he would offer to meet him himself.

The debut album “Are You Experienced” is recognized by fans and music critics as the most successful in rock music. With the release of the album, Jimi Hendrix became a megastar. In Britain, the album was second only to that of The Beatles. The album does not include the song from the American version of the album, "Purple Haze", which was ranked #1 on Q magazine's 100 Greatest Guitar Recordings and #2 on Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Guitar Recordings list. "Purple Haze" is considered a hippie anthem.

In 2003, VH1 ranked Are You Experienced the fifth greatest album of all time.

“Axis: Bold as Love” is the group’s second album, created in the romantic-psychedelic genre. Reveals Hendrix as a musician with a mature style. The song “Bold As Love”, included in this album, will remain in history as an example of a virtuoso guitar solo by a musician. The album's release might not have happened. On the eve of the deadline, Jimmy lost the original recording of the first side of the disc. I had to assemble a master recording from recordings of scattered parts.

In the spring of 1968, recording of the third album, Electric Ladyland, began in New York. Work proceeded slowly as it was interrupted by concerts. Hendrix wanted to achieve perfection in his recordings by doing takes over and over again. He brought in outside musicians for recordings. The result exceeded bold expectations - the album, based on the results of sales of the first week, received the status of “Golden Album”. After the release of Electric Ladyland, Hendrix's band The Jimi Hendrix Experience became one of the most popular in the world.

One of the songs performed by The Jimi Hendrix Experience is “Hey, Joe.” The song was known long before it was performed by Jimi Hendrix, but only when performed by the iconic guitarist did it gain worldwide fame. The motive of the composition is not of particular musical value. The song has simple lyrics about the escape to Mexico of a loser husband who killed his unfaithful wife. However, at the time Jimi Hendrix played it, the Vietnam War was going on. The President of the United States at that time was Lyndon Johnson. People repurposed "Hey Joe" quatrains to address the president and blame him for the deaths of soldiers in Vietnam.

Covers of this song are still played by performers of various musical genres. It is ranked #21 among VH1's hard rock songs and is one of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Music Songs. The song was performed by “Deep Purple”, etc.

Jimi Hendrix was distinguished by another feature. The breathtaking style of clothing was the envy of fashionistas all over the world. The image did not resemble the appearance of a typical rock musician - Jimmy did not wear wrinkled jeans and dirty T-shirts, and his hair did not hang in unkempt clumps for a long time. Hendrix's style is acid-colored shirts with psychedelic patterns, top buttons undone and collar turned up.

He wore vintage vests and military jackets with all kinds of epaulettes and braid that belonged to active troops. Jimmy tied bright bandanas and scarves around his arm or leg. The rock legend's signature features are eye-catching jewelry and the ever-present round medallion around his neck.

At the pop music festival in Monterey (California), Hendrix, at the end of a virtuosic performance, set fire to his guitar and smashed it in front of an astonished audience. Jimmy himself explained the shocking act as follows:

“I decided to destroy my guitar at the end of the song as a sacrifice. You sacrifice the things you love. I love my guitar."

The photo of Jimi Hendrix kneeling in front of a flaming guitar with his hands raised has become iconic in rock history. And Hendrix ended up in the hospital with burns to his hands.

Jimi Hendrix's best concert performance is considered to be his performance at the Woodstock festival in August 1969.

The popularity of Jimi Hendrix and the USSR did not escape. In 1973, the “first Russian psychedelic album” “The Cherry Orchard of Jimi Hendrix” was released. Recorded on magnetic tape in a home studio by Yuri Morozov, together with Sergei Luzin and Nina Morozova. In 1975, the album was re-released as a vinyl version in a tiny edition of 500 pieces.

Personal life

The personal life of the rock musician was of less interest to fans than his musical activities - nothing is known about his girls. Hendrix's only confirmed girlfriend who witnessed his death was Monica Danneman.

Death

At the end of August 1970, Jimi Hendrix performed for the last time at the British Isle of Wight festival. On September 6, on the stage of the Isle of Fehmarn festival, the artist received a cold reception from the public. The artist performed 13 songs. Until the last day Jimmy did not leave London.

On the morning of September 18, 1970, Jimi Hendrix was taken away in an ambulance from the Samarkand Hotel. According to the doctor, Jimmy was dead when the ambulance arrived. The day before he spent time with his girlfriend, German Monika Danemann. According to the results of the examination, the artist died in bed, choking on vomit due to an overdose of sleeping pills. According to Monica, she hesitated to call an ambulance because she was afraid of getting caught by the police, because there were drugs in the room where the couple was that night.

Jim Hendrix died at just 27 years old. Jimi Hendrix was buried in Renton, Washington, at Greenwood Memorial Park. He himself dreamed of being buried in England.

Memory

The posthumous discography of the guitar genius amounted to more than 500 albums. In 1997, Jimi Hendrix's posthumous album “First Rays Of The New Rising Sun” was released, collecting the best creative works of the period 1968-1969. The collection includes songs that he worked on at the end of his life, preparing them for a new album. Notable ones include "Night Bird Flying", "Angel", "Dolly Dagger", "Hey Baby (New Rising Sun)" and "In From the Storm".

On September 18, 2010, the world premiere of director Bob Smeaton's biographical documentary Jimmi Hendrix: Voodoo Child took place. It uses recordings from concerts, family archives with correspondence, photographs and drawings.

Many cities have Hendrix jazz and blues clubs where you can listen to live music.

On September 7, 2013, John Ridley's film Jimmy: It's All on My Side was shown at the Toronto Film Festival. The film depicts the beginning of the career of star performer Jimi Hendrix, played by Andre Benjamin. The plot tells about the release of the first album “Are You Experienced”.

According to Rolling Stone magazine, the film's music was weak due to Hendrix's relatives who inherited the rights. They refused to allow Jimmy's songs to be performed in the film, demanding more involvement from Experience Hendrix LLC, which represented them in the filming. Therefore, the film featured songs by other authors.

Discography

• "Are You Experienced?"
• "Axis: Bold As Love"
• "Smash Hits"
• "Electric Ladyland"
• "Band Of Gypsies"
• "At The Monterey Pop Festival"
• "Cry Of Love"
• "At The Isle Of Wight"
• "War Heroes"