30/07/2024
Jimi Hendrix was born Johnny Allen Hendrix on November 27, 1942 in Seattle, Washington. His father, James “Al” Hendrix, – a gifted jazz dancer who worked at a number of jobs, including landscape gardening – bore much of the responsibility of raising the boy and his brother, Leon, as did their grandmother and various family friends. This was due to the unreliability of Lucille, who drank excessively and who would disappear for extended periods. Al Hendrix changed his son's name to James Marshall Hendrix in 1946. Al and Lucille divorced in 1951; Al Hendrix won custody of his sons and exercised as much discipline as he could, but the boys – young Jimi especially –worshipped their absentee mother.
Before acquiring his first real instrument, Jimi "played" guitar on a broom and on a one-stringed ukulele. At last Al got his son a guitar, and the twelve-year-old Jimi began to teach himself to play. Jimi restrung the guitar upside down – as a left-hander, he was forced to turn the instrument in the opposite direction from how it is usually played, which left the strings at the bottom unless he rearranged them. He learned blues songs from records by greats like B. B. King and Muddy Waters. The guitar rarely left Jimi's side, even as he slept. By his mid-teens, Hendrix had formed a band called the Rocking Kings. He played behind his back, between his legs, and over his head – as had many blues guitarists before him.
More than any other musician, Jimi Hendrix realized the fullest range of sound that could be obtained from an amplified instrument. Many musical currents came together in his playing. Free jazz, Delta blues, acid rock, R&B, soul, hardcore funk, and the songwriting of Bob Dylan and the Beatles all figured as influences. Yet the songs and sounds generated by Hendrix were original, otherworldly and virtually indescribable. In essence, Hendrix channeled the music of the cosmos, anchoring it to the earthy beat of rock and roll. From demo recordings to finished masters, Jimi Hendrix generated an amazing collection of songs over the course of his short career.
Hendrix died on September 18, 1970, from drug-related complications. Some conspiracy theorists contend that Hendrix’s death was the result of a government conspiracy involving his then-girlfriend Monika Dannemann. Other more reasonable explanations include that Hendrix committed su***de, or that he simply asphyxiated after overdosing on barbiturates.
While this talented recording artist was only 27 years old at the time of his passing, Hendrix left his mark on the world of rock music and remains popular to this day. As one journalist wrote in the Berkeley Tribe, "Jimi Hendrix could get more out of an electric guitar than anyone else. He was the ultimate guitar player."
Hendrix won many prestigious rock music awards in his lifetime. His name was inducted in the US Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992 and the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2005. He was the first person whose name was included in the list of the Native American Music Hall of Fame and in 1994 a star was also dedicated to him in the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He is in the top ten lists of 100 greatest guitarists in the world in 2003. In 1992, Hendrix was awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
Many rock, rap, and blues artists contributed versions of his songs to the 1993 tribute album Stone Free. In 1999 Al Hendrix published My Son Jimi, a biography of his son's family life.
