Jimi Hendrix

The man who turned feedback and fuzz into a new language

Born Johnny Allen Hendrix in Seattle and soon renamed James Marshall by his father, Hendrix picked up the guitar as a teenager and taught himself by ear. A brief stint in the US Army ended in 1962, after which he drifted into the Chitlin' Circuit, playing behind stars such as the Isley Brothers and Little Richard. Those years of anonymous sideman work gave him a deep vocabulary of rhythm and blues, stagecraft and showmanship, even as bandleaders grumbled that he was stealing the spotlight they were paying for.

In 1966, while leading a small group in Greenwich Village under the name Jimmy James, he was spotted by Chas Chandler of the Animals, who brought him to London that September. Chandler paired him with bassist Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell, and the Jimi Hendrix Experience was born. British musicians flocked to see him, and a string of hit singles led to the 1967 debut album Are You Experienced. His return to America at the Monterey Pop Festival, ending with a burning guitar, made him a star at home.

The Experience released Axis: Bold as Love late in 1967 and the sprawling double album Electric Ladyland in 1968, which became his only number-one album in the United States. Hendrix increasingly used the studio as an instrument, layering guitars, backwards tapes and stereo panning. By 1969 he was reportedly the best-paid rock performer in the world, yet the original trio was fraying. Redding departed, and Hendrix closed the Woodstock festival with a looser ensemble, delivering a searing instrumental version of the American national anthem to a thinning early-morning crowd.

Late in 1969 he formed Band of Gypsys with bassist Billy Cox and drummer Buddy Miles, whose New Year shows at the Fillmore East yielded a live album built around the epic protest piece Machine Gun. In 1970 he opened his own recording studio, Electric Lady, in New York, and toured with Cox and Mitchell, including a set at the Isle of Wight festival. On 18 September 1970 he died in London at twenty-seven. In barely four years at the top he permanently redefined what an electric guitar could say.

The 10 greatest Jimi Hendrix solos

1. 1
   Machine Gun

   Jimi Hendrix · solo by Jimi Hendrix · 1970
2. 2
   Voodoo Child (Slight Return)

   Jimi Hendrix · solo by Jimi Hendrix · 1968
3. 3
   All Along the Watchtower

   Jimi Hendrix · solo by Jimi Hendrix · 1968
4. 4
   Little Wing

   Jimi Hendrix · solo by Jimi Hendrix · 1967
5. 5
   Red House

   The Jimi Hendrix Experience · solo by Jimi Hendrix · 1967
6. 6
   Bold as Love

   The Jimi Hendrix Experience · solo by Jimi Hendrix · 1967
7. 7
   Purple Haze

   Jimi Hendrix · solo by Jimi Hendrix · 1967
8. 8
   Castles Made of Sand

   The Jimi Hendrix Experience · solo by Jimi Hendrix · 1967
9. 9
   Hey Joe

   The Jimi Hendrix Experience · solo by Jimi Hendrix · 1966
10. 10
    Star Spangled Banner

    Jimi Hendrix · solo by Jimi Hendrix · 1969

The sound

Hendrix played a right-handed Stratocaster flipped over and restrung for his left hand, which placed the controls and whammy bar in unusual spots that he exploited constantly. His rhythm playing fused chords and melodic fills into a single flowing part, often using his thumb over the neck to fret bass notes. He treated feedback, fuzz, wah and the Uni-Vibe as expressive tools rather than novelties, bending notes with vocal intensity and diving the tremolo arm into howling chaos. Beneath the sonic fireworks sat a bluesman's phrasing and a soul musician's feel for groove.

• Fender Stratocaster (guitar) His main instrument from 1966 onward, a right-handed model flipped and restrung for left-handed playing; a white Strat was his guitar at Woodstock.
• Gibson Flying V (guitar) Used for slide and blues numbers in the later years, including a hand-painted example he decorated himself.
• Marshall 100-watt stacks (amp) Wall-of-Marshalls volume was central to his controlled feedback on stage.
• Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Face (effect) His core fuzz on stage and on the early Experience records.
• Octavia octave-fuzz (effect) Built by engineer Roger Mayer and heard on the high-register lead lines of Purple Haze.
• Vox wah-wah pedal (effect) Famously drives the opening riff of Voodoo Child (Slight Return).
• Uni-Vibe (effect) The swirling, pulsing modulation behind his Band of Gypsys and Woodstock performances.

Covers

• All Along the Watchtower, originally by Bob Dylan He transformed a sparse folk song into a storm of layered guitars, and Dylan later adopted his arrangement.
• Hey Joe, originally by The Leaves (written by Billy Roberts) Slowed down into a brooding groove, it became the Experience's first hit.
• Wild Thing, originally by The Troggs A chaotic, feedback-laden finale that ended with his guitar on fire.
• Like a Rolling Stone, originally by Bob Dylan A loose, affectionate reading that showed his devotion to Dylan's songwriting.
• Killing Floor, originally by Howlin' Wolf Played at a breakneck tempo, it served as his explosive opener.
• Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, originally by The Beatles He opened a London show with it only days after the album came out, with Beatles in the audience.
• Johnny B. Goode, originally by Chuck Berry A ferocious update of the rock and roll classic from his final US tour.

Timeline

• 1942 Born in Seattle on 27 November
• 1961 Enlists in the US Army; discharged the following year
• 1964 Tours as a sideman with the Isley Brothers and Little Richard
• 1966 Moves to London with Chas Chandler and forms the Experience
• 1967 Releases Are You Experienced and triumphs at Monterey Pop
• 1968 Electric Ladyland tops the US album chart
• 1969 Headlines Woodstock and forms Band of Gypsys
• 1970 Opens Electric Lady Studios; dies in London on 18 September
• 1992 Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Facts

1. He was born Johnny Allen Hendrix and renamed James Marshall Hendrix by his father a few years later.
2. He served in the 101st Airborne Division before his army discharge in 1962.
3. He was left-handed but usually played right-handed guitars turned upside down and restrung.
4. Before fame he backed Little Richard and the Isley Brothers as a hired guitarist.
5. Chas Chandler, bassist of the Animals, discovered him in Greenwich Village and became his manager.
6. Electric Ladyland was the only album of his to reach number one in the United States.
7. All Along the Watchtower was his only single to reach the US top 40.
8. By Woodstock the crowd had shrunk dramatically because his set took place on Monday morning after the festival overran.
9. Electric Lady Studios, which he built in New York, is still operating as a recording studio.
10. He began learning guitar at around fifteen years old.

Sources

• Wikipedia: Jimi Hendrix