Jimi Hendrix (841 words)

Jimi HendrixJimi Hendrix, the greatest guitarist in rock history, revolutionized
the sound of rock. In 1967, the Jimi Hendrix Experience rocked the nation
with their first album, Are You Experienced?. Hendrix’s life was cut short
by the tragedy of drugs in 1970, when he was only twenty seven years old.

In these three years the sound of rock changed greatly, and Hendrix’s
guitar playing was a major influence. Jimi was born in Seattle, Washington
on November 27, 1942. As a young boy, whenever the chance came, Jimi would
try to play along with his R & B records. However, music was not his life
long dream. At first, the army was. In the late 1950’s, Hendrix enlisted in
the 101st Airborne Division. After sustaining a back injury during a jump,
he received a medical discharge. After his army career came to an abrupt
end, he decided to go into the music field. By this time he had become an
accomplished guitarist, and was soon to become known as the greatest
guitarist ever (Stambler, pg. 290). However, he did not start out at the
top. Jimi started out playing as part of the back-up for small time R ; B
groups. It did not take long before his work was in demand with some of the
best known artists in the field, such as B.B. King, Ike and Tina Turner,
Solomon Burke, Jackie Wilson, Littler Richard, Wilson Pickett, and King
Curtis (Clifford, pg. 181). Using the name Jimmy James, he toured with a
bunch of R ; B shows, including six months as a member of James Brown’s
Famous Flames (Stambler, pg. 290). At the Cafe Wha! in New York, in 1966,
Hendrix decided to try singing. Jimi lucked out when a man by the name of
Charles Chas Chandler from Eric Burdon’s Animals heard him at the club
and thought he was sensational. When Chas heard him again later that year,
he talked Jimi into moving to England where he would really get the chance
to start his career (Stambler, pg. 290). Along with Chas, Hendrix
auditioned some musicians to complete the new Hendrix group. They choose
Mitch Mitchell, a fantastic drummer, and Noel Redding, one of England’s
best guitar and bass players (Stambler, pg. 290). In 1966, at the Olympia
in Paris, the Experience debuted. One year later, the Experience was
breaking attendance records right and left at European clubs. When the
Monkees toured England in 1967, they heard Jimi and liked him. The Monkees
asked Hendrix to join them on their tour through the U.S., and Jimi was on
his way home (Stambler, pg. 290). Jimi’s erotic stage actions, suggestive
lyrics, and guitar-smashing antics… did not go over well with the
Monkees’ fans or many adults. Being criticized over and over again forced
the Experience to be dropped from the tour (Stambler, pg. 290). This
however did not get Hendrix down. By the end of the year, the group was
invited to the Monterey Pop Festival. Jimi won a standing ovation for the
…nerve-shattering sounds from the group’s nine amplifiers and eighteen
speakers, topped by Jimi dousing his guitar with lighter fluid and burning
it… (Stambler, pg. 291). Hendrix became popular overnight, and his shows
became standing room only. His stage acts were so wild, Time magazine
described it as: He hopped, twisted and rolled over sideways without
missing a twang or a moan. He slung the guitar low over swiveling hips, or
raised it to pick the strings with his teeth; he thrust it between his legs
and did a bump and grind, crooning: ‘oh, baby, come on now, sock it to
me.’…For a symbolic finish, he lifted the guitar and flung it against the
amplifiers. Time (April 25, 1968). His specialty became the way he used
feedback, which up until now was an undesired sound. Using his guitar and
the feedback it created, he was able to generate sounds which were used to
his advantage in creating his unique style. This style is copied today by
modern rock artists; however, this style is duplicated today with the use
of special equipment, such as synthesizers. Are You Experienced?, Electric
Ladyland, Axis: Bold as Love, and Smash Hits were all platinum albums. For
the year of 1968, Billboard named him Artist of the Year; and in August he
played a heart-stopping performance of the Star Spangled Banner at
Woodstock. His fame did not last forever though. In 1969, the Experience
broke-up. However, Hendrix claimed it was not forever, but was just a
chance for the members to develop