Jimi Hendrix

Early Life

Jimi Hendrix was born Johnny Allen Hendrix in Seattle, Washington, on November 27, 1942, the oldest of five children^[1]. His childhood was marked by poverty and instability. His mother, Lucille, left the family when he was young and died in 1958, and Hendrix spent stretches of his early years living with relatives and family friends^[1]. He got his first guitar, an acoustic that cost about five dollars, at age fifteen, and taught himself largely by ear, listening closely to Muddy Waters, B.B. King, and Howlin' Wolf^[1].

Army Service and Early Career

Facing jail time after being caught riding in stolen cars, Hendrix enlisted in the US Army in May 1961 and was assigned to the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, earning his paratrooper wings before receiving an honorable discharge in 1962^[1]. He spent the following years on the touring circuit, backing acts including the Isley Brothers, Little Richard, and Curtis Knight, before settling in Greenwich Village and forming his own band, Jimmy James and the Blue Flames, in 1966^[1].

The Jimi Hendrix Experience

Bassist and talent scout Chas Chandler discovered Hendrix playing in New York and brought him to London in September 1966, pairing him with bassist Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell to form the Jimi Hendrix Experience^[1]. The trio scored three UK top-ten singles, "Hey Joe," "Purple Haze," and "The Wind Cries Mary," before their debut album, Are You Experienced, reached number two on the UK charts in May 1967^[1]. Hendrix's guitar-burning performance at the Monterey Pop Festival that June introduced him to American audiences and made him an overnight sensation^[1]. The follow-up, Axis: Bold as Love, arrived that December, and the double album Electric Ladyland followed in October 1968, reaching number one in the US and featuring his best-known cover, "All Along the Watchtower"^[1].

Later Years and Death

Tensions over creative direction led Noel Redding to leave the group in mid-1969, and the Experience played its final show that June at the Denver Pop Festival^[1]. Hendrix went on to headline Woodstock that August, closing the festival with a transformed rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner," and later formed the short-lived Band of Gypsys^[1]. He died in London on September 18, 1970, at age 27, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992^[1].