On This Date (September 18, 1970) Jimi Hendrix

Jimi Hendrix
November 27, 1942 – September 18, 1970

Before he became a member of the 27 Club, “Jimi Hendrix expanded the range and vocabulary of the electric guitar into areas no musician had ever ventured before. Many would claim him to be the greatest guitarist ever to pick up the instrument. At the very least his creative drive, technical ability and painterly application of such effects as wah-wah and distortion forever transformed the sound of rock and roll. Hendrix helped usher in the age of psychedelia with his 1967 debut, Are You Experienced?, and the impact of his brief but meteoric career on popular music continues to be felt.  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, 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.  Hendrix was born Johnny Allen Hendrix on November 27th, 1942, in Seattle (his name was changed to James Marshall Hendrix four years later). He acquired his first guitar at age 16 and joined a group, the Rocking Kings, a year later. Following an abortive stint in the Army, he hit the road with a succession of club bands and as a backup musician for such rhythm & blues artists as Little Richard, the Isley Brothers, Jackie Wilson, the Impressions and Sam Cooke. In 1966 he was discovered by Chas Chandler, the former Animals bassist, while performing at New York’s Cafe Wha? with his group, Jimmy James and the Blue Flames. Chandler became Hendrix’s manager and brought him to England, where he absorbed the nascent psychedelic movement, changed the spelling of his first name “Jimi” and formed a trio with bassist Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell.  The Jimi Hendrix Experience recorded three landmark albums – Are You Experienced?, Axis: Bold As Love and Electric Ladyland – in a year and a half. Hendrix’s theatrical, incendiary performances at the Monterey Pop and Woodstock festivals, including the ceremonial torching of his guitar at Monterey, have become part of rock and roll legend. Under extreme pressure due to a combination of nonstop work, sudden celebrity and drug-taking, the trio broke up in early 1969. Hendrix commenced work on a projected double album and debuted a new trio, Band of Gypsies, at the Fillmore East on New Year’s Eve 1969. Hendrix performed his last concert at the Isle of Fehmarn, Germany on September 6, 1970 (though he joined Eric Burdon and War on stage on September 16 at Ronnie Scott’s in London). On September 18, he died from suffocation, having inhaled vomit due to barbiturate intoxication.” – From Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame