James
Marshall Hendrix was born on 27 November 1942 in Seattle, Washington. His
parents divorced in the early fifties; from then on Jimmy (changed to Jimi later
on) lived with his father. Jimmy became obsessed with his father's classical
blues and jazz record collection. Jimmy's father, Al Hendrix, realized this and
decided to buy Jimmy a cheap guitar. At the age of eleven the roots of a
legendary guitar player were planted. In May 1961 at the age of seventeen, Jimmy
left Seattle and joined the army. He enlisted in the 101st Airborne Paratroopers
where he stayed for fourteen months and made 25 successful jumps. On his 26th
jump he sustained a substantial ankle injury and was given an honorable
discharge. After the army he began to play guitar on many star-studded package
tours. Playing in the shadow of many greats like B.B. King, Sam Cooke, Soloman
Burke, Chuck Jackson and Jackie Wilson, he later joined Little Richard's band
and went on to play with Ike and Tina Turner.
Although Jimmy was learning
important things to help him later on in his music career, he was frustrated by
the fact that he was not free to play the way he wanted. So he started his own
group where he elected to sing for the first time. The group had a regular spot
at Greenwich Village. One night when the were playing in the Cafe Wha, Greenwich
Village in 1966, they were spotted by former bassist with the Animals, Chas
Chandler. Chandler convinced Jimmy to come to London with him, and from that
arose Jimmy's stardom. Once they arrived in London on 24 September 1966 they
decided to change Jimmy's name to Jimi. The two thought it would be more
"memorable." Soon Chandler became Jimi's manager. They agreed that the
best setup for Jimi would be a trio. They chose Mitch Mitchell on drums, and
Noel Redding to play bass. So on 6 October 1966 The Jimi Hendrix Experience was
formed. In the next four years, from 1966 to 1970, The Jimi Hendrix Experience
released three major albums. Jimi also had a side band named The Band of
Gypsies, which was an all-black trio. With The Band of Gypsies he released one
live album and played at Woodstock '69. He later released an album with a band
called The Cry of Love Band, called The Cry of Love. On Friday 17 September 1970
Jimi was staying in London with a girlfriend named Monika Danneman. He had a big
gig to play the next day so he needed to get some sleep. He took some sleeping
pills and went to bed; the next morning Danneman saw that Jimi had vomited
during the night but paid no attention to it. When she tried to wake him a
little later and he did not stir, she called an ambulance. By the time the
ambulance arrived, Jimi had died of suffocation from his vomit. The night before
he had been working on a new song. The closing lines were:
The story of life is quicker than
the wink of an eye The story of love is hello and goodbye Until we meet again
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