Jimi Hendrix

Jimi's musical journey began on the chitlin' circuit.  The "chitlin' circuit" is the collective name given to a string of performance venues throughout the eastern, southern, and upper mid-west areas of the United States that were safe and acceptable for African American musicians, comedians, and other entertainers to perform in during the age of racial segregation.  In 1964, he earned a spot in the Isley Brothers backing band and later that year he found work with Little Richard, with whom he continued to play through mid-1965. In May 1966, Hendrix briefly rejoined Curtis Knight and the Squires for an engagement at one of New York City's most popular nightspots, the Cheetah Club.  During a performance, Linda Keith, the girlfriend of Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards noticed Hendrix.  She commented: "His playing mesmerised me".  Keith recommended Hendrix to Chas Chandler, who was leaving the Animals and interested in managing and producing artists.  Chandler liked the song Hey Joe and was convinced he could create a hit single with the right artist.  Impressed with Hendrix's version of the song, Chandler brought him to London on September 23, 1966, and recruitrd bassist Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell to form a band designed to highlight the guitarist's talents, the Jimi Hendrix Experience. On March 31, 1967, while booked to appear at the London Astoria, Hendrix and Chandler discussed ways in which they could increase the band's media exposure.  Chandler asked journalist Keith Altham for advice, who suggested that they needed to do something more dramatic than the stage show of the Who, which involved the smashing of instruments.  Hendrix joked: "Maybe I can smash up an elephant", to which Altham replied: "Well, it's a pity you can't set fire to your guitar".  Chandler immediately asked road manager Gerry Stickells to get them some lighter fluid.  Hendrix gave an especially dynamic performance before setting his guitar on fire at the end of his 45-minute set.  In the wake of the notable stunt, London's press labeled Hendrix the Black Elvis and the Wild Man of Borneo.

In 1967, after the moderate UK chart success of their first two singles, Hey Joe and Purple Haze, the Experience began assembling material for a full-length LP.  Recording began at De Lane Lea Studios and later moved to the prestigious Olympic Studios.  Released in the UK on May 12, 1967 and August 23 in the US, Are You Experienced spent 33 weeks on the charts, peaking at number 2 behind the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.  The album highlighted Hendrix's R&B-based, psychedelic, distortion-and feedback-laden electric guitar playing and launched him as a major new international star. Axis: Bold as Love, released in the Uk on December 1, 1967 and Januaey 15, 1968 in the US, features the first recording of stereo phasing.  Author Keith Shadwick described the song as "possibly the most ambitious piece on Axis, the extravagant metaphors of the lyrics suggesting a growing confidence" in Hendrix's songwriting.  In 1989, the founding editor of Guitar World magazine described the LP as "a voyage to the cosmos". Electric Ladyland, his third and final studio album, was released September 16, in the US and October 25, 1968 in the UK.  The double LP was the first Experience album to be mixed entirely in stereo.  Recording began at the newly opened Record Plant Studios with Chandler as producer aided by engineers Eddie Kramer and Gary Kellgren.  During recording sessions Chandler became increasingly frustrated with Hendrix's perfectionism and demands for numerous re-takes of material that Chandler considered satisfactory.  Hendrix also allowed various friends and guests to join them in the studio, which contributed to a chaotic and crowded environment in the control room, leading Chandler to sever his professional relationship with Hendrix.  The album's cover stated that it was "produced and directed by Jimi Hendrix".

The Hendrix Experience concludes with Hendrix's Woodstock performance of the US nationalanthem, The Star-Spangled Banner, during which he used copious amounts of amplifier feedback and sustain to replicate the sounds made by rockets and bombs.  Although political pundits quickly described his interpretation as a statement against the Vietnam War, three weeks later Hendrix explained its meaning: "We're all Americans ... it was like 'Go America!'... We play it the way the air is in America today.  The air is slightly static, see".  Immortalized in the 1970 documentary film, Woodstock,his guitar-driven version would become part of the sixties Zeitgeist.  Images of the performance showing Hendrix wearing a blue-beaded white leather jacket with fringe and a red head scarf are widely regarded as defining moments of the era.

Favorite Lyric from The Wind Cries Mary: After all the jacks are in their boxes and the clowns have all gone to bed you can hear happiness staggering on down the street footprints dress in red And the wind whispers Mary

Wanderin' Spirit
October, 2013
"Hendrix Experience"

This page has been made for viewing in Internet Explorer.  In order for all audio to play in Chrome or Firefox you will need to install the IE Tab extension and add https://www.angelfire.com/* to the Auto URL list, thank you.