Jimi Hendrix
from WikiMusicGuide, the free music guide. Your music wiki.
The career of Jimi Hendrix is brief and yet his music is lasting. Many would agree that he is among the best guitar players of all time and the greatest influence to the birth of psychedelia.
Contents |
About
The Jimi Hendrix we know today was born Johnny Allen Hendrix on November 27th, 1942, in Seattle. After four years his first name was changed to James Marshall. When he was 16 years old, he had his first guitar, a second-hand acoustic, from his father Al who was once with the US Army and who raised Jimi after the mother's death in 1958. A year later, his father gave him an electric guitar and he became part of the group, the Rocking Kings.
In the summer of 1961 he enlisted in the army. Stationed at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, he was training to become a paratrooper. Meanwhile, he formed a band, the King Kasuals, with a fellow soldier, Billy Cox. He got an honorable discharge from service after getting hurt during a jump. He returned to his passion for music and was a member of a succession of club bands and as a backup musician for R&B artists such as Little Richard, the Isley Brothers, Jackie Wilson, the Impressions and Sam Cooke.
1966 was Jimi's lucky year when Chas Chandler, the former Animals bassist discovered him, while performing at New York's Cafe Wha? with his group, Jimmy James and the Blue Flames. He was brought to England by Chandler, who also became his manager. It was there that he was exposed to the nascent psychedelic movement. His name was changed to "Jimi" and formed the Jimi Hendrix Experience trio with bassist Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell.
Three albums were recorded by the Jimi Hendrix Experience: Are You Experienced?, Axis: Bold As Love and Electric Ladyland - in a year and a half. Jimi had been widely known for its theatrical, incendiary performances at the Monterey Pop and Woodstock festivals, including the ceremonial torching of his guitar at Monterey. All of these 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.
Jimi worked on a projected double album and launched 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 guested with Eric Burdon and War on stage on September 16 at Ronnie Scott's in London. On September 18, he died at the Samarkand Hotel in London. He was 27.
After his death, various posthumous albums from old jams as an R&B journeyman to live recordings from his 1967-1970 prime to previously unreleased or unfinished studio work - hit the market. The album Voodoo Soup (1995), was one of these albums- the album Hendrix was working on at the time of his death.
Awards & Certifications
Awards
| Year | Award | Song/Album | Category |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Grammy Hall of Fame | Are You Experienced? | Rock (Album) |
| 1999 | Grammy Hall of Fame | Electric Ladyland | Rock (Album) |
| 2000 | Grammy Hall of Fame | Purple Haze | Rock (Single) |
| 2001 | Grammy Hall of Fame | All Along the Watchtower | Rock (Single) |
| 2006 | Grammy Hall of Fame | Axis:Bold as Love | Rock (Album) |
| 1992 | Rock and Roll Hall of Fame | Jimi Hendrix Experience | Performers |
Chart Toppers
The Billboard 200
| Year | Album | Peak Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Jimi Plays Monterey | 192 |
| 1989 | Radio One | 119 |
| 1991 | Lifelines: The Jimi Hendrix Story | 174 |
| 1993 | The Ultimate Experience | 72 |
| 1994 | Blues | 45 |
| 1994 | Woodstock | 37 |
| 1995 | Voodoo Soup | 66 |
| 1997 | First Rays Of The New Rising Sun | 49 |
| 1997 | South Saturn Delta | 51 |
| 1998 | BBC Sessions | 50 |
| 1999 | Experience Hendrix: The Best Of Jimi Hendrix | 133 |
| 1999 | Jimi Hendrix Live At Woodstock | 90 |
| 1999 | Live At The Fillmore East | 65 |
| 2000 | The Jimi Hendrix Experience | 78 |
| 2001 | Voodoo Child: The Jimi Hendrix Collection | 112 |
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
| Year | Album | Peak Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Blues | 38 |
| 1994 | Woodstock | 45 |
Discography
Albums
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Compilations & Live Releases
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best of Jimi Hendrix
Released: 2005 Posthumous release |
Other artists
Influences and Similar Artists
Contemporaries
Trivia
External Links
Categories: Artist | Rock | Hard Rock | Blues | Acid Rock | Psychedelic Rock
