Biography

Early Life (1942-1961)

James Marshall Hendrix was born on November 27, 1942, in Seattle, Washington, to Al Hendrix and Lucille Jeter. His early life was marked by poverty and family instability. His parents' relationship was turbulent, and they divorced when he was nine years old. His mother passed away when he was just 15, an event that deeply affected him and would later inspire songs like "Angel."

Growing up in Seattle's Central District, young Jimmy (as he was then known) showed an early fascination with music. He would strum a broom pretending it was a guitar, and his father Al eventually bought him his first acoustic guitar for $5 when he was 15. He taught himself to play by listening to blues records, particularly those of Muddy Waters, B.B. King, and Robert Johnson.

Being left-handed in a right-handed world, Hendrix learned to play a right-handed guitar flipped upside down, which would contribute to his unique sound and playing style. He quickly became proficient, joining his first band, The Velvetones, in 1958, and later The Rocking Kings.

Army & The Chitlin' Circuit (1961-1966)

In 1961, Hendrix enlisted in the United States Army, joining the 101st Airborne Division as a paratrooper. His military career was brief; he was discharged in 1962 after injuring his ankle during a parachute jump. During his time in the Army, he formed a band called the King Kasuals with bassist Billy Cox, beginning a friendship and musical partnership that would last until Hendrix's death.

After his discharge, Hendrix moved to Clarksville, Tennessee, then to Nashville, where he began working as a session guitarist and touring musician on the "Chitlin' Circuit" - the network of venues safe for African American performers during the era of racial segregation. He played backup for artists including Little Richard, the Isley Brothers, King Curtis, Ike & Tina Turner, and Sam Cooke.

These years of sideman work were grueling but educational. Hendrix honed his stagecraft watching showmen like Little Richard and developed his technical skills through constant performing. However, his flamboyant style often clashed with bandleaders who wanted their sidemen to stay in the background. Little Richard famously fired him multiple times for upstaging him on stage.

In 1965, Hendrix moved to New York City, forming his own band, Jimmy James and the Blue Flames, and playing Greenwich Village clubs like Cafe Wha?. It was here that Animals bassist Chas Chandler discovered him and convinced him to move to London, where his career would truly begin.

The Jimi Hendrix Experience (1966-1969)

In September 1966, Hendrix arrived in London under Chas Chandler's management. Chandler helped form The Jimi Hendrix Experience with English musicians Noel Redding on bass and Mitch Mitchell on drums. The trio's chemistry was immediate and explosive.

London's rock aristocracy took immediate notice. Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and Pete Townshend were all in the audience at early shows, stunned by Hendrix's virtuosity. Within months, the Experience had released three hit singles in the UK: "Hey Joe," "Purple Haze," and "The Wind Cries Mary."

The band's debut album, Are You Experienced (May 1967), was a landmark in rock music. Hendrix's innovative use of feedback, distortion, and studio effects pushed the boundaries of what the electric guitar could do. The album spent 33 weeks on the UK charts and, after its US release, peaked at #5 on the Billboard 200.

The band quickly followed up with Axis: Bold as Love (December 1967), showcasing Hendrix's growing sophistication as a songwriter with tracks like "Little Wing" and "Castles Made of Sand." The album's experimental production techniques, including the accidental discovery of phasing on the title track, influenced recording practices for decades.

Electric Ladyland (October 1968), the only album Hendrix produced himself, was his masterpiece. The sprawling double album featured "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" and his definitive cover of Bob Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower." Dylan was so impressed he adopted Hendrix's arrangement for his own live performances. The album reached #1 in the US - Hendrix's only chart-topping album during his lifetime.

Woodstock & Final Years (1969-1970)

By 1969, the original Experience lineup had dissolved due to tensions within the group and Hendrix's desire to explore new musical directions. He assembled a new group, Gypsy Sun and Rainbows, for his appearance at the Woodstock festival in August 1969.

On New Year's Eve 1969, Hendrix debuted the Band of Gypsys at the Fillmore East with Billy Cox on bass and Buddy Miles on drums. The all-black power trio represented Hendrix's move toward a funkier, more aggressive sound. Their live album, recorded that night, featured the 12-minute anti-war epic "Machine Gun" - considered one of the greatest guitar performances ever recorded.

In 1970, Hendrix focused on completing Electric Lady Studios in New York City, his dream recording facility. He was also working on a new double album, ultimately released posthumously as "First Rays of the New Rising Sun." He continued to tour extensively, with his final performance at the Isle of Wight Festival on August 30, 1970.

Death & Legacy

On September 18, 1970, Jimi Hendrix was found unresponsive in a London apartment. He had asphyxiated on his own vomit after taking sleeping pills. He was 27 years old, joining the tragic "27 Club" of musicians who died at that age.

In just four years of mainstream success, Hendrix had revolutionized rock music. His innovative techniques - feedback manipulation, wah-wah effects, the "Hendrix chord" (E7#9), playing with his teeth and behind his head - expanded the vocabulary of the electric guitar. His influence spans every genre that uses the instrument.

Hendrix has been posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1992), received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award (1992), and was named the greatest guitarist of all time by Rolling Stone magazine. Electric Lady Studios continues to operate as a premier recording facility in New York City.