2101 S Jackson St, Seattle, WA 98144, United States
Hendrix was enrolled in a junior school at Washington Junior High School.
Gallery of Jimi Hendrix
400 23rd Ave, Seattle, WA 98122, United States
Hendrix took admission to the Garfield High School in Seattle but he did not complete his graduation owing to his musical career and attendance problem.
College/University
Career
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1961
Hendrix in the US Army, 1961
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1966
London, England, United Kingdom
Jimi Hendrix poses for a portrait in 1966 in London, England. (Photo by Cyrus Andrews)
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1967
Hendrix on stage in 1967.
Gallery of Jimi Hendrix
1967
L-R: Jimi Hendrix, Noel Redding - performing live onstage filming German TV Show 'Beat Club', with Marshall amplifiers behind (Photo by Bob Baker)
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1967
Hamburg, Germany
(L-R) Noel Redding, Jimi Hendrix, and Mitch Mitchell pose for a group portrait on 19th March 1967 in Hamburg, Germany. (Photo by Gunter Zint)
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1967
London, United Kingdom
Jimi Hendrix in a London recording studio, October 1967. (Photo by Bruce Fleming)
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1967
Los Angeles, California, United States
Jimi Hendrix shoots pool at the Bel Air home of John and Michelle Phillips on July 1, 1967, in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Ed Caraeff)
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1967
Monterey, California, United States
Jimi Hendrix plays his Fender Stratocaster guitar while performing at the Monterey International Pop Music Festival, on June 18, 1967, in Monterey, California. (Photo by Ed Caraeff)
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1967
Jimi Hendrix and Lulu with Koh Hasebe at Melody Maker Pop Poll Awards Reception Party, September 16th, 1967. (Photo by Koh Hasebe)
Gallery of Jimi Hendrix
1967
Hartmann Rd, Royal Docks, London E16 2PX, United Kingdom
The Jimi Hendrix Experience at London Airport, from left to right; bass player Noel Redding, legendary guitarist Jimi Hendrix, and drummer Mitch Mitchell. (Photo by George Stroud)
Gallery of Jimi Hendrix
1967
Jimi Hendrix
Gallery of Jimi Hendrix
1967
Jimi Hendrix in August 1967 (Photo by Monitor Picture Library)
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1967
Los Angeles, California, United States
Jimi Hendrix plays his Fender Stratocaster electric guitar on stage as a woman looks on during soundcheck for his performance at the Hollywood Bowl on August 18, 1967, in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives)
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1967
Jimi Hendrix (Photo by Jan Olofsson)
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1967
Jimi Hendrix, 1967
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1967
1 Tennis Pl, Forest Hills, NY 11375, United States
Jimi Hendrix as he fixes his hair in a mirror backstage during a concert at Forest Hills Stadium, Queens, New York, New York, July 17, 1967. (Photo by Jerry Schatzberg)
Gallery of Jimi Hendrix
1968
20 Times Square &, 7th Ave, New York, NY 10036, United States
Jimi Hendrix and Buddy Miles recording at The Record Plant in NYC, 1968, by Eddie Kramer
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1968
The Experience in 1968
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1968
Jimi Hendrix
Gallery of Jimi Hendrix
1968
Jimi Hendrix
Gallery of Jimi Hendrix
1968
(L-R) Mitch Mitchell, Noel Redding and Jimi Hendrix with a blonde lady. (Photo by Rolls Press)
Gallery of Jimi Hendrix
1968
Woburn Abbey, United Kingdom
Jimi Hendrix performs on stage at Woburn Pop Festival, Woburn Abbey, UK, August 1968. (Photo by Michael Putland)
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1968
Drake Hotel, New York, New York, United States
Jimi Hendrix in bed at the Drake Hotel in New York, New York in 1968. (Photo by Roz Kelly)
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1968
1510 N Clarkson St, Denver, CO 80218, United States
(L-R) Co-founder and publisher of Rolling Stone magazine Jann Wenner interview legendary rock guitarist, singer and songwriter Jimi Hendrix before his concert at the Fillmore Auditorium, on February 1, 1968, in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Icon and Image)
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1969
4 Pennsylvania Plaza, New York, NY 10001, United States Capacity: 20,789
Jimi Hendrix and Mick Jagger, Backstage of Madison Square Garden, 1969, by Eddie Kramer.
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1969
Kensington Gore, South Kensington, London SW7 2AP, United Kingdom
Jimi Hendrix performs on stage at the Royal Albert Hall on February 24th, 1969 in London. (Photo by David Redfern)
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1969
Bethel, New York, United States
Jimi Hendrix performing at the Woodstock Festival. (Photo by LGI Stock)
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1969
Bethel, New York, United States
Jimi Hendrix performs with his band, Gypsy Sun And Rainbows, onstage at the Woodstock Music and Arts Fair in Bethel, New York, August 18, 1969. (Photo by Barry Z Levine)
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1970
Longford TW6, United Kingdom
Hanging at Heathrow, 1970.
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1970
Copenhagen, Denmark
Jimi Hendrix performs live on stage at the KB-Hallen in Copenhagen, Denmark on 3rd September 1970. (Photo by Jan Persson)
Innovative rock guitarist Jimi Hendrix jokingly thumbs for a lift while waiting with his baggage at Heathrow Airport, London. (Photo by Central Press)
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1970
Fehmarn, Germany
Jimi Hendrix performs onstage plucking the strings of his Fender Stratocaster electric guitar with his teeth at his last concert on September 9, 1970, in Isle of Fehmarn, Germany. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives)
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1970
Longford TW6, United Kingdom
Jimi Hendrix and his road manager Eric Barrett arrive at Heathrow Airport on the way to the Isle of Wight Festival.
Gallery of Jimi Hendrix
About to spin some Elmore James on vinyl.
Gallery of Jimi Hendrix
Hendricks performs onstage, late 1960s. (Hulton Archive)
Jimi Hendrix plays his Fender Stratocaster guitar while performing at the Monterey International Pop Music Festival, on June 18, 1967, in Monterey, California. (Photo by Ed Caraeff)
Hartmann Rd, Royal Docks, London E16 2PX, United Kingdom
The Jimi Hendrix Experience at London Airport, from left to right; bass player Noel Redding, legendary guitarist Jimi Hendrix, and drummer Mitch Mitchell. (Photo by George Stroud)
Jimi Hendrix plays his Fender Stratocaster electric guitar on stage as a woman looks on during soundcheck for his performance at the Hollywood Bowl on August 18, 1967, in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives)
1 Tennis Pl, Forest Hills, NY 11375, United States
Jimi Hendrix as he fixes his hair in a mirror backstage during a concert at Forest Hills Stadium, Queens, New York, New York, July 17, 1967. (Photo by Jerry Schatzberg)
1510 N Clarkson St, Denver, CO 80218, United States
(L-R) Co-founder and publisher of Rolling Stone magazine Jann Wenner interview legendary rock guitarist, singer and songwriter Jimi Hendrix before his concert at the Fillmore Auditorium, on February 1, 1968, in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Icon and Image)
Jimi Hendrix performs with his band, Gypsy Sun And Rainbows, onstage at the Woodstock Music and Arts Fair in Bethel, New York, August 18, 1969. (Photo by Barry Z Levine)
Jimi Hendrix performs onstage plucking the strings of his Fender Stratocaster electric guitar with his teeth at his last concert on September 9, 1970, in Isle of Fehmarn, Germany. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives)
Hendrix took admission to the Garfield High School in Seattle but he did not complete his graduation owing to his musical career and attendance problem.
Jimi Hendrix was an American virtuoso guitarist, singer, and composer. Though his active career as a featured artist lasted a mere four years, Hendrix altered the course of popular music and became one of the most successful and influential musicians of his era.
Background
Hendrix was born in Seattle, Washington and was given the name Johnny Allen Hendrix at birth. His parents - El Hendrix and Lucille Jeter (Indian of origin). Hendrix's father was born in Vancouver and moved to Seattle when he married Lucille, at that time she was 16 years old. Returning from the war, Al gave his son a new name - James Marshall. Hendrix was greatly influenced by the divorce of his parents in 1951, and then the death of his mother in 1958. Jimi had an affection for his grandmother Nora Rose Moore. Norah, whose father was half Irish and half Cherokee, and mother - mulatto, brought up in Jimi pride for his American origin. Grandfather and grandmother Jimi were actors in a variety show in Vancouver.
Education
As a young boy, Hendrix was shy and sensitive by nature. He was badly influenced by his parent’s split. Hendrix was enrolled in a junior school at Washington Junior High School. He passed his school leaving exam with ease. During his high school days he got a chance to mix along with African Americans, European Americans, and Asian Americans. He was exposed to a variety of cultures and music. At the age of 15, he bought his first acoustic guitar for $5 from an acquaintance of his father. Initially Hendrix had no proper formal training in strumming the guitar. He learned to play it by watching others how to play it, by listening to records and got valuable tips from experienced players. By the middle of 1959, his father bought him a white Supro Ozark, which was his first electric guitar ever. He then learned the great songs by Blues by B.B. King and Muddy Waters.
He also performed in various local bands and played in gigs in neighboring village city areas around New York City’s Greenwich and in Vancouver, British Columbia. He performed his first gig with an unknown band in the basement of a synagogue, Seattle's Temple De Hirsch. The first formal band he played in was The Velvetones. He then joined a band called the Rocking Kings and played as a professional guitarist at the Birdland. He played the guitar between his legs, behind his back and over his head and could charm the audience with ease. Soon he became a favorite with the audience.
Meanwhile, he took admission in the Garfield High School in Seattle but he did not complete his graduation owing to his musical career and attendance problem. He was later awarded an honorary diploma in the 1990s.
By the summer of 1958, Al had purchased Jimmy a five-dollar, second-hand acoustic guitar from one of his friends. Shortly thereafter, Jimmy joined his first band, The Velvetones. After a three-month stint with the group, Jimmy left to pursue his own interests. The following summer, Al purchased Jimmy his first electric guitar, a Supro Ozark 1560S; Jimi used it when he joined The Rocking Kings.
In 1961, Jimmy left home to enlist in the United States Army and in November 1962 earned the right to wear the “Screaming Eagles” patch for the paratroop division. While stationed at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, Jimmy formed The King Casuals with bassist Billy Cox. After being discharged due to an injury he received during a parachute jump, Jimmy began working as a session guitarist under the name Jimmy James. By the end of 1965, Jimmy had played with several marquee acts, including Ike and Tina Turner, Sam Cooke, the Isley Brothers, and Little Richard. Jimmy parted ways with Little Richard to form his own band, Jimmy James and the Blue Flames, shedding the role of back-line guitarist for the spotlight of lead guitar.
Throughout the latter half of 1965, and into the first part of 1966, Jimmy played the rounds of smaller venues throughout Greenwich Village, catching up with Animals’ bassist Chas Chandler during a July performance at Cafe Wha? Chandler was impressed with Jimmy’s performance and returned again in September 1966 to sign Hendrix to an agreement that would have him move to London to form a new band.
Switching gears from bass player to manager, Chandler’s first task was to change Hendrix’s name to “Jimi.” Featuring drummer Mitch Mitchell and bassist Noel Redding, the newly formed Jimi Hendrix Experience quickly became the talk of London in the fall of 1966.
The Experience’s first single, “Hey Joe,” spent 10 weeks on the UK charts, topping out at spot No. 6 in early 1967. The debut single was quickly followed by the release of a full-length album Are You Experienced, a psychedelic musical compilation featuring anthems of a generation. Are You Experienced has remained one of the most popular rock albums of all time, featuring tracks like “Purple Haze,” “The Wind Cries Mary,” “Foxey Lady,” “Fire,” and “Are You Experienced?”
Although Hendrix experienced overwhelming success in Britain, it wasn’t until he returned to America in June 1967 that he ignited the crowd at the Monterey International Pop Festival with his incendiary performance of “Wild Thing.” Literally overnight, The Jimi Hendrix Experience became one of most popular and highest grossing touring acts in the world.
Hendrix followed Are You Experienced with Axis: Bold As Love. By 1968, Hendrix had taken greater control over the direction of his music; he spent considerable time working the consoles in the studio, with each turn of a knob or flick of the switch bringing clarity to his vision.
Back in America, Jimi Hendrix built his own recording studio, Electric Lady Studios in New York City. The name of this project became the basis for his most demanding musical release, a two LP collection, Electric Ladyland. Throughout 1968, the demands of touring and studio work took its toll on the group and in 1969 the Experience disbanded.
The summer of 1969 brought emotional and musical growth to Jimi Hendrix. In playing the Woodstock Music & Art Fair in August 1969, Jimi joined forces with an eclectic ensemble called Gypsy Sun & Rainbows featuring Jimi Hendrix, Mitch Mitchell, Billy Cox, Juma Sultan, and Jerry Velez. The Woodstock performance was highlighted by the renegade version of “Star Spangled Banner,” which brought the mud-soaked audience to a frenzy.
Nineteen sixty-nine also brought about a new and defining collaboration featuring Jimi Hendrix on guitar, bassist Billy Cox and Electric Flag drummer Buddy Miles. Performing as the Band of Gypsys, this trio launched a series of four New Year’s performances on December 31, 1969, and January 1, 1970. Highlights from these performances were compiled and later released on the quintessential Band of Gypsys album in early-1970 and the expanded Hendrix: Live At The Fillmore East in 1999.
As 1970 progressed, Jimi brought back drummer Mitch Mitchell to the group and together with Billy Cox on bass, this new trio once again formed The Jimi Hendrix Experience. In the studio, the group recorded several tracks for another two LP set, tentatively titled First Rays Of The New Rising Sun.
Jimi Hendrix died in London from drug-related complications on September 18, 1970, at the age of 27. To determine the cause of death, coroner Gavin Thurston ordered a post-mortem examination on Hendrix's body, which was performed on September 21 by Professor Robert Donald Teare, a forensic pathologist. Thurston completed the inquest on September 28, and concluded that Hendrix aspirated his own vomit and died of asphyxia while intoxicated with barbiturates. Citing "insufficient evidence of the circumstances", he declared an open verdict. Dannemann later revealed that Hendrix had taken nine of her prescribed Vesparax sleeping tablets, 18 times the recommended dosage.
After Hendrix's body had been embalmed by Desmond Henley, it was flown to Seattle, Washington, on September 29, 1970. After a service at Dunlap Baptist Church in Seattle's Rainier Valley on October 1, it was interred at Greenwood Cemetery in Renton, Washington, the location of his mother's grave. Hendrix's family and friends traveled in twenty-four limousines and more than two hundred people attended the funeral, including several notable musicians such as original Experience members Mitch Mitchell and Noel Redding, as well as Miles Davis, John Hammond, and Johnny Winter.
He is one of the well known members of the 27 Club.
Hendrix wasn't raised in any particular religion. Music was so central in Hendrix’ life that it effectively became his religion. He even once said: "Music is my religion."
He took it further and even occasionally referenced an “Electric Church,” which might have partially included dropping LSD to have a religious experience. But essentially, the theology was that music can bring out wisdom, creativity, and understanding in people. Hendrix said: "I believed in myself more than anything. And, I suppose in a way, that’s also believing in God. If there is a God and He made you, then if you believe in yourself, you’re also believing in Him.That doesn’t mean you’ve got to believe in heaven and hell and all that stuff. But it does mean that what you are and what you do is your religion… When I get up on stage - well, that’s my whole life. That’s my religion. My music is electric church music, if by ‘church’ you mean ‘religion’, I am electric religion."
Politics
Hendrix was a flower child but held some conservative views. To understand the politics of Jimi Hendrix, one must understand the zeitgeist of his time. Free love, drugs, anti-war, communes, the civil rights movement, Vietnam, Nixon’s lies, and a Mary Poppins carpet bag of other paradigm-changing things were going on. Strangely, though, Jimi often said things that were counter to the ideals of the 60s counterculture.
It might be natural to identify Hendrix with hippies, and then stretch to today’s liberals. But he might have been a bit conservative in today’s political climate.
Views
Hendrix considered abortion a “problem,” assuming a de facto pro-life stance, saying: "I have a song on abortion and a song on Vietnam and a song on just about any problem…"
And though he was a figure in the black community, he didn’t necessarily identify with his minority status, saying: "Music is stronger than politics. I feel sorry for the minorities, but I don’t feel a part of one. And I think the answer lies in music."
Quotations:
"Once you're dead, you're made for life."
"When the power of love overcomes the love of power the world will know peace."
"You have to go on and be crazy. Craziness is like heaven."
"The story of life is quicker than the blink of an eye, the story of love is hello, goodbye."
"The time I burned my guitar it was like a sacrifice. You sacrifice the things you love. I love my guitar."
"Music is a safe kind of high."
"I wish they'd had electric guitars in cotton fields back in the good old days. A whole lot of things would've been straightened out."
"Rock is so much fun. That's what it's all about - filling up the chest cavities and empty kneecaps and elbows."
Personality
In spite of all the fame and success, Hendrix was described as being a fairly shy, personable young man and having a good sense of humor. Jimi was known to be very charming with women to the point that his friends were hesitant to introduce their girlfriends to him. Close friends and colleagues stated that Jimi Hendrix had two passions in his life: music and women.
It is well known that he had an extensive relationship with drugs. While he seems to have been able to function well under the influence of LSD, many of the people who knew him remarked upon the negative effects that alcohol had upon him, and in the end, it was alcohol that took his life.
He enjoyed reading science fiction and would incorporate various elements of this into his songs. Hendrix performed with several different guitars, which included Fenders and Gibsons. However, his signature guitar was a white Stratocaster that he bought in the summer of 1966 with the help of his girlfriend - though his favorite was a black Strat that he bought in ’68.
Physical Characteristics:
Hendrix had actually lost over 60% of his hearing by the time of his death; during mixing sessions, Hendrix often found himself the only person who could stand the playback volumes he needed, over the studio speakers. He also had poor eyesight but seldom wore glasses in public.
Quotes from others about the person
As one journalist wrote in the Berkeley Tribe, "Jimi Hendrix could get more out of an electric guitar than anyone else. He was the ultimate guitar player."
The Experience's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame biography states: "Jimi Hendrix was arguably the greatest instrumentalist in the history of rock music. Hendrix expanded the range and vocabulary of the electric guitar into areas no musician had ever ventured before. His boundless drive, technical ability and creative application of such effects as wah-wah and distortion forever transformed the sound of rock and roll."
Musicologist Andy Aledort described Hendrix as "one of the most creative" and "influential musicians that has ever lived".
Music journalist Chuck Philips wrote: "In a field almost exclusively populated by white musicians, Hendrix has served as a role model for a cadre of young black rockers. His achievement was to reclaim title to a musical form pioneered by black innovators like Little Richard and Chuck Berry in the 1950s."
Interests
drawing
Sport & Clubs
football
Music & Bands
BB King, Muddy Waters, Howlin Wolfe, Robert Johnson and Elmore James
Connections
Hendrix remained unmarried throughout his life, but he spent much time with Monika Dannemann. He fathered two children out of wedlock.