The Rise And Fall Of Jimi Hendrix Essay, Research Paper

Jimi Hendrix, the greatest guitarist in rock history,

revolutionized the sound of rock. In 1967, the Jimi Hendrix

Experience rocked the nation with their first album, Are You

Experienced? Hendrix’s life was cut short by the tragedy of drugs in

1970, when he was only twenty seven years old. In these three years

the sound of rock changed greatly, and Hendrix?s guitar playing was a

major influence.

Jimi was born in Seattle, Washington on November 27, 1942. As a

young boy, whenever the chance came, Jimi would try to play along with

his R & B records. However, music was not his life long dream. At

first, the army was. In the late 1950?s, Hendrix enlisted in the

101st Airborne Division. After sustaining a back injury during a

jump, he received a medical discharge. After his army career came to

an abrupt end, he decided to go into the music field. By this time

he had become an accomplished guitarist, and was soon to become known

as the greatest guitarist ever (Stambler, pg. 290).

However, he did not start out at the top. Jimi started

out playing as part of the back-up for small time R & B groups. It

did not take long before his work was in demand with some of the best

known artists in the field, such as B.B. King, Ike and Tina Turner,

Solomon Burke, Jackie Wilson, Littler Richard, Wilson Pickett, and

King Curtis (Clifford, pg. 181). Using the name Jimmy James, he

toured with a bunch of R & B shows, including six months as a member

of James Brown?s Famous Flames (Stambler, pg. 290).

At the Cafe Wha! in New York, in 1966, Hendrix decided to try

singing. Jimi lucked out when a man by the name of Charles ?Chas?

Chandler from Eric Burdon’s Animals heard him at the club and thought

he was sensational. When Chas heard him again later that year, he

talked Jimi into moving to England where he would really get the

chance to start his career (Stambler, pg. 290).

Along with Chas, Hendrix auditioned some musicians to complete

the new Hendrix group. They choose Mitch Mitchell, a fantastic

drummer, and Noel Redding, one of England’s best guitar and bass

players (Stambler, pg. 290). In 1966, at the Olympia in Paris, the

Experience debuted. One year later, the Experience was breaking

attendance records right and left at European clubs. When the Monkees

toured England in 1967, they heard Jimi and liked him. The Monkees

asked Hendrix to join them on their tour through the U.S., and Jimi

was on his way home (Stambler, pg. 290).

“Jimi’s erotic stage actions, suggestive lyrics, and guitar-

smashing antics…” did not go over well with the Monkees’ fans or

many adults. Being criticized over and over again forced the

Experience to be dropped from the tour (Stambler, pg. 290). This

however did not get Hendrix down. By the end of the year, the group

was invited to the Monterey Pop Festival. Jimi won a standing ovation

for the “…nerve-shattering sounds from the group’s nine amplifiers

and eighteen speakers, topped by Jimi dousing his guitar with lighter

fluid and burning it…” (Stambler, pg. 291).

Hendrix became popular overnight, and his shows became standing

room only. His stage acts were so wild, Time magazine described it

as: “He hopped, twisted and rolled over sideways without missing a

twang or a moan. He slung the guitar low over swiveling hips, or

raised it to pick the strings with his teeth; he thrust it between his

legs and did a bump and grind, crooning: ‘oh, baby, come on now, sock

it to me.’…For a symbolic finish, he lifted the guitar and flung it

against the amplifiers.” Time (April 25, 1968). His specialty became

the way he used feedback, which up until now was an undesired sound.

Using his guitar and the feedback it created, he was able to generate

sounds which were used to his advantage in creating his unique style.

This style is copied today by modern rock artists; however, this style

is duplicated today with the use of special equipment, such as

synthesizers.

Are You Experienced?, Electric Ladyland, Axis: Bold as Love,and

Smash Hits were all platinum albums. For the year of 1968, Billboard

named him Artist of the Year; and in August he played a heart-stopping

performance of the Star Spangled Banner at Woodstock. His fame did

not last forever though. In 1969, the Experience broke-up. However,

Hendrix claimed it was not forever, but was just a chance for the

members to develop their musical abilities. Then Jimi’s drug

addiction became worse. In Toronto, he was arrested for possession of

heroin (Stambler, pg. 291).

None of this held him back from his music though. He played with

other rock artists such as Buddy Miles and Billy Cox, and their album,

Band of Gypsy’s, won a gold record. In 1969, he was chosen as the

Artist of the Year by Playboy. His career seemed limitless, but the

heroin use caught up with him (Stambler, pg. 291). On September 18,

1970, he was found dead in his room from a drug overdose. He was only

twenty seven years old. His music has not been forgotten, as it is

still popular today. If his addiction had not overcome him, he could

still be revolutionizing the style of rock today.

Bibliography

1.Stambler, Irwin. The Encyclopedia of Pop, Rock, and Soul. New York:

St. Martin?s Press, 1989.

2.Clifford, Mike. The Harmony Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock. New

York: Harmony Books, 1988