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