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Quick Facts
- NAME: Jimi Hendrix
- OCCUPATION: Songwriter, Guitarist, Singer
- BIRTH DATE: November 27, 1942
- DEATH DATE: September 18, 1970
- PLACE OF BIRTH: Seattle, Washington
- PLACE OF DEATH: London, United Kingdom
Best Known For
Guitarist, singer, and songwriter, Jimi Hendrix delighted audiences in the 1960s with his outrageous electric guitar playing skills and his experimental sound.
Videos see all videos
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Carlos Santana - Rising Star (1:51)
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Jimi Hendrix - Mini Biography
A short biography of Jimi Hendrix who learned to play guitar as a teenager. He grew up to become a rock guitar legend who excited audiences in the 1960s with his innovative electric guitar playing.
Carlos Santana - Rising Star
Bill Graham convinced Clive Davis, a Columbia Records executive, to sign Santana.
Carlos Santana - At Woodstock
Carlos Santana and his bandmates played Woodstock having never recorded an album.
Carlos Santana - An Instant Hit
Carlos Santana formed the rock band Santana, and is still revered as one of the most talented guitarists to this day.
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Play NowJimi Hendrix. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 09:38, Jun 19, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/jimi-hendrix-9334756.
Jimi Hendrix. [Internet]. 2013. The Biography Channel website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/jimi-hendrix-9334756 [Accessed 19 Jun 2013].
"Jimi Hendrix." 2013. The Biography Channel website. Jun 19 2013, 09:38 http://www.biography.com/people/jimi-hendrix-9334756.
"Jimi Hendrix," The Biography Channel website, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/jimi-hendrix-9334756 [accessed Jun 19, 2013].
"Jimi Hendrix," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/jimi-hendrix-9334756 (accessed Jun 19, 2013).
Jimi Hendrix [Internet]. The Biography Channel website; 2013 [cited 2013 Jun 19] Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/jimi-hendrix-9334756.
Jimi Hendrix, http://www.biography.com/people/jimi-hendrix-9334756 (last visited Jun 19, 2013).
Jimi Hendrix. The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/jimi-hendrix-9334756. Accessed Jun 19, 2013.
Synopsis
Guitarist, singer, and songwriter Jimi Hendrix was born on November 27, 1942, in Seattle, Washington. Learning to play guitar as a teenager, Hendrix grew up to become a rock guitar legend who excited audience in the 1960s with his innovative electric guitar playing. Hendrix died in 1970 from drug-related complications, leaving his mark on the world of rock music and remaining popular to this day.
Quotes
"Blues is easy to play, but hard to feel."
Early Life
Guitarist, singer, and songwriter. Born Johnny Allen Hendrix (later changed to James Marshall) on November 27, 1942, in Seattle, Washington. Learning to play guitar as a teenager, Hendrix grew up to become a rock guitar legend. He had a difficult childhood, sometimes living in the care of relatives and even acquaintances at times.
His mother, Lucille, was only 17 years old when Hendrix was born. She had a stormy relationship with his father, Al, and eventually left the family after the couple had two more children together, sons Leon and Joseph. Hendrix would only see his mother sporadically before her death in 1958.
Musical Aspirations
In many ways, music became a sanctuary for Hendrix. He was a fan of blues music and taught himself to play guitar. At the age of 14, Hendrix saw Elvis Presley perform. He got his first electric guitar the following year and eventually played with two bands - the Rocking Kings and the Tomcats. In 1959, Hendrix dropped out of high school. He worked odd jobs while continuing to follow his musical aspirations.
Hendrix enlisted in the United States Army in 1961 and trained at Fort Ord in California to become a paratrooper. Even as a soldier, he found time for music, creating a band named The King Casuals. Hendrix served in the army until 1962 when he was discharged due to an injury.
After leaving the military, Hendrix pursued his music, working as a session musician and playing backup for such performers as Little Richard, Sam Cooke, and the Isley Brothers. He also formed a group of his own called Jimmy James and the Blue Flames, which played gigs around New York City's Greenwich Village neighborhood.
Career Breakthrough
In mid-1966, Hendrix met Chas Chandler, a former member of the Animals, a successful rock group, who became his manager. Chandler convinced Hendrix to go to London where he joined forces with musicians Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell to create The Jimi Hendrix Experience. While there, Hendrix built up quite a following among England's rock royalty. Members of the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Who, and Eric Clapton were all great admirers of Hendrix's work. One critic for the British music magazine Melody Maker said that he "had great stage presence" and looked at times as if he was playing "with no hands at all."
Released in 1967, the band's first single, "Hey Joe" was an instant smash in Britain, and was soon followed by other hits such as "Purple Haze" and "The Wind Cried Mary." On tour to support his first album, Are You Experienced? (1967), Hendrix delighted audiences with his outrageous guitar-playing skills and his innovative, experimental sound.
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