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Remembering Jimi Hendrix (Nov. 27, 1942-Sept. 18, 1970)
That's one of the items listed in the Associated Press' "Today in History" for Sept. 18, between other events on the same date: the plane crash that killed United Nations Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjold in 1961 and the FBI's capture of Patty Hearst in 1975.
Of the three H's, Hammarskjold and Hearst have faded into the footnotes of history. Hendrix has not.
We still hear his music daily: on the radio, through MP3 players, even on the occasional TV commercial. Lists constantly are being compiled of rock music's greatest guitarist, and Jimi usually winds up No. 1.
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Walk down the street on a summer day, and you're likely to encounter someone wearing a Jimi Hendrix T-shirt, from folks with graying hair to kids whose parents weren't even around when he was alive.
His life has been documented in countless books, articles and videos, and they usually paint the picture of an eminently talented musician who couldn't cope with the rigors of superstardom and paid the ultimate price. Perhaps his plight had a lot to do with his suddenly being thrust into the spotlight after years of playing guitar in nearly complete obscurity.
In the summer of 1966, Hendrix was fronting a group called Jimmy James (his short-term pseudonym) and the Blue Flames, playing in clubs around New York City. An Englishwoman named Linda Keith, then-girlfriend of Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards, caught Hendrix's act. She told Chas Chandler – bass player for the Animals, another British group of note – about the guitarist.
The next thing Jimi knew, Chandler was flying him to London, where he wowed the musical community, including all the up-and-coming rock guitarists: Eric Clapton, then of Cream, and Pete Townshend of The Who both admitted that Hendrix's skill level intimidated the heck out of them.
Chandler, who was making the transition from musician to manager, soon teamed Hendrix with drummer Mitch Mitchell and Noel Redding to form the Jimi Hendrix Experience. Mitchell, the last surviving member of the group, died in 2008.
By early 1967, the Experience had a hit single in Britain, "Hey Joe," and two more on the way shortly. They'd captured that nation's attention so thoroughly that Paul McCartney recommended the band appear at the Monterey Pop Festival in June.
That marked Hendrix's return to the United States, and he took the opportunity to give a scintillating performance that's captured for posterity in the films "Monterey Pop" and "Jimi Plays Monterey." Watching the expressions of audience members as Jimi burns his guitar is worth the price of the DVD.
Now a transatlantic sensation, Jimi and his band released three albums that stand among the true classics of rock: "Are You Experienced?", "Axis: Bold As Love" and "Electric Ladyland," all within a year and a half.
Unfortunately, the Experience broke up in 1969, and despite a memorable performance at Woodstock, Hendrix's personal and musical lives were unraveling. He was arrested for drug possession in Toronto (later acquitted), and despite constant promises of a new album on the horizon, he lacked the cohesion to make that happen.
One more record did appear before his death, though: "Band of Gypsys," recorded live during New Year's shows that ended the '60s and began the '70s. Although the album was released for a contractual obligation, it contains plenty of strong material signaling a new, funkier musical direction Hendrix might have pursued.
Although Jimi spent much time in the recording studio as 1970 progressed, much of his work remained unfinished as he headed to Europe for a late-summer tour. It wrapped up with a performance at the Isle of Fehmarn Festival in Germany, where audience members burned down the stage shortly after Hendrix finished.
A few weeks later, he jammed informally with the band Eric Burdon and War at Ronnie Scott's Club in London, the last time he is known to have played guitar.
The circumstances of his death two days later have been the source of speculation for 39 years. But suffice it to say that at the time of his passing, no one could have foreseen the continuing impact that the music of James Marshall Hendrix would have on subsequent generations.
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