Jimi Hendrix Biography
Jimmi Hendrix had a career that spanned over only seven years but in that time he was able to set a legacy that would put him among the top ranking entertainers of recent history, even after his passing on September 18 1970 he remains one of the best singer’s, song writers and record producers the industry has ever seen. The life of Johnny Allen Hendrix began on November 27 1942 in Seattle, Washington, USA where he was born to Lucille Jeter and James Allen Hendrix, for the first three years of his life Hendrix went by his birth name before it was changed and he was legally named James Marshall Hendrix.
His first contact with music was as a result of the need to forget the hardships in his life, the Hendrix family faced poverty and abandonment since his mother was a heavy alcohol user and an absent figure in his life, in addition to this Hendrix had to take on the duty of looking after his disabled siblings while his father was out in the battlefield as a soldier. This responsibility proved heavy for the young boy and to escape from it he found solace in playing the guitar and composing lyrics to tunes he had created.
Hendrix was educated at the Washington Junior High School and the Garfield High School but he spent most of time away from class doing gigs with various bands and getting involved with criminal gangs. He became famous in 1963 as the lead singer of his own band that was named the Casuals, the band’s main audiences were visitors to clubs around the downtown neighbourhood of New York and many of his listeners were dark skinned Americans who besides wanting to identify with one of their own in an era of much racism, they were attracted to the young artist’s talent on the guitar coupled with his blend of rock music.
The singer’s debut singles were released in 1964 and they were titled ‘Freedom’ and ‘Testify’, just like his other works in previous bands they were received poorly and Hendrix moved to another band named the Curtis Knight and the Squires in 1965. With the band he released singles like ‘Welcome Home’ and ‘How Would You Feel’, ‘Go Go Shoes’, ‘Help Me’, ‘Soul Food’ and ‘Goodbye Bessie Mae’. With his new band Hendrix became a success and he went on to have concerts all over the country, with his fame and name well established he broke off from the band and set up his own band naming it The Blue Flame.
The Blue Fame was broken up after a year and in 1967 Hendrix formed yet another band named The Jimmi Hendrix Experience, signed on to Track Records he released Are You Experienced, an album that featured singles like ‘The Wind Cries Mary’, ‘Stone Free’, ‘Experience’ and ‘Hey Joe’. He topped charts and soon followed his success with Axis: Bold as Love in 1967 and Electric Ladyland in 1968. Jimmi Hendrix Experience disbanded in 1969 and a year later Hendrix passed away after an alleged drug overdose.
Hendrix was a multi-instrumentalist and he played the percussion, guitar, bass guitar and the piano. Among his most prestigious accolades was an induction in the Native American Music Hall of Fame ,the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2005 and the US Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992, Hendrix has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and he was also by far the best guitar player in recorded history.
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