Jimi Hendrix was an African American guitar and vocalist and is one of founders of the 60s Rock movement. Born James Marshall Hendrix in 1942, he started playing guitar in 1957 at age 15. After being honorably discharged from the U.S. Army in 1962, Hendrix and Billy Cox, a fellow servicemen from the army and bassist, formed the band King Kasuals and played smaller gigs around Nashville, Tennessee.
In 1964, Hendrix recorded his first two singles “Testify” and instrumental on “Mercy Mercy” by Don Covay, the latter of those two charting in the 35th place of the Billboard chart. After failing to make a career out of the R&B scene, Hendrix met Linda Keith, girlfriend of guitarist Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones, who connected him with Chas Chandler from the Animals. Hendrix and Chandler would go on to form a partnership that finally jump started the young musician’s career.
In 1967, Hendrix moved to England where his music career really took off. Hendrix charted on the UK Billboards with songs like “Purple Haze”, “All Along the Watchtower”, and “The Wind Cries Mary”. By 1969, Hendrix was one of the world’s highest paid rock musicians and headlined Woodstock 69’, the most famous music festival in history. At the height of his fame, Hendrix died of an overdose on sleeping pills on Sept. 18, 1970, at just age 27.
Hendrix is credited with being one of the pioneers of psychedelic rock and today is highly associated with the counterculture movement of the 1960s. He invented a truly unique sound with his interesting use of feedback and gain. He was inducted into the Rock’N’Roll Hall of Fame in 1992 with his online biography stating, “Jimi Hendrix was one of the most gifted instrumentalists of all time, a self-taught electric guitarist who’s fluid, immersive style was perfectly suited to embrace-and then revolutionize-the late ‘60 psychedelic rock movement”.
