Legendary Bands - Jimi Hendrix Posters

Justifiably renowned as the finest rock 'n' roll guitarist of all time, Jimi Hendrix (b. James Marshall Hendrix, Nov. 27, 1942, Seattle, Washington) is often overlooked for his unique talents as a songwriter. Well before there was an MTV to supply lazy listeners visual accompaniment to the music they enjoyed, Hendrix was writing songs packed with enough lyrical imagery to put any contemporary "Buzz Bin" clip to shame. As just a cursory glance at some of his better-known song titles reveals, the man who wrote "Purple Haze," "Fire" and "Castles Made Of Sand" wrote songs that, like his guitar playing, painted singular visual pictures that once heard were rarely forgotten.

Perhaps the single most-documented rock performer of the '60s, Hendrix has been the subject of an extraordinary number of books, films, magazine retrospectives, and, no doubt, unproduced film scripts. Most surprising of all, in light of this, is the fact that the guitarist's fame has come essentially as the result of only the four albums he produced in his lifetime, and a fifth which he'd nearly finished before his September 1970 death. Since 1967's Are You Experienced?, however, there have been an astounding total of 25 charting Jimi Hendrix albums, and well over a hundred bootleg recordings that made the rounds during the same period.

Hendrix's well-trod story began in the early '60s, when the Seattle-born guitarist began a post-army career backing the likes of Little Richard, the Isley Brothers and Sam Cooke. By 1966, he'd made his way to Greenwich Village and formed Jimmy James & the Blue Flames; Chas Chandler, former member of British pop group the Animals, saw the guitarist perform at a club there and invited him to London. By October, with Chandler acting as his manager, the former Jimmy James joined forces with bassist Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell and the Jimi Hendrix Experience was born.

An immediate sensation after his spectacular performance at 1967's Monterey Pop Festival--captured for all the world to see on director D.A. Pennabaker's historic film Monterey Pop--Hendrix won further national attention with songs such as "Purple Haze" and "Foxy Lady," both of which boasted some of the most unusual-sounding guitar playing the world had ever heard. Hendrix was a true master not only of the fretboard, but of the electronic effects that were becoming very much a part of rock's overall sound. With the accompaniment of howling feedback, squealing sustained tones, and electronic growls that moved from speaker to speaker, the guitarist's music was more than psychedelic: It was otherworldly.

Hendrix took hold of the late '60s and refused to let it go. By October 1968, all three of the Experience's albums were in the charts at once: Are You Experienced?, the milestone debut, had peaked at No. 5; Axis: Bold As Love had nudged higher to No. 3, and the double-set Electric Ladyland reached No. 1 and stayed there for two weeks. The last of the three had been helped by Hendrix's unforgettable top 20 cover of Bob Dylan's "All Along The Watchtower"; the only hit single in Hendrix's career, its effect was so overwhelming that Dylan himself would use Hendrix's arrangement thereafter.

"I felt like 'Watchtower' was something I'd written but could never get together," Hendrix said at the time. "I often feel that way about Dylan. I could never write the kinds of words he does, but he's helped me out in trying to write, 'cause I've got a thousand songs that will never be finished; I just lay around and write about two or three words. Now I have a little more confidence in trying to finish one."

Hendrix's songwriting influences included much more than Dylan; he was a longtime science fiction fan, and it showed in his work. "Purple Haze" was reportedly inspired by a short story by science fiction writer Philip Jose Farmer; Hendrix's explanation of the song said much about his overall lyrical approach. "It's about going through this land," he said, "'cause that's what I like to do, write a lot of mythical scenes, like the history of the wars on Neptune. Like how they got the Greek gods and all that mythology--well you can have your own mythology scene, or write fiction, complete fiction."

Several of Hendrix's better known songs--such as "Third Stone From The Sun," "Up From The Skies," "And The Gods Made Love," and "1983...(A Merman I Should Turn To Be)"--fit that pattern precisely. Additionally, the guitarist often used earth/air/water/fire imagery in his writing: Consider only the titles of "The Wind Cries Mary," "Castles Made of Sand," "One Rainy Wish," "Burning Of The Midnight Lamp," "Rainy Day, Dream Away," "House Burning Down," and, of course, "Fire" itself. All from the man who set his guitar afire on the Monterey Festival stage.

Hendrix's live work often included many cover songs--by well-known artists such as Dylan, the Troggs (both "Like A Rolling Stone" and "Wild Thing" were performed at Monterey), the Beatles ("Day Tripper" and "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band"), Cream ("Sunshine Of Your Love"), Chuck Berry ("Johnny B. Goode"), Carl Perkins ("Blue Suede Shoes"), and others.

Though Hendrix's own songs were the subject of thousands of bar- and high-school-band cover versions in their time, comparatively few--considering his stature and influence--have been redone professionally by other artists. One suspects that's largely due to the overwhelming personal stamp he placed on all his work; covering a one-of-a-kind artist is a losing proposition for any performer.

Still, there have been several well-known recordings of Hendrix songs, including Derek & the Dominos' "Little Wing," Stevie Ray Vaughan's "Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)," Rickie Lee Jones's "Up From The Skies," and Rod Stewart's top 40 hit "Angel." Hendrix was the subject of two tribute albums in the early '90s. If 6 Was 9 - Tribute To Jimi Hendrix, on the obscure Imaginary Records label, featured a crew of alternative bands such as Thin White Rope, the Shamen, the Mock Turtles, and Thee Hypnotics. 1993's Stone Free: Tribute To Jimi Hendrix was a powerhouse effort on Warner Brothers featuring Eric Clapton, the Cure, Pat Metheny, the Spin Doctors, the Pretenders, P.M. Dawn, and Paul Rodgers (who recorded his own Hendrix tribute set the same year), among others.

That Hendrix's influence will last well through the millennium was evidenced in 1997, when MCA Records re-released Are Your Experienced?, Axis: Bold As Love, Electric Ladyland and First Rays Of The New Rising Sun--a "reissue" of the final record Hendrix had been in the middle of recording prior to his unexpected death in 1970, fragments of which had appeared on his earlier Reprise albums The Cry Of Love, War Heroes, and Rainbow Bridge. Enthusiastically received in their newly remastered format, the discs were bought by older fans and a new legion of youthful fans who--like so many others before them--were captivated by the songs and the guitar-playing of the legendary man from Seattle.