Jimi Hendrix

Rebirth of the electric guitar

Jimi Hendrix was the most influential rock guitarist ever.
He combined a virtuosic guitar playing with an arsenal of devices, including wah-wah pedals, buzzing feedback solos, crunching distorted riffs, and lightning, liquid runs up and down the scales.

Since then, almost every lead guitarist has borrowed heavily from the riffs and techniques pioneered by Jimi Hendrix -- or even just steals them completely. Before Jimi came along, nobody played like this!

In 1964, guitarist James 'Jimi' Hendrix formed his first group Jimmy James and the Blue Flames. During a gig at Greenwich Village, he caught the attention of The Animals'  bass player Chas Chandler, who recognized Jimi's extraordinary talent.

In June 1966, Chandler persuaded Hendrix to go to London. Auditions were held for a new group, The Jimi Hendrix Experience. Noel Redding was selected on bass, while John 'Mitch' Mitchell  became the drummer. In december they released their first single Hey Joe, followed by Purple Haze.

In 1967, Jimi burst onto the international rock music scene with his debut album Axis: Bold as Love. On his next album Electric Ladyland (october '68), he pioneered the use of the studio itself as an instrument, using electronics and overdub techniques, with the help of engineer Eddie Kramer.

Jimi ended the "Experience" in 1969 and formed the funky Band of Gypsies with drummer Buddy Miles and bassist Billy Cox. In 1970, Mitchell came back, replacing Miles. It was this trio that toured the world during Hendrix's final months.

Nowadays, Hendrix has a larger following than he ever did in the past: he was probably the most influential guitarist ever. Most of your favorite musicians say they borrowed heavily from Jimi Hendrix: Al De Meola, Pat Metheny, Eric Clapton, Sting, Metallica, Guns & Roses, Pearl Jam, Aerosmith, The Cure, Spin Doctors, Buddy Guy, Body Count, Seal, Nigel Kennedy, Pretenders, P.M. Dawn, Belly, Living Colour,...

Also performers in the world of classical music, jazz, contemporary, alternative, heavy metal, and even rap were influenced by Jimi. For you guitar junkies out there ;-) just a few names: Robin Trower, Frank Zappa, Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, David T. Chastain, Ted Nugent, Brian May, Pete Townshend, Jeff Beck, Slash, Yngwie Malmsteen,...

Amazingly, Jimi recorded only three full studio albums in his lifetime:

• Axis: Bold as Love (1967)
• Are You Experienced? (1967)
• Electric Ladyland (1968)

Besides the practical considerations of Jimi's left-handedness, there's also the cosmetic aspect which set Jimi apart from other guitarists and that became part of the Hendrix legend. He mainly used restrung right-handed guitars, but he also owned a black, maple neck 1968 left-handed Fender Stratocaster and a black, left-handed Gibson Flying V.

The events surrounding the death of Jimi Hendrix are shrouded in rumour and controversy. It is unclear what direction his music would have taken had he lived on. Some speculate he would have returned to his strong blues roots. Others suggest his associations with Miles Davis would have prompted a foray into jazz music: his usage of voicings like the dominant7#9 chord (often referred to as the Jimi Hendrix chord) implied an interest in sounds not normally associated with rock music.

Jimi Hendrix recorded an enormous amount of studio material. Much of this, as well as entire live concerts, was issued posthumously. Alas, in the mid-'70s, producer Alan Douglas took control of these projects, overdubbing many of the tapes with parts by studio musicians.

But with the help of Jimi's step-sister Janie, Experience Hendrix was set up, to get Jimi's legacy in order. They hired John McDermott and Jimi's original engineer Eddie Kramer, to oversee the remastering process. From the original master tapes, in April of 1997 Hendrix's first three albums were reissued with drastically improved sound. Accompanying those reissues was a compilation album called First Rays of the New Rising Sun, made up of tracks from the Cry of Love, Rainbow Bridge and War Heroes.

Alan Douglas commented in "Q" magazine:

"... You have to understand that his head was always filled with music. You could be in a conversation and all of a sudden his eyes would glaze over and you're talking to yourself. He was gone, completely possessed by the ideas that were flowing through him all the time. It might happen to him while he was eating dinner. He'd be poised with his silverware in his hand for five minutes.
After a while, when you knew him well enough, when that happened you'd just learn to walk away and leave him alone until he came back. The flow was enormous and constant. This could happen 10 times in a three or four-hour period."

In his brief four year reign as a superstar, Jimi Hendrix expanded the vocabulary of the electric guitar more than anyone before or since.

Hendrix was a master at getting fantastic sounds from his guitar, often with innovative experiments that produced astral-quality feedback and roaring distortion.