In 1960s there was an R&B wave. Little Richard and Isley Brothers were the most popular musicians. Jimi did not feat in their company and couldn't fully realize his potential.
Hendrix moved to New York in the mid-'60s, making waves in various clubs while hooking up with blues rocker John Hammond, Jr.'s band. While playing in a club one night, Animals bassist Chas Chandler approached Hendrix. Convincing Hendrix to move to London, Chandler became his manager and worked with him on his first solo gig. Bringing drummer Mitch Mitchell and bassist Noel Redding on board, the Jimi Hendrix Experience was born.
The Experience incorporated R&B and soul and melded those sounds into an eclectic pop variation of psychedelia just coming onto the scene. The London music scene in 1967 was exploding and so did Hendrix with his debut album, Are You Experienced? Hendrix took guitar playing to another level with songs like "Purple Haze," "Hey Joe" and "The Wind Cries Mary." Hendrix quickly jumped to the forefront of music. While each of those songs put Hendrix into the UK Top 10, they indirectly earned him a top spot at the Monterey Pop Festival in the United States later that year. Hendrix commanded everyone's attention while he played his guitar behind his back and over his head. His guitar wanderings incited a degree of spiritual hysteria, especially for the musician himself. He'd finger his guitar and then set it on fire, praying to the guitar gods who blessed him with his unbelievable craft.
Everyone from music moguls to teenage kids was taken by Hendrix's experimentation. Not since the likes of Eric Clapton or Pete Townshend had a young musician been able to take off on a stage. He'd use distorted riffs, mind-blowing feedback and heart-thumping wah-wah pedals to make his music speak to the crowd.
Hendrix would go on to record only two other full-length albums before he died of a drug overdose in 1970 at the age of 27; Axis: Bold As Love and the double-LP Electric Ladyland---still just as mind blowing today as it was nearly 30 years ago. In the course of the few years before he died, Hendrix seriously experimented in funk, jazz and Mississippi Delta blues, spending much time in the studio but never releasing an album. From these sessions, producers posthumously culled tracks and released Hendrix albums, both live and studio.
Author: Sharon White
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