Jimi Hendrix
It always brings a blast of great sadness when I think of Jimi. He was not only one of the most exciting acts I have ever seen but a genius of a musician. I cannot help wondering if he would still be with us today if things had not been so messed up that day when he was found unconscious. Was there a great panic because of the drugs in the house? Did his girlfriend just go to pieces? Were there phone calls and discussion? Was the flat cleared up before the ambulance was called? Did it take longer than it should have done? Then why did the ambulance take so long to arrive?
They are questions that haunt me. It was such a tragic loss. Jimi was only twenty seven years old. The music he was producing was prolific, original, exquisite and well beyond what anybody was doing then or is doing now. Who knows what magic he would have gone on to weave? His imagination was his only limitation.
We all know the stories of Jimi the entertainer. There was no-one who comes near his showmanship. He took on all the antics of the R&B stars like Johnny Guitar Watson, T-Bone Walker, Chuck Berry and Muddy Waters and accentuated them. He played the guitar behind his back, behind his head, between his legs and with his teeth. He played it one handed, with his elbow, smashed it against amps, bounced it off the floor, made love to it and set it on fire. I saw T-Bone Walker playing an amazing set where he played his guitar one handed while walking it around the stage. It was incredible to watch and hear but it did not compare to the excitement of Jimi.
The showmanship alone was sufficient to have made him immortal but that was only the minor part. It was the extraordinary expertise with the guitar that elevated to the heights. He created sounds and invented new methodology that extended the capacity of the instrument beyond its limits. I saw him play riffs and runs on that guitar that blasted your mind while at the same time orchestrating the feedback to provide an electronic chorus that took you into supersonic dimensions. When he brushed the strings with his hand or banged them with his elbow he induced sounds that were extraordinary. When other guitarists used gimmicks such as the Wah-Wah pedal they were interesting gimmicks. When Jimi used them he mastered them so that they were controlled and integrated. His mind was so sophisticated and complex that he could manipulate all those sounds in his head. He could hear what he wanted to produce and his skills were so great that he could manufacture the sounds that he was hearing in his brain. His mastery was so consummate that he not only played the guitar as an instrument but knew how to create a range of distortions and play them along with it. Nobody else has even come close.
When you add in the distinctive rich voice and song-writing skills you end up with a unique package that places him on a pedestal above all the others. I could, and do, listen to his guitar noodling for hours. I have hundreds of hours of him rehearsing, jamming and just enjoying himself.
At the time of his death Jimi was at a crossroads and was looking to branch out into a series of other directions. All I know is that they would have been extraordinary and we are all the less for being deprived of them.
Four short years was not enough experience!
He is my all time favorite guitarist. Such a genius taken away too soon. Great post.
Mine too. Amazing. Thank you.
Actually his album “Are you Experienced” was the first album I ever bought. Saved up my babysitting money to buy it. I still have it somewhere in my basement.
A great album for your first! I loved that album. I can still remember hearing Hey Joe on the radio for the first time. My ears pricked up. It was something totally new.
Yes to all your questions. Monika Dannemann was a very bad liar who had given at least 4 conflicting stories. Cathy Etchingham couldn’t take any more of it and proceeded to get her into court. Dannemann committed suicide the day before the case was to commence. Says it all really.
Such a shame. All because drugs were illegal.
The best description of his technique I’ve read is in Charles Shaar Murray’s biography. Have you read it?
Not read that one Dave. I’ll look out for it!
I’m a huge Jimi fan too. I often wonder what it must have been like to be alive while he was around and to actually see him play. Must have been surreal.
It was exciting! He was amazing. But we didn’t appreciate it enough. We thought it would all go on for ever and Jimi would be around for decades. We did not realise how precious those concerts were. I only saw him three times. If I had known I would have travelled the world!
Ha ha. Cool! It is true that we rarely appreciate what we have until it is gone. You wouldn’t happen to have any personal recordings of those concerts would you? That would be priceless. Then again, I don’t think we had as good video recording equipment as we do now.
No I wish I had. I could have recorded some amazing stuff. But there was no small recording equipment back then. I wish I had taken photos I could have got some beauties. but I thought it would last for ever.
If you could recall the venues, I can check my archive if there are any recordings.
The three times I saw Jimi were Klooks Kleek (early??) Woburn Abbey and The Royal Albert Hall (I have a copy of that but I can’t hear me at all!)
It must have been another club type venue as he didn’t actually ever have a gig of his own at Klooks Kleek. Although he did attend a John Mayall gig and got asked up for a jam. No recordings have surfaced.
Woburn Abbey of 6 July 68 is available on CD, from Experience Hendrix web-site sales only.
It”s raw but pretty good.
Both the RAH shows of 18 & 24 Feb 69 are on CD, with the 24th also on film.
It was supposed to be finally released on DVD earlier this year but delayed for some reason.
May have been another club but I was pretty certain it was Klooks Kleek. Memory sometimes plays tricks. Liz was with me at Woburn Abbey and she still swears she’s never seen him.
I’ll check out the Woburn Abbey one. I’d be interested to hear that again. I was blown away by it despite the shitty PA. We were disappointed with the Albert Hall. I think we were expecting too much. I’ve got the CDs and they sound good. Probably a case of expectations being raised too high.
I’d love to see it on DVD.
I can guarantee it was somewhere else other than KK.
Could be the Refectory, Marquee, Flamingo, Ram Jam, Roundhouse, Astoria, Granada, Imperial College, Saville Theatre – that’s it really in London, except the few private members clubs like Blazes and Scotch of St James – up until he went to Monterey in June 67.
See Experience Hendrix website – click on Dagger Records icon for official bootleg selection.
I used to go to the Flamingo, Marquee, Ram Jam, Roundhouse and Imperial College regularly but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t one of them. I’ve always remembered it as Klooks Kleek but back then I was going to three gigs a week. They kind of rolled into one.
I’ll check out that site. Cheers Andrew.
You might have seen him at Ram Jam as support act to John Mayall, 10 Dec 66 – different and earlier to the occasion I had previously mentioned.
That doesn’t ring a bell at all. I’m sure I would have remembered if Mayall had played with him. Mind you Mayall played with Beefheart at Middle Earth (I think) and I’ve completely blotted out the Mayall set. I was so blown away with Beefheart. I was just sure it was Klooks Kleek. I can almost visualise the place. I must be mistaken but I can’t for the life of me think where it might have been if it wasn’t there.
As long as we’re talking Jimi, I saw him play with a local act “Don and the Goodtimes” at a club called The Spanish Castle, back in 1962. A friend of the family was a King County sheriff, working off duty as security there. He let his three daughters and I in to see the “star” act, and there was this animated black guy, Jimi, playing with them. Jimi used to show up at the Castle, and loan acts equipment in exchange for stage time. And yeah, club Spanish Castle was immortalized in Jimi’s “Spanish Castle Magic.” It really was “…a long, long way to go.” South of SeaTac airport on old Hiway 99 and S. 188th. Long gone now, but memories remain. TY for a neat article, opher. Wanted to share this with fans before the memorant goes the way of Jimi, Spanish Castle and Deputy Tom O’Roarke. RIP.
Nice memory Jeff. I have my memories of the three times I saw him. Rarely have I felt such excitement!