Jimi

Becoming Jimi Hendrix traces “Jimmy’s” early musical roots, from a harrowing, hand-to-mouth upbringing in a poverty-stricken, broken Seattle home to his early discovery of the blues to his stint as a reluctant recruit of the 101st Airborne who was magnetically drawn to the rhythm and blues scene in Nashville. As a sideman, Hendrix played with the likes of Little Richard, Ike and Tina Turner, the Isley Brothers, and Sam & Dave—but none knew what to make of his spotlight-stealing rock guitar experimentation, the likes of which had never been heard before. From 1962 to 1966, on the rough and tumble club circuit, Hendrix learned to please a crowd, deal with racism, and navigate shady music industry characters, all while evolving his own astonishing style. Finally, in New York’s Greenwich Village, two key women helped him survive, and his discovery in a tiny basement club in 1966 led to Hendrix instantly being heralded as a major act in Europe before he returned to America, appeared at the Monterey Pop Festival, and entered the pantheon of rock’s greatest musicians. Becoming Jimi Hendrix is based on over one hundred interviews with those who knew Hendrix best during his lean years, more than half of whom have never spoken about him on the record. Utilizing court transcripts, FBI files, private letters, unpublished photos, and U.S. Army documents, this is the story of a young musician who overcame enormous odds, a past that drove him to outbursts of violence, and terrible professional and personal decisions that complicated his life before his untimely demise.

"The time I burned my guitar it was like a sacrifice. You sacrifice the things you love. I love my guitar."- Jimi HendrixJames Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was a cultural icon and arguably the greatest and most influential electric guitarist in rock music history. Mostly self-taught on the instrument, the left-handed Hendrix played a right-handed guitar turned upside down and re-strung to suit him. Hendrix extended the tradition of rock guitar, exploiting them to a previously undreamed-of extent. As a record producer, Hendrix was also an innovator in using the recording studio as an extension of his musical ideas. In 2003, more than 30 years after his death at 27, Rolling Stone magazine named Hendrix number one on their list of the "100 greatest guitarists of all time". This book presents Hendrix, the man, the musician, the philosopher. It presents his music, his shows, his song lyric, his life.

A young screenwriter is invited to collaborate with Jimi Hendrix on a film, resulting in the wildest eighteen months of his life and coinciding with the tumultuous final months of Hendrix’s life. In 1969, a twenty-something screenwriter with one movie credit to his name is approached by Jimi’s management after the legendary guitarist saw the obscure indie film in London and had the idea to collaborate on a project of his own. Jonathan Stathakis had no idea how thrilling the next eighteen months would be, as he and Hendrix formed not just a working partnership but a unique friendship. Hendrix ushered Jonathan into his world, where plenty of sex and drugs surrounded the rock ’n’ roll. From Woodstock to Electric Ladyland, Jonathan leads readers inside one of the craziest trips ever taken in music history. While writing their script, Jonathan and Hendrix talked about life and where their roads were leading. Hendrix the performer was a flamboyant unpredictable force of nature. But Hendrix the friend was a thoughtful, frustrated, dedicated artist who oftentimes just needed somebody to talk to. Sadly, Hendrix’s journey ended far too soon, and his last phone call to Jonathan—just two days before his death in London—almost seemed to foretell his fate. With many never-before-told stories and never-before-seen photographs, Jimi Hendrix comes back to life as you’ve never experienced him before. Backstage, on stage, and everyplace in between, get ready to ride through the purple haze and experience one of the most creative and powerful cultural eras in history. It’s Almost Famous with a Hendrix twist.

In the world of classic rock, there is one name that nearly everyone has heard: Jimi Hendrix. A genius on the electric guitar, Jimi Hendrix singlehandedly revolutionized the world of music with his talent, his attitude, and his personality. He inspired musicians and people not only in the United States, but also across the world. He was a star in the 1960s and the 1970s, rocking out on blues, jazz, soul, and rock music. He collaborated with many other musicians, and also did some solo works that were huge successes. His music remains popular today because of the effect it had on the world; he worked during a very turbulent era in America’s history. In this book, you will read about the man, the myth, the legend Jimi Hendrix, whose memory lives on in his spectacular music.

In his brief career Jimi Hendrix transformed rock music, established himself as the greatest guitarist of all time, and left a rich legacy of original songs and dazzling recordings. In Jimi Hendrix and Philosophy, philosophers come to terms with the experience and the phenomenon of Hendrix, uncovering some surprising implications of Hendrix’s life and work. Much of this book is concerned with the restless polarities and dualities that reveal themselves through Hendrix. His compositions display a preoccupation with the tragic nature of life, moving between the polarities of Schopenhauer’s The World as Will and Idea and and Platonic philosophy. Jimi’s “guitar-being” has surprising implications for the philosophical relation between mind and body. There is in Hendrix a duality between innovation and tradition—innovation in psychedelic sonic adventures and tradition in the form of the blues. Hendrix exemplifies the interaction of technology and art, as seen in his use of feedback, varieties of noise, and backwards reel-to-reel playing. How much of the Hendrix phenomenon can be explained by the technological situation and how much by his own unique genius? Everyone knows about Hendrix’s use of feedback in the narrow sense, but feedback can also be viewed as a general phenomenon that arises in complex dynamical systems and emerges at the border of chaos and order. Although critics associate Hendrix’s lifestyle and early death with self-destructive patterns of the Sixties, his actual thoughts as revealed in his songs and writings show a more positive and constructive concern with authentic freedom. What did Hendrix mean when he spoke of “the realities” of conflict conveyed in “Machine Gun”? What is a “Voodoo Chile”? When does noise become music? These and other questions are addressed in Jimi Hendrix and Philosophy. Hendrix’s undying popularity following his death in 1970 has led to the release over the years of a large body of material which Hendrix would never have chosen to make public, raising serious questions about what we owe to the dead and how we view the construction of the artist’s public persona.

Describing how the city of London helped transform a little-known musician named Jimmy James into rock legend Jimi Hendrix, this revealing volume details how Hendrix helped transform London into a dynamo of popular music and social rebellion. The book examines Hendrix's impact on London's leading musicians—including the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and Eric Clapton—and follows Hendrix as he acquires a savvy manager, a tight band, and a forgiving girlfriend and launches himself into a breakneck career that whisked him from dingy clubs to Woodstock and recording and television studios. Each chapter introduces unforgettable characters and takes readers on a trip through the psychedelic era, concluding with Hendrix's tragic death in a London apartment. It explores the public as well as the private man, capturing the contrast between the wild showman on stage and the unassuming guy behind the scenes.

This comprehensive discussion of the singer/songwriter/guitarist's life carves autobiographical details from the lyrics of his song catalog. Jimi Hendrix was a rock 'n' roll guitar god and remains an important rock icon, still popular despite the four decades that have passed since his death in 1970. The Words and Music of Jimi Hendrix uses Hendrix's music—including the posthumous album Valleys of Neptune, released on March 9, 2010—to shed light on the details of the singer/songwriter's all-too-brief life. Organized chronologically, the book provides an in-depth look at Hendrix's life, carving autobiographical details from his lyrics. At the same time, it offers readers a better understanding of the superstar's music and the forces behind it. The book focuses on the three albums released during Hendrix's life, as well as the major posthumous works. Priority is also given to touring and to the influence of other guitarists.

It’s been over forty years since the tragic death of Jimi Hendrix, yet his popularity is undiminished and his place as the preeminent electric guitarist of the ages is still unrivaled. In The Jimi Hendrix Experience, bestselling author and rock aficionado Jerry Hopkins delves into the legendary life and career of the greatest man to ever pick up a guitar. With a consistent mix of greatness and madness, learn why the man who only released three studio albums during his life could forever transform not only music, but also a generation. While he’ll always be remembered for his incredible performance at Woodstock in 1969, Hopkins shows the true side of Hendrix: from his early childhood and the beginning of his career to his early death and the controversial battle of control over his estate that still wages on. With incredible photographs depicting Hendrix’s rise to the top, The Jimi Hendrix Experience is the ultimate biography of the “Voodoo Chile.” Hendrix’s legacy and music will live on for generations to be enjoyed by and to live on with fans of all ages. And now, thanks to Hopkins, his life can be relived through this incredible biography.