Even if you never cared for his songs, you
surely heard of him. He was a musical prodigy, the first real electric guitar hero. He grew
from humble beginnings and a fractured family to establish himself as one of the most influential
guitarists of all time, a major force in 20th century music. Get ready to jam out on your
air-guitar with today’s protagonist: Jimi Hendrix.
Jimi, Jimmy or Johnny? Jimi Hendrix was born Johnny Allen Hendrix
on November 27, 1942 in Seattle. His father Al, later renamed him James Marshall, or Jimmy
for short. Young Jimmy descended from a family of professional
entertainers. His grandmother, Nora Rose, was a dancer with a traveling vaudeville troupe
called ‘Lacy’s Band’, and her husband Bertran was a stagehand and roadie for the
same outfit. By 1912, the travelling couple had settled
in Vancouver, Canada and in 1919, they had their second born, James Allen, or ‘Al’.
Young Al had inherited from Nora a love of music and competitive dancing. In 1941 Al
got engaged to Lucille Jeter, a lively and beautiful 16-year-old from Roslyn, Washington.
They had met that very same year at a concert featuring legendary Jazz pianist Fats Waller.
They were married the following year, and as we already know, welcomed Johnny slash
Jimmy on the 27th of November. Is it important to note that Jimi Hendrix
was named ‘Johnny’ at birth? Yes, it is, because it was a symptom of Al and Lucille’s
fast-deteriorating relationship. Since their engagement days, Lucille had never let go
of what she loved the most: partying and enjoying the nightlife. And she did party hard, eventually
developing an alcohol problem and psychiatric issues. Lucille also had developed a reputation
for being unfaithful. Amongst her alleged lovers: one Johnny Williams.
So, when Johnny/Jimmy was born, Al was stationed in the Pacific with the US Army. But at the
end of WWII, when Al returned to Seattle from his service, he legally changed Johnny’s
name. Was Jimmy an illegitimate child? That, we don’t know, and neither did Al, but at
least he wanted to erase any possible link to a potential extramarital affair.
By 1947, young Jimmy’s domestic life could be accurately described as dysfunctional.
Lucille was by all accounts a caring and loving mother... when she was there. Unfortunately,
that was a rare occurrence. Her drinking problem worsened, and she developed a penchant for
simply disappearing for days at the time. Naturally, this disappearing act led to frequent,
violent rows between her and Al. But the couple stuck together four more years, and had even
more children together: Leon, Joseph, Cathy and finally Pamela, in 1951.
In December of that same year, Al and Lucille finally separated, and Al took over custody
of his children. Money was always tight for the single father.
Joseph, Cathy and Pamela were all assigned to foster families. Al took on multiple jobs
-- janitor, gas station attendant, gardener -- which allowed him to look after Jimmy and
Leon. But even so, the two brothers spent much of the early 1950s under the care of
relatives, friends, or neighbours. Eventually, Al was forced to foster his eldest sons, too,
for a brief period. In 1953, Al was able to eventually stabilise
his financial situation, and he was granted custody of Jimmy once more.
A – D - Em Al and Jimmy’s relationship may have been
close, or tense, or both, varying on accounts. They surely did bond over music. From an early
age, Jimmy developed a fascination for legendary Blues guitarists and vocalists in Al’s record
collection. Artists like B.B. King, Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, and, most of all,
the legendary Robert Johnson, who had learned his guitar skills after signing a covenant
with the Devil at a crossroads; whose fingerplay was so skilful that he sounded like two guitarists
playing at once; and who died at 27 after drinking a shot of poisoned whiskey.
This fascination for Blues guitar would soon be noticed by Al, with the help of a broom.
You see, Al Hendrix ran a tight ship around the home, and while he was out, he required
Jimmy to keep his bedroom tidy and clean. When he returned home, he would often notice
some broom straw on Jimmy’s bedroom floor. In Al’s version of the story, he discovered
that Jimmy would sit on his bed, listening to Blues tracks while strumming the broom
as if it were a guitar. Moved by this passion, Al got Jimmy his first instrument: an old
ukulele with one string. In another, slightly less warm version of
events, Al would beat Jimmy senseless every time he returned home to find straw on the
floor. Whatever the truth about their relationship,
Al did encourage his son’s musical talent. In 1957, Al allowed Jimmy to graduate from
one-string uke to a full six-stringed acoustic guitar he had bought for five dollars.
Jimmy had a keen musical ear and immediately learned how to tune his guitar and play songs.
“Smoke on the Water” was still to come, so the first tune of choice for a novice guitarist
like Jimmy was “Louie Louie” by Richard Berry, with its three chords: A, D, E minor.
In the summer of 1958, Jimmy joined his first band, The Velvetones. The following year,
Al got him his first electric guitar, a Supro Ozark 1560S: a simple model with a single
pick-up coil and an $89 price tag. By going electric, Jimmy and the Velvetones could play
their first concert. Even though they were too young for the nightclub
circuit, Jimmy could still hone his skills playing teen dances in recreation halls and
housing projects. And hone he did -- so much so that he had his first admirers, and the
Velvetones included in their dance sets his original tune, “Jimmy’s Blues”.
Jimmy’s reputation grew, and in 1959, he was invited to join another band, the Rocking
Kings. But he felt trapped in a small scene of house parties and recreation centres, already
aware of his potential and the unique sound he was able to create.
Even at this early stage, the sound of his electric guitar had a unique quality to it,
thanks to a very practical reason -- as a left-handed musician, Jimmy could not afford
to buy a left-handed guitar, so he had to make do with 2nd hand standard guitars for
righties. He made everything work by swapping the position of the strings, but he did not
want to (or perhaps wasn’t able to) flip the position of the coils, or pick-ups.
The result? The part of the coil designed to pick up the notes from the ‘chunky’
strings was now amplifying the vibrations from the thin strings, and vice versa. The
result was a signature mix of bright high notes and delicate low ones.
An opportunity arose for young Jimi in 1960 when he was invited to join James Thomas and
His Tomcats. This was a professionally managed band, specialised in higher-end venues, like
military officers’ clubs. Soon, Jimi would be spending more time with
the officers. Joyriding
Jimmy’s childhood and household had been unstable and fractured, only slightly mitigated
by Al’s strict discipline. The end result? Jimmy knew how to get into trouble.
By 1960, Jimmy had dropped out of Garfield High School. According to him, he had been
expelled for ‘smart-mouthing’ a teacher. In between gigs and rehearsals Jimmy, was
helping Al with his new landscaping business to make a few extra buck, but it was never
enough to cover Jimmy’s taste for expensive and flashy clothing. According to some accounts,
he wasn’t afraid to steal to fund his lifestyle. At minimum, Jimmy committed two felonies that
we know about. On May 2, 1961, he took a car without the owner’s permission and went
on a joy ride. He did it again, four days later, though it’s not clear if it was the
same car. At the end of the month, Hendrix joined the
Army – probably as an alternative to serving a jail sentence.
Later photos of Hendrix in old-fashioned, Victorian Army tunics are iconic. So it’s
kind of strange to see Jimmy in standard US Army olive fatigues!
In June of 1961, Private Hendrix was dropping push ups at Fort Ord, California, before being
shipped to Fort Campbell, Kentucky, training with the 101st Airborne Division. It was only
at this stage that Al sent him his new guitar, a Danelectro Bronze Standard nicknamed ‘Betty
Jean’, after his fiancée at that time. Jimmy was not the only musician at Fort Campbell.
Billy Cox, a bass player, was able to spot Jimmy’s talent, which he later described
as “coming from a creative musical space somewhere
between Beethoven and John Lee Hooker” Cox and Hendrix hit it off and formed a new
band, the King Kasuals. Jimmy and Billy had the potential, but the Kasuals never went
far, as Jimmy, burdened by his constant cash flow problems, would frequently pawn his guitar
for a few bucks. Jimmy was a source of frustration also for
his superiors, described as being "unable to conform to military rules and regulations"
In later accounts, Hendrix reported that he had been honourably discharged from the Army
because he had broken his ankle during a parachute-training jump. But no, that’s BS. On July 2, 1962,
Jimmy was discharged with an ‘Undesirable’ status. Nothing too dramatic: his officers
simply noted that he was severely distracted “while performing duties, due to excessive
thinking about his guitar.” I wonder if that Sergeant realized he had
just written Jimmy Hendrix’s first recorded review!
In addition to that appraisal, other Army medical documents report Jimmy’s declaration
that he was gay – a common stratagem used at the time to be discharged early form Service.
After his discharge, Jimmy left Fort Campbell with $400 in his pocket, after selling Betty
Jean to an Army buddy – the guitar, not his girlfriend. He collected his final Army
wages and moved to Clarksville, Tennessee, settling around a Jazz Bar that he liked.
A lot. He liked it so much that he spent $384 in
one night. That’s almost $3,300 in today’s money.
Stranded in Tennessee, all Jimmy could do was return to Fort Campbell and beg his friend
to return him the Danelectro. With his trusty six-strings, Jimmy was able to make a few
bucks playing solo gigs and sustain himself until Billy Cox finished his Service in September.
Two things of note here: One: it seems like Jimmy was in no rush to
return to Betty Jean – the girlfriend that is, not the guitar.
Two: there are no recorded traces of the Danelectro after September of 1962, so it may still be
in Clarksville … if you hail from there, start looking for it now, as it could fetch
you a $100,000 at auction. Playing to the Stars
By September of 1962, bass player Billy Cox had also left the Army. Billy and Jimmy reassembled
the King Kasuals and set their sights on one of the Capital cities of American music, Nashville.
Very soon, the Kasuals became the Kings of the black nightclub scene in Nashville, supporting
touring soul stars like the Marvelettes or Curtis Mayfield.
Things were looking up for Jimmy and he was even able to afford train tickets to visit
Grandma Nora – the vaudeville dancer – in Vancouver. This happened around Christmas
of 1963: during his stay in Canada, Hendrix joined a local band for a short tour, which
earned him the attention of early rock ‘n’ roll icon Little Richard.
Little Richard hired him as a session guitarist in his band, touring and recording with the
legend. He can be heard on the single “I Don’t Know What You’ve Got, But It’s
Got Me”. During 1964 and 1965, Jimmy became a sought-after
session musician, playing recording studios from New York to Los Angeles. One of his best-known
records of the time is ‘Testify’ by the Isley Brothers, an early, energetic funk piece,
where Jimmy first displays his lead guitar chops on vinyl.
During this period Hendrix became infatuated with Lithofayne Pridgon, a former lover of
King of Soul Sam Cooke, who was well connected to the New York black music scene. The infatuation
was reciprocal, with Lithofayne, or ‘Faye’, describing him as
“… skinny, raw-boned, over-f**ked, underfed-looking … Hendrix was my type”
Jimmy and Faye had a passionate affair, in which Pridgon embodied the role of both muse
and mentor, introducing him to influential Soul and R&B musicians. However, from her
point of view, they were never really a couple, and certainly not in an exclusive relationship.
Jimmy was insanely jealous of her, but eventually had to accept the fact that this ‘cute little
heartbreaker’ could never be all his … In late 1965, Jimmy had settled in the Greenwich
Village district of New York. He had formed a new ensemble, Jimmy James and the Blue Flames,
with whom he played in various nightclubs. It was at the Cheetah Club that in 1966 he
was spotted by a British model called Linda Keith – the girlfriend of Rolling Stones
guitarist Keith Richards. Linda invited Jimmy to a party and discovered that, though he
may have displayed the bravado and confidence of a guitar hero while on the stage, regular
ol’ Jimmy was shy, polite, afflicted by low self-esteem, and in need of a good meal.
Linda immediately realised Jimmy’s star potential and badly wanted to help him. She
loaned him one of Keith Richard’s guitars, a white Fender Stratocaster.
She then invited a series of influential managers and producers to listen to Hendrix play. First,
it was Andrew Oldham, manager for the Rolling Stones. But that night, Jimmy’s performance
was lacklustre. Then, it was producer Seymour Stein, who later discovered Madonna. This
time, Jimmy was in much better form: overcome with enthusiasm and sheer rock bad-assery,
the guitarist smashed Keith Richards’white Fender onto the stage. Linda was so furious
with Jimmy that Stein fled the club, not keen on getting involved in the row.
Third time was the lucky one, when Linda invited Chas Chandler to attend yet another gig at
‘Café Wha?’. Chandler was the bass player with The Animals, now turned manager. He agreed
with Linda that Jimmy was a full-on rock star just waiting to be launched.
Chas convinced Jimmy to fly with him to London where he would quit the Animals and manage
the guitarist’s budding career. On September 23, 1966, the bassist and the
guitarist took off from New York, headed to England. It was mid-flight that Chas proposed
a new spelling for his client’s stage name. Jimi Hendrix was born.
Are you Experienced? Once in London, Chandler organised auditions
to form Jimi’s band, settling on a ‘power trio’ format, whereby Jimi would cover both
guitar and lead vocal duties. The slots were filled by guitarist Noel Redding – who was
reluctantly put on bass -- and a whirlwind of a drummer called Mitch Mitchell.
Chandler also enlisted help from The Animals’ own manager, Michael Jeffery as he was more
business-savvy. Jeffery was later described as a sketchy type, with alleged ties to organised
crimes in Newcastle, Northern England, and even to the secret services.
Under Jeffery’s guidance, the band was christened ‘The Jimi Hendrix Experience’, and immediately
set to work on a record. Before the album could be released, Jimi was,
as ever, strapped for cash and in need of playing small gigs … it was at one of these
semi-improvised sessions that Chandler introduced him to DJ and hairdresser Kathy Etchingham.
It took Jimi one pick-up line: “I think you are beautiful.”
And a couple of hours later they were spending the night in Jimi’s hotel. The next morning,
they were awakened by another of Jimi’s many lovers. Mad with jealousy, the unnamed
lady threatened to smash Hendrix’s only guitar … on his head.
Editor’s note: Simon, you’ll want to hit the end of this next paragraph with a bit
of sass, though not an overwhelming amount. It’s not intended as straightforward sarcasm,
but there is a payoff coming later. Leaving you a note because it hit my eyes funny the
first time I read it. The early morning drama did not deter Kathy,
who became Jimi’s regular girlfriend in London. She stuck by him during the recording
sessions of The Experience’s debut album, while they lead a simple and quiet life, playing
Monopoly and Twister and eating mashed potatoes. Jimi, Noel and Mitch released their debut
single: a cover of “Hey Joe”, a track that deserves its own Biographics episode.
The next single was an original Hendrix tune, one that would introduce the world to his
pyrotechnic lead guitar as well as songwriting talent: “Purple Haze”
The success of these singles granted The Jimi Hendrix Experience a slot at the Monterey
International Pop Festival in California. The power trio took to the stage on June 18,
1967, unleashing on the audience a barrage of original tunes and covers that literally
set the stage on fire. Rolling Stone wrote: “ … an orgasmic explosion of singing feedback,
agitated stretches of jazzy improvisation and recombinant R&B guitar … Hendrix, egged
on by Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell's rhythmic frenzy, drove "Wild Thing" head-on into a
wall of white noise” At the end of a heavily distorted rendition
of Wild Thing by The Troggs, Jimi set his guitar on fire, before smashing it to bits
onto the stage. The Jimi Hendrix Experience would be impossible
to ignore. Yes, I am
The first LP of the trio, Are You Experienced?, hit the record stores in August of 1967.
The music critics’ initial response was unenthusiastic. This is how Rolling Stone
summarised their review of the album: “Despite Jimi’s musical brilliance and
the group’s total precision, the poor quality of the songs, and the inanity of the lyrics,
too often get in the way … Above all, this record is unrelentingly violent,
and lyrically, inartistically violent at that” Not everybody agreed. Many appreciated Jimi’s
alchemist brew of psychedelia, 12-bar blues, hard rock and aggressive funk. Are You Experienced?
went on to spend 106 weeks on the Billboard 200, eventually selling more than five million
copies in the U.S. alone. Jimi’s debut was packed with many of his
greatest works, songs impossible to ignore even if you don’t really ‘dig’ Hendrix.
Hey Joe! Purple Haze! Manic Depression! The Wind Cries Mary! Red House! Personally, I’m
partial to Foxey Lady. Jimi Hendrix is routinely praised for his
lead guitar work -- his imaginative, fast, lengthy solos. But Foxey Lady is a clear example
of Jimi’s powerful rhythm guitar playing; in other words, the chords and riffs that
make the backbone of a song, and the hallmark of a good songwriter. The main riff of Foxey
Lady, heard in the verses and during the solo section, is deceptively simple: it alternates
a low F sharp with a high E and A, creating a funky, bouncy effect. But it revolves around
a complex chord: ‘F Sharp seventh to the ninth’ – a chord so distinctive that it
became known as ‘The Hendrix Chord’. Lyrically speaking, the song is about one
“cute little heart breaker … a sweet little love maker”
A lady who, Jimi says “Got to be all mine, all mine”.
Although never confirmed by Hendrix himself, the Foxey Lady is almost certainly his lover
from the early New York days, Faye Pidgon. Or was she?
Another obvious candidate is Kathy Etchingham, who claims to have also inspired Jimi’s
‘The Wind Cries Mary’. One night, Jimi accused Kathy’s mash of being too lumpy.
The couple had a furious row, ending with Kathy leaving their apartment. Jimi, saddened
by her departure, composed his most famous ballad.
Undesirable people The couple reconciled almost immediately and
decided to go steady from then on, throughout 1967 and until the end of 1968. But their
love was still fragile, threatened on all sides by the traps of fame.
After the success of Are You Experienced, Hendrix was a global superstar, with all its
benefits and added pressures. His trio was expected to tour and record constantly, abiding
to an exhausting schedule. In early January, the Experience was touring
Sweden, when on the 10th of January, Jimi was reported checking in at Gothenburg police
headquarters, apparently on charges of possession of illegal substances. It was clear to everybody
in his entourage that Hendrix was not stranger to illicit drugs, but in 1968, his consumption
escalated from marijuana to LSD, amphetamines and heroin.
Kathy noted how during this period Jimi’s normally sweet character started to change,
becoming aggressive with his friends and even smashing up hotel rooms. According to Kathy,
Jimi’s entourage was infiltrated by ‘dodgy, undesirable people, with an aggressive
edge to them’ Scroungers at best, and possibly drug dealers
or criminal types. Kathy described how "He started to look really rough. His hair
was breaking off, he didn't have healthy skin, he looked as if he'd aged 10 years in two
and a half." Kathy Etchingham decided she had to move on,
and the couple split up in 1969. All the drama in the background did not prevent
The Experience from delivering two albums in 1968: Axis: Bold as Love and Electric Ladyland.
Rolling Stone, via reviewer Jim Miller, continued to show its aversion for Jimi. While Miller
acknowledges the album as a ‘vortex of apocalyptic transcendence’
He writes off the songs as ‘basically, a bore’.
If I am allowed an opinion, I beg to disagree, While Axis is not packed with classics as
its predecessor, it showcases Jimi’s evolution and experimentation. This is the album in
which he perfected the use of the novel ‘Wah wah’ pedal; in which he toyed with recording
techniques, such as performing a solo from the last note to the first, and then playing
the tape backwards. This can be heard in ‘Castles made of sand’, a lesser known track, but
arguably his most heartfelt one. The follow-up record, Electric Ladyland, is
widely considered Jimi’s masterpiece. Even Rolling Stone was more generous in its review!
The album is noteworthy because of its production history: several rock stars of the era collaborated
in it, from Stevie Winwood to Brian Jones, while Hendrix himself continued his experiments
with recording technology, using looped tapes and phasing effects.
Hendrix actually left the recording studio unsatisfied with the final sound of the recording.
He was even less impressed with the cover imposed by the label, a photo featuring a
group of naked women which was banned from many record stores. Jimi’s initial pick
was a photo of him and the band playing with some children, taken by Linda Eastman, soon
to become Mrs Paul McCartney. Song-wise, there is a lot to choose from.
If I must pick just two tracks, they got to be ‘All along the watchtower’, a Bob Dylan
cover, which the folk singer himself admitted superior to the original. And ‘Voodoo Child
– slight return’, improvised on the cuff by the band to the benefit of a BBC documentary
crew. This may be considered Jimi’s heaviest song, an ideal gateway from 1960s rock to
early heavy metal. Summer of ‘69
The Experience immediately started touring to promote Ladyland, amidst growing tensions
fuelled by Jimi’s addiction problems and Redding’s growing dissatisfaction with his
bass guitar duties. And yet, they were still wildly successful. On March 22, 1969, Billboard
magazine reported them winning the 1969 Popular Music Prize, awarded at the Festival du Son,
in Paris. The same issue listed The Experience as the 2nd best selling band in the US, bested
only by Simon & Garfunkel. But trouble was always behind the corner:
after a tour in Canada in May, Jimi was tried and fined for possession of narcotics in Toronto.
Shortly afterward, on the 29th of June, Noel Redding decided to call it quits after a show
in Denver. The Jimi Hendrix Experience had officially disbanded.
The break-up did not deter Jimi. He got back in touch with his old army buddy, bassist
Billy Cox. With the trusty Mitch Mitchell on drums, guitarist Jerry Velez and percussionist
Juma Sultan, they assembled a new band, Gypsy Sun & Rainbows. The new combo ravished audiences
and ravaged a few eardrums at possibly THE rock concert par excellence, the Woodstock
Festival. On the evening of August 18, 1969, Jimi and
friends took to the stage performing classics and new tracks alike. Even if you are not
into this kind of music, you probably have heard Jimi’s rendition of the “Star Spangled
Banner”. This mangled, electrocuted version of the US national anthem could be considered
Jimi’s most political moment, a sonic commentary on a nation divided by civil unrest and the
debate on the Vietnam War. Shortly after Woodstock, Jimi was involved
in one of the most puzzling events of his life. The story comes from drug dealer and
mobster Jon Roberts, one of many unsavoury friends of Hendrix in New York. One night,
Jimi had ventured into town looking to buy some cocaine. As he entered a club frequented
by dealers, he was spotted by two italian-american young men, described by Roberts as ‘wise-guys
wannabes’. The two saw an occasion to make some serious money … and they kidnapped
the rockstar! They held him in captivity for two days, during which they contacted his
management asking for either a ransom in cash or a stake in royalties from future records.
In one version of the event, manager Michael Jeffery sent a group of thugs armed with machine
guns to free Jimi. In a less spectacular account, it was Roberts who solved the case. Using
his underworld contacts, he quickly identified the two kidnappers and threatened them over
the phone: “You let Jimi go, or you are dead. Do not
harm a hair of his Afro.” The two ‘wise guys’ relented, and a week
later Roberts retaliated by giving them the beating of their life.
Apparently, Jimi had been so stoned he barely took notice of the whole ordeal.
Jeffery insisted he get back to work immediately, but not with the Gypsy Sun and Rainbows. Instead,
he suggested that Jimi reform a power trio, as this was a more popular -- and more profitable
-- line-up. Jimi was clearly not happy, as he preferred
larger ensembles, which allowed for more experimentation and improvisation. The following stent, with
Billy Cox and Buddy Miles, ended with a disastrous concert at the Madison Square Garden in New
York, on January 28, 1970. Jimi played only two songs, before he sat down on the stage
and refused to continue. Despite Buddy’s best efforts, Jimi unplugged his guitar and
walked backstage. Miles, Cox and Hendrix parted ways in the aftermath.
Jimi later told to Rolling Stone about his exhaustion, resulting from internal conflict:
“I figure that Madison Square Garden is like the end of a big long fairy tale. Which
is great. I think it’s like the best ending I could possibly have come up with”.
Burning of the Midnight Lamp The following months saw Jimi partially reunite
with the original Experience lineup for some jams and recording sessions, but nothing concrete
materialised. He was also preoccupied with more personal matters. On March 9, 1970, news
got to him that ex-girlfriend Kathy had just married.
In a desperate attempt to win her back, Jimi flew from New York to London the next day
and implored her to leave her husband Ray and to move to New York with him. Hendrix
assured her that he had rid himself of all his bad habits, all his bad influences. But
it was futile. He had realised far too late that Kathy was the love of his life, and he
had lost her to a life without love. Jimi remained in Europe until September, having
reformed the Experience once again, with Cox on bass instead of Redding. They had even
played an important gig, the Isle of Wight festival, on August 30th.
On September 17, he was back in London, and he spent the night with his latest lover,
German painter Monika Danneman. The morning after, she found Jimi unconscious in his bed,
having choked on his own vomit while asleep. He was rushed to St Mary Abbot’s Hospital,
when he was pronounced dead at 11:45am, on September 18, 1970.
The police found evidence that he may have overdosed on sleeping pills, the likely cause
of an accidental death. But not everybody agreed.
Eric Burdon, vocalist of The Animals and War, was the last to perform with Jimi, at a jam
session on the 16th. Burdon claims that after his death, he had found a poem written by
Hendrix in Monika’s apartment. According to him, this poem was to be intended both
as Jimi’s spiritual last will and testament, as well as his suicide note. Burdon did not
produce the note at the inquest, leading to the death being ruled as accidental.
Another more sinister theory came to light in June of 2009, after the publication of
‘Rock Roadie’, by James 'Tappy' Wright, one of the star's roadies.
Tappy writes how, one year after Jimi’s death, a drunken Michael Jeffery had confessed
to murdering the guitarist. He and some accomplices had forced down his throat the sleeping pills,
alongside two entire bottles of red wine. The motive? Jeffery had taken out a life insurance
worth two million dollars on Jimi Hendrix. The star had become too unreliable to tour
and record profitably: he was now worth more by being dead, than alive. Jeffery never told
the story to anybody else, dying in a plane crash in 1973.
Conspiracy? Maybe, with a kernel of truth … a doctor on duty at the time of Jimi’s
death told the Telegraph that Hendrix had a stomach full of red wine, but no alcohol
in his blood: evidence that he had died immediately after swallowing the drink, with no time to
metabolize it. I will let you draw your conclusions. Whatever
the causes, Jimi Hendrix left his world too early, aged only 27 years, like his early
idol Robert Johnson. Like many other rock stars of his age, he was too long a victim
of the schemes of greedy managers, and the demands and pressures of fame. Luckily for
all of us, his legacy did not melt into the sea, like a castle made of sand.
