Born: November 27, 1942
Singer & Guitarist
Age in 2023: Would have been 81
James Marshall “Jimi” Hendrix was born November 27th, 1942 in Seattle, Washington. Hendrix began playing guitar at the age of 15, and after enlisting in the US Army in 1961 only to be discharged a year later, he would end up moving to Tennessee. While there, he began playing shows on the chitlin’ circuit, eventually earning a spot in the Isley Brothers’ backing band and eventually working with Little Richard. In late 1966, Hendrix would move to England, from there he would almost immediately go on to release some of his most popular tracks under the Jimi Hendrix Experience name on May 1967’s 5-time platinum certified Are You Experienced. This album included massive hits like “Foxy Lady”, “Fire”, “Purple Haze”, “Hey Joe”, and “The Wind Cries Mary”, three of which were top ten hits in the UK.
In the US, he would go on to play at the Monterey Pop Festival, which was what launched his popularity in the US, due in part to Jimi setting his guitar on fire, which created what is regarded as one of the most famous images of rock history. Following the performance at the Monterey Pop Festival, Hendrix would go on to release the second album under the Experience title, Axis: Bold as Love in December of 1967. While this album performed well upon release, some critics did find that, although masterfully recorded and a psychedelic masterpiece, of the three Experience’s albums it is the least memorable. In 1968, Hendrix would release the Experience’s final official studio album Electric Ladyland to immense commercial success, including their first and only number one album both in the US and Canada. In 1969, Jimi Hendrix performed arguably one of the biggest performances in rock history at Woodstock, rivaled only by the likes of Queen at Live Aid and The Beatles rooftop concert. The performance included a rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner” that would go down in history as one of the greatest performances of all time. Unfortunately, Hendrix would go on to pass away on September 18th, 1970 due to taking 18 times the recommended dosage of sleeping tablets.
