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Artist of the Week: Jimi Hendrix

We’re going back to the ‘60s in this blog post! The ‘60s have always fascinated me because this was a time of a huge paradigm shift, aka, the hippie culture. It’s crazy to think that this decade challenged the norms already in place and rebelled against society. During this time, one of my favorite artists emerged, Jimi Hendrix. In my opinion, Jimi Hendrix did play a role in metal because of his techniques on the guitar, and you will never guess who his roadie was. It was Lemmy (Ian Kilmister from Motörhead)! How cool is that?!

James Marshall “Jimi” Hendrix was born on November 27, 1942 and was an American rock guitarist, singer, and songwriter. His mainstream career only lasted for four years, but he is widely known as one of the most influential guitarists in history (he played a right handed guitar, left-handed)! Hendrix was born in Seattle, Washington and started playing guitar at the age of 15. He enlisted into the US Army and trained as a paratrooper but was discharged the following year.

He soon moved to Clarksville, Tennessee and began playing gigs. He later played with Little Richard in the mid ‘60s and he moved to England in late 1966 after he was discovered by Linda Keith. Within months upon arriving in England, Hendrix had several songs hit the UK top ten charts: Hey Joe, Purple Haze, and The Wind Cries Mary. He started to get fame in the US after he performed at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967 and his album, Electric Ladyland, hit number one in the US in 1968. Hendrix died at the age of 27 on September 18, 1970 from barbiturate-related asphyxia.

Hendrix was inspired by American rock and roll and electric blues. He was one of the first guitarists to use a tone-altering effects unit in mainstream rock. This is where he began to influence the guitarists after him because he pioneered the use of the instrument as an electronic sound source. He expanded the range and vocabulary of the electric guitar and mastered it beautifully. The artists that interested him and influenced him the most were Elvis Presley, Little Richard, and Chuck Berry.  The Jimi Hendrix Experience was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992 and the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2005.

Discography:

Are You Experienced (1967)

Axis: Bold as Love (1967)

Electric Landlady (1968)


Favorite Songs:

Little Wings, Foxy Lady, Hey Joe, All Along the Watchtower, Red House, and Castles Made of Sand.

What are some of your favorite Jimi Hendrix songs?

Stay Metal,

THE SAW

(Source: jimihendrix.com)