Jimi Hendrix’s debut album Are You Experienced on September 16, 1967, entered the Billboard Hot 200 album charts, staying there for 106 weeks and 77 weeks in the Top 40.
Jimi Hendrix lit up the music and perhaps did more than any other musician to open people’s eyes, ears, and minds to what was possible. No one did as much with a guitar, whether it was getting sounds out of it, setting it on fire, or using it as a manifestation of his sexual desire.
Between September 1966 and September 1970, Jimi Hendrix played over 600 shows. He died young, yet he brightened up so many lives with his unforgettable stage performances.
Born Johnny Allen Hendrix on 27 November 1942, Jimi took an interest in music at an early age. He drew influence from B.B. King, Buddy Holly, Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Robert Johnson, and Elvis Presley.
In the summer of 1958, his father had purchased him a five-dollar, second-hand acoustic guitar from one of his friends. Shortly thereafter, Jimi joined his first band, The Velvetones, yet after a few months, he left to pursue his own interests. By 1959 Jimi bought his first electric guitar, a Supro Ozark 1560S. He used it when he joined The Rocking Kings.
Facing two years in jail for riding in stolen cars, Hendrix opted to enlist in the US Army in 1961. By 1962 he had a medical discharge because of an ankle injury. The medical discharge wasn’t the full story.
Jimi’s platoon sergeant, James C. Spears, filed a report in which he stated, ‘He has no interest in the Army… It is my opinion that Private Hendrix will never come up to the standards required of a soldier. On 31 May 1962, Captain Gilbert Batchman signed a report which alleged “Little regard for regulations, apprehended masturbating in platoon area while supposed to be on detail.” Jimi later claimed he had received a medical discharge after breaking his ankle during his 26th parachute jump. The military’s loss was the music world’s gain.
The Experience’s first single, ‘Hey Joe,’ spent ten weeks on the UK charts, peaking at No.6 in early 1967. The release of a full-length album Are You Experienced? followed. It was a psychedelic musical compilation featuring anthems of a generation.
The 1967 Pink Floyd UK tour saw Jimi steal the show nightly.
A review in the Coventry Evening Telegraph said: “More than 3,000 youngsters attended two houses at the Coventry Theatre. He [Hendrix] can play guitar with his teeth, lying on the stage, or behind his back – and do it better than most in a more conventional position.
The result was a stunning, completely individual performance, which included hits like ‘Hey Joe’, ‘The Wind Cries Mary’ and ‘Purple Haze’ and the wildest version yet of ‘Wild Thing‘.”
Although popular in Europe, the Experience’s first U.S. single, ‘Hey Joe’, failed to reach the Billboard chart upon its release in 1967, the group’s fortunes improved when Paul McCartney recommended them to the organizers of the Monterey Pop Festival. Rolling Stone’s Alex Vadukul wrote: ‘When Jimi Hendrix set his guitar on fire at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival, he created one of rock’s most perfect moments. Standing in the front row of that concert was a 17-year-old boy named Ed Caraeff. Caraeff had never seen Hendrix before nor heard his music, but he had a camera with him and there was one shot left in his roll of film. As Hendrix lit his guitar, Caraeff took the last photo. It would become one of the most famous images in rock and roll.’
On this day in 1970, Jimi Hendrix joined Eric Burdon on stage at Ronnie Scotts in London for what would become the guitarist’s last ever public appearance.
In 2003, Rolling Stone magazine ranked the album No.15 on their 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. In 2005 they selected it for permanent preservation in the National Recording Registry at the Library of Congress in the United States.
In 2013, a souvenir booklet from the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival signed by Jimi Hendrix fetched $6,500 on eBay. The artifact also included autographs from three members of the Mamas and Papas.
