49 Fun Facts About Jimi Hendrix

In which city was Hendrix born in 1942?

Hendrix was born in Seattle on 27 November 1942; his father Al, stationed in Alabama, was locked in the Army stockade to stop him going AWOL to see the baby.

What was Hendrix's name at birth?

He was born Johnny Allen Hendrix; in 1946 his father Al renamed him James Marshall Hendrix, after himself and his late brother Leon Marshall.

What one-stringed instrument did the young Hendrix pull from a woman's rubbish in 1957?

The one-stringed ukulele, found while he helped his father clear an older woman's garbage, was his first instrument; he picked out Elvis Presley songs on it by ear, especially 'Hound Dog'.

How much did Hendrix pay for his first acoustic guitar in 1958?

In mid-1958, aged 15, he bought his first acoustic guitar for $5 from a friend of his father; the first tune he learned was the 'Peter Gunn' television theme.

What was Hendrix's first electric guitar, bought by his father in 1959?

In mid-1959 his father Al bought him a white Supro Ozark, his first electric guitar; after it was stolen from backstage, Al replaced it with a red Silvertone Danelectro.

Which Army division was Hendrix assigned to after enlisting in 1961?

Hendrix enlisted in May 1961 rather than face prison after twice being caught in stolen cars; posted to the 101st Airborne at Fort Campbell, he earned the Screaming Eagles patch as a paratrooper in January 1962.

Which bassist did Hendrix meet in the Army and later bring into Band of Gypsys?

Billy Cox, a fellow soldier at Fort Campbell, heard Hendrix in an army club and called his playing a mix of 'John Lee Hooker and Beethoven'; he later anchored Band of Gypsys on bass.

Hendrix won first prize at an amateur contest at which venue in February 1964?

In February 1964 Hendrix won first prize, $25, at the Apollo Theater's amateur night in Harlem, where he was living at the Hotel Theresa; soon after he joined the Isley Brothers' backing band.

Which rock-and-roll pioneer's touring band employed Hendrix until he was fired in 1965?

Hendrix played in Little Richard's touring band in 1965, clashing with him over lateness, wardrobe and stage antics until Richard's brother Robert Penniman sacked him that July.

What was the name of the band Hendrix formed in Greenwich Village in 1966?

In mid-1966 Hendrix formed Jimmy James and the Blue Flames in Greenwich Village, with 15-year-old Randy Wolfe, later Randy California of Spirit, on second guitar; the King Kasuals had been his earlier Tennessee band.

At which Greenwich Village club did Chas Chandler first see Hendrix play?

Chas Chandler, tipped off by Linda Keith, Keith Richards's girlfriend, saw Hendrix at the Cafe Wha? on MacDougal Street in the summer of 1966 and resolved to take him to London.

Chas Chandler, who became Hendrix's manager, had been the bassist in which band?

Chandler was the bassist of the Animals, the Newcastle band behind 'The House of the Rising Sun'; leaving to manage and produce, he flew Hendrix to London on 24 September 1966.

Who played bass in the Jimi Hendrix Experience?

Noel Redding, a guitarist who had come to audition for the New Animals, was hired on bass in September 1966, partly because Hendrix liked his hairstyle.

Who was the Experience's drummer?

Mitch Mitchell, fired days earlier by Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames, won the Experience's drum stool in October 1966 on the toss of a coin against Aynsley Dunbar.

Which Howlin' Wolf song did Hendrix play when he jumped on stage with Cream in October 1966?

Hendrix tore through Howlin' Wolf's 'Killing Floor' with Cream at Regent Street Polytechnic on 1 October 1966; Clapton said, 'He walked off, and my life was never the same again.' It also opened his Monterey set.

The Experience played their first shows in France supporting which singer?

Johnny Hallyday, France's biggest rock star, took the Experience on a short French tour in October 1966; their 15-minute set at the Paris Olympia on 18 October is the band's earliest known recording.

The Who's managers signed the Experience to which newly formed label?

Kit Lambert and Chris Stamp, the Who's managers, signed the Experience in late October 1966 to their new Track Records label, with Polydor handling distribution; the label's first release came in March 1967.

What was the Experience's first single?

'Hey Joe', released on 16 December 1966, was the Experience's first single and reached number six in the UK; the same song failed to chart as his first US single in 1967.

In which city did Hendrix first smash a guitar on stage, in November 1966?

At the Big Apple club in Munich in November 1966, fans pulled Hendrix off stage; scrambling back, he smashed his guitar in frustration, and Chandler, seeing the crowd's reaction, made it part of the act.

Which journalist suggested Hendrix set fire to his guitar, first done at the London Astoria?

Hendrix had joked 'Maybe I can smash up an elephant'; the road manager was sent for lighter fluid.

After the Astoria stunt, the London press dubbed Hendrix the 'Wild Man of' where?

The London press dubbed him the 'Wild Man of Borneo' and the 'Black Elvis' after the March 1967 Astoria show where he first set his guitar alight.

A British urban legend credits Hendrix with releasing which birds on Carnaby Street?

The legend says Hendrix freed a pair of ring-necked parakeets on Carnaby Street in 1968; a 2019 study mapping historical sightings of the feral birds found the story does not hold up.

What was the Experience's debut album?

Are You Experienced, released in May 1967, spent 33 weeks on the UK chart and peaked at number two; Rolling Stone ranked it 15th on its 2003 list of the 500 greatest albums.

Which album kept the debut off the top of the UK chart in 1967?

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band held the top spot; Hendrix returned the compliment by opening a Saville Theatre show with its title track on 4 June 1967, three days after release, with Beatles in the audience.

Which Beatle insisted the Monterey Pop Festival book the Experience?

Paul McCartney agreed to join the Monterey festival's board only on condition that the Experience be booked, calling Hendrix 'an absolute ace on the guitar'.

Which Rolling Stone introduced Hendrix on stage at Monterey in June 1967?

Brian Jones, who had befriended Hendrix in London, introduced him at Monterey on 18 June 1967 as 'the most exciting performer I've ever heard'; the set ended with his guitar in flames.

How old was Ed Caraeff when he took the famous photo of Hendrix burning his guitar at Monterey?

Ed Caraeff was 17, a fan with one frame left on his roll who had never heard Hendrix's music; Rolling Stone colorized his shot of the burning guitar for a 1987 cover.

The Experience quit after six shows as opening act for which band's 1967 US tour?

The Monkees, who were fans, asked for the Experience as their opening act in July 1967, but their teenage audience was baffled; the Experience quit after six shows, and Chandler said he had planned it for the publicity.

Where did Hendrix lose the master tape of side one of Axis: Bold as Love?

Hendrix left the side-one master tape in the back of a London taxi in late 1967; most was remixed overnight, and 'If 6 Was 9' was rescued from Redding's wrinkled home tape, ironed flat.

The cover of Axis: Bold as Love depicts the band as avatars of which deity?

The cover copies a devotional painting of Vishnu, with the band's faces pasted onto the god's many forms; Hendrix objected that it ignored his Cherokee ancestry, saying he was not 'that kind of Indian'.

Which album was Hendrix's only US number one?

Electric Ladyland, a double LP released in October 1968, topped the Billboard chart for two weeks in November and was credited as 'produced and directed by Jimi Hendrix'.

Which Bob Dylan cover became Hendrix's best-selling single and only US top-40 hit?

'All Along the Watchtower', from Electric Ladyland, peaked at number 20 in the US and number five in the UK; Dylan adopted the Hendrix arrangement for his own live versions from 1974 onward.

Which was the first Hendrix recording to feature a wah-wah pedal?

'Burning of the Midnight Lamp', recorded in New York in July 1967, was the first Hendrix recording to use a wah-wah pedal; he took the pedal up after seeing Frank Zappa play one at the Garrick Theater.

Which effect pedal from Roger Mayer did Hendrix use on the 'Purple Haze' solo?

Roger Mayer's Octavia adds a note an octave above the one played; Hendrix used it on the 'Purple Haze' solo in early 1967 and called Mayer 'the secret' of his sound.

Which amplifier brand did Hendrix buy three 100-watt heads from in October 1966?

Hendrix bought three 100-watt Marshall stacks in October 1966 and went through 50 to 100 of them in four years; founder Jim Marshall called him 'the greatest ambassador' the company ever had.

Which guitar model is Hendrix most associated with?

Hendrix played Fender Stratocasters almost exclusively from 1966, when he bought his first, a used mid-1960s model, with money lent by a girlfriend; he burned one at the Astoria and another at Monterey.

Hendrix, a lefty, mostly played what kind of instrument?

Hendrix played right-handed guitars flipped and restrung for his left hand; the reversed slant of the Stratocaster's bridge pickup made his low strings brighter and high strings mellower, the opposite of Fender's design.

What did Hendrix call his expanded band at Woodstock?

Hendrix called the six-piece Gypsy Sun and Rainbows, correcting the MC who had introduced them as the Experience; it added rhythm guitarist Larry Lee, Billy Cox on bass and two conga players, Juma Sultan and Jerry Velez.

Who was the drummer in Band of Gypsys?

Buddy Miles, formerly of Wilson Pickett's band and the Electric Flag, drummed and sang in Band of Gypsys; manager Michael Jeffery fired him after the aborted Madison Square Garden show of 28 January 1970.

At which venue was the Band of Gypsys live album recorded over New Year 1969-70?

Band of Gypsys was taped at Bill Graham's Fillmore East over four shows on 31 December 1969 and 1 January 1970; the only live album released in his lifetime, it settled a contract dispute with producer Ed Chalpin.

What did Hendrix ask architect John Storyk to avoid when designing his New York studio?

Hendrix asked John Storyk to avoid right angles wherever possible; Electric Lady Studios got curved walls, round windows, an ambient lighting machine and a psychedelic mural, costing about $1 million, double the estimate.

Hendrix's final concert, on September 6, 1970, was at a festival on which island?

The Love and Peace Festival on Fehmarn, a German Baltic island, was his last concert; the crowd booed him for cancelling the previous night in torrential rain, six days after his Isle of Wight headline slot.

Hendrix's last public performance was a jam at Ronnie Scott's with which singer's band?

He joined Burdon and War on 'Mother Earth' and 'Tobacco Road' on September 16, 1970, and died less than 48 hours later.

How old was Hendrix when he died in London in September 1970?

Hendrix was 27; the coroner returned an open verdict of asphyxia while intoxicated with barbiturates, and Brian Jones, Janis Joplin and Jim Morrison died at the same age, the so-called 27 Club.

In which Washington city is Hendrix buried, beside his mother's grave?

Hendrix was buried at Greenwood Memorial Park in Renton, a Seattle suburb, beside his mother Lucille; more than 200 mourners, including Miles Davis and Johnny Winter, attended the funeral on 1 October 1970.

At which city's airport was Hendrix arrested for drug possession in May 1969?

Customs officers at Toronto International Airport found heroin and hashish in Hendrix's bag on 3 May 1969; he testified a fan had handed him a vial he took for legal medication and was acquitted that December.

Hendrix's flat at 23 Brook Street, London, neighboured the former home of which composer?

His blue plaque was English Heritage's first for a pop star; the building reopened as the Handel Hendrix House museum in 2023.

In which year was the Experience inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?

The Jimi Hendrix Experience entered the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992, inducted by Neil Young; the same year Hendrix received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

Hendrix played to his largest US audience at which festival on 4 July 1970?

The Atlanta International Pop Festival in Byron, Georgia, drew a crowd estimated at 300,000 or more on 4 July 1970; Hendrix's footage sat unseen for decades before the 2015 documentary Electric Church.