Long before his improvised performance of “The Star-Spangled Banner” brought Woodstock to a climax and became the defining moment of a generation, Jimi Hendrix was a sideman. As a hired hand for acts like Little Richard, Don Covay and the Isley Brothers, he was forced to adapt to the discipline required of performing with different bands and deny his own burning desire to experiment musically and step up as frontman. Now, with the recent release of West Coast Seattle Boy - The Jimi Hendrix Anthology, fans of Hendrix are treated to a glimpse of the musical progression, direction and influences of his early career before he became a solo artist and exploded the possibilities of the electric guitar.
The new 5-disc box set, which includes the illuminating 90-minute documentary Jimi Hendrix: Voodoo Child, captures Hendrix on his meteoric rise from R&B sideman to international sensation over the course of four short years. The set includes 45 previously unreleased studio and live recordings on 4 CDs, the first 15 of which are taken from his days as a session player. Despite the fact that Hendrix was limited as far as what he was allowed to do, the R&B smokers that open the collection—with solos as brief as 10 seconds long—show a prodigy straining at the bit. An energy all coiled up and about to spring.
Jimi Hendrix’s innovative style of combining fuzz, feedback and controlled distortion made him one of the most creative and influential musicians of the 20th century. He forged a path for rock guitarists of the future to follow and has influenced all the greats including Clapton, Steve Vai and Yngwie Malmsteen. Anyone worth their music muscle has at one time or another tried to emulate his screaming guitar. Born Johnny Allen Hendrix on November 27, 1942, at Seattle's King County Hospital, and later renamed James Marshall by his father, James "Al" Hendrix, young Jimmy (as he was known at the time) was a shy, sensitive boy who was deeply affected by the poverty and unstable household he grew up in. He took an interest in music, drawing influence from virtually every major artist at the time including B.B. King, Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Buddy Holly, and Robert Johnson. Unable to read or write music, Jimmy taught himself to play guitar by practicing for several hours a day, watching others play, getting tips from more experienced players, and listening to records.
His father took notice of Jimmy's interest in the guitar, recalling, "I used to have Jimmy clean up the bedroom all the time while I was gone, and when I would come home I would find a lot of broom straws around the foot of the bed. I'd say to him, `Well didn't you sweep up the floor?' and he'd say, `Oh yeah,' he did. But I'd find out later that he used to be sitting at the end of the bed there and strumming the broom like he was playing a guitar." Al provided an alternative to the broom when he found an old one-string ukulele while cleaning a garage, which he gave Jimmy to play. At age 15, around the time his mother died, Hendrix acquired his first acoustic guitar for $5 from an acquaintance of his father and joined his first band, The Velvetones, shortly thereafter. The following summer, Al purchased Jimmy his first electric guitar, a Supro Ozark 1560S.
After playing in a succession of bands over the next couple of years, Jimmy was twice arrested for riding in stolen cars. Given a choice between spending two years in prison or joining the Army, Jimmy chose the latter and enlisted in May 1961. It was while stationed at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, that he met fellow soldier and bass player Billy Cox. The two forged a loyal friendship and would often perform with other musicians at venues both on and off the base as a loosely organized band named the King Casuals. But while he continued to grow as a musician during his stint in the army, his commanding officers and fellow soldiers considered him to be a subpar soldier: he slept while on duty, had little regard for regulations, required constant supervision, and showed no skill as a marksman. A request was submitted by his commanding officers that Hendrix be discharged from the military after he had served only one year. Hendrix did not object when the opportunity to leave arose. He would later tell reporters that he received a medical discharge after breaking his ankle during his 26th parachute jump.
Following his discharge from the Army, Jimmy began working as a session guitarist under the name Jimmy James. By the end of 1965, he had played with several marquee acts, including Ike and Tina Turner, Sam Cooke, and Little Richard. When performing with Little Richard became too confining for him, Hendrix parted ways with the music icon to form his own band, Jimmy James and the Blue Flames, thus shedding the role of back-up musician and stepping into the spotlight as lead guitarist.
Hendrix and his new band played at several places in New York throughout the latter half of 1965 and into the start of 1966, but their primary venue was a residency at the Café Wha? on MacDougal Street in Greenwich Village. It was there that Chas Chandler, who was ending his tenure as bassist in The Animals and looking for talent to manage and produce, first heard Jimmy play “Hey Joe” and decided to take a chance on him. Chandler returned to New York in September 1966 to sign Hendrix to an agreement that would have him move to London to form a new band and change his name to “Jimi.”
With drummer Mitch Mitchell and bassist Noel Redding, the newly formed Jimi Hendrix Experience quickly became the talk of London in the fall of 1966. The Experience's first single, "Hey Joe," spent ten weeks on the UK charts, topping out at spot No. 6 in early 1967. The debut single was quickly followed by the release of a full-length album Are You Experienced, a psychedelic musical compilation featuring the tracks "Purple Haze," "The Wind Cries Mary," "Foxy Lady," "Fire," and "Are You Experienced?" Although success came swiftly for Hendrix in Britain, it wasn't until he returned to America the following year and ignited the crowd at the Monterey International Pop Festival with his incendiary performance of "Wild Thing" that he caught on in The States. And then literally overnight, The Jimi Hendrix Experience became one of most popular and highest grossing touring acts in the world.
Hendrix followed Are You Experienced with Axis: Bold As Love. By 1968, he had taken greater control over the direction of his music when he built his own recording studio, Electric Lady Studios in New York City. The name of this project became the basis for his most demanding musical release, a two LP collection, Electric Ladyland. Throughout 1968 however, the demands of touring and studio work took its toll on the group and in 1969 the Experience disbanded.
The summer of 1969 brought emotional and musical growth to Jimi Hendrix. In playing the Woodstock Music & Art Fair in August 1969, he joined forces with an eclectic ensemble called Gypsy Sun & Rainbows featuring Jimi Hendrix, Mitch Mitchell, Billy Cox, Juma Sultan, and Jerry Velez. The Woodstock performance was highlighted by his renegade version of "The Star Spangled Banner," which brought the mud-soaked audience to a frenzy. That same year he collaborated with bassist Billy Cox and drummer Buddy Miles to form the Band of Gypsys.
As 1970 progressed, Jimi brought back drummer Mitch Mitchell to the group and together with Billy Cox on bass, this new trio once again formed The Jimi Hendrix Experience. The group recorded several tracks for another two LP set, tentatively titled First Rays Of The New Rising Sun, but were unable to see the album through to its completion due to their hectic worldwide touring schedule, and then Jimi’s tragic death on September 18, 1970.
From demo recordings to finished masters, Jimi Hendrix generated an amazing collection of songs over the course of his short career. His music embraced the influences of blues, ballads, rock, R&B, and jazz, a collection of styles that continue to make Hendrix one of the most popular figures in the history of rock music. The tracks on West Coast Seattle Boy - The Jimi Hendrix Anthology traverse the brief but extraordinary career of this music legend and give a whole new meaning to the words “Move over, Rover, and let Jimi take over.”
In other related Hendrix news, his February 1969 London gigs at the Royal Albert Hall are the subject of a new documentary to be released next year. Janie Hendrix, Jimi’s half-sister and president/CEO of Experience Hendrix, told Billboard: “There were about four cameras that followed Jimi and the guys around in Europe and filmed the two concerts at the Royal Albert Hall, as well as them coming off trains, planes and automobiles, signing autographs, Jimi backstage getting ready, in his apartment doing little apartment jams with his friends and then later playing the Speakeasy.” The documentary movie is expected to get a theatrical and DVD release and a soundtrack album is set to be released as well.
