Article
23
Rock
On
Jimi
Hendrix Experience
(Published
in Times of India,
Pune on 24th November, 2001)
F or me, the 27th of November is a day to
celebrate, as it happens to be my birthday. But what excites me even more is
that I have been fortunate to share this birthday with a few of my favorite
people. The foremost among them is probably the greatest guitar player the world
ever saw and one of first true Rock artistes I ever heard, Jimi Hendrix. I was
a young lad, in my teens, when Fran, the American exchange student who lived
with us, gifted a music album to me that was to change my life forever. It was
"Are you Experienced?" the debut album of this wild 'black' American
of African, European, Cherokee Indian and Mexican descent playing with an
English band and doing songs like "Purple Haze", "Hey Joe",
"The Wind cries Mary", "Foxy Lady", "Fire" etc.
This was music I had never heard before or even thought could exist! The
musicians seem to constantly stretch the boundaries of imagination and the
music moved from being heavily structured to free flowing all at the same time.
Truly a surreal experience for this young kid who would never be the same
again.
James Marshall Hendrix started his music
career on the R&B one-nighters live circuit backing Soul artists like Ike
and Tina Turner, Wilson Pickett, the Isley Brothers, Little Richard, Jackie
Wilson, Sam Cooke and The Impressions. But it was not long before he got tired
of it all and moved to the excitement of New
York. It was there that he formed his first band
"Jimmy James and the Blue Flames" and started doing the Greenwich Village clubs circuit. Word about this young
virtuoso spread like wildfire and ex-Animals bassist Chas Chandler was so
impressed after hearing him play that he offered to become his manager and
persuaded Jimi to accompany him back to England. It was in 1966 that
Hendrix arrived in London, a city at it's swinging
best, and formed the Jimi Hendrix Experience with drummer Mitch Mitchell and
bassist Noel Redding.
All of London's Rock aristocracy like the Beatles, Stones, Eric Clapton, Jeff
Beck, Who etc. showed up at early Experience gigs and paid court to this exotic
and astounding American musician who'd arrived in their midst. There was no
looking back now for this young musician as they broke attendance records at
one club after another, and later signed a recording contract. Jimi was on his
way to super stardom and was soon to become one of the most influential guitar
players of the Sixties.
Jimi's spectacular performance at the Monterey Pop Festival
reintroduced him to a wildly receptive American audience, and instantly made
him an American celebrity. His outrageous performance has fortunately been
captured on film and his guitar burning ceremony at the end of the concert is a
vision I will never forget in a hurry! His albums started selling in millions
on both sides of the Atlantic and his tours
were sellouts. "Are You Experienced?" and "Axis: Bold As
Love" were the first two albums that came out in quick succession and were
clearly years ahead of their time. Even today, they sound contemporary and
truly set new standards, both on the musical and technical spectrums of music
production. The double album "Electric Ladyland" followed and,
although not well received, contained brilliant guitar work and Jimi's
startling colorful lyrics full of mystical imagery.
The Experience split soon after and Jimi did
the Woodstock
gig with his old high school friend Billy Cox. I did not know till recently
that Jimi performed just two songs at this famous Rock festival before storming
out as he felt that "it was just not coming together!" I used to
wonder about his troubled expression during his historic performance of
"Star Spangled banner" in the film and thought it was just his
temporary inability to handle the feedback from his guitar! Unfortunately these
were indeed troubled times for this musical genius as Jimi was living a wild,
drug induced, chaotic existence that was destined to head for disaster.
Jimi last legitimate album was 'Band Of
Gypsies' which he recorded live with Buddy Miles and Billy Cox at the Fillmore
East on New Year's Day, 1970. It is considered by many to be the ultimate rock
concert album. Hendrix was also one of the first rock artists to build his own
recording studio "Electric Lady" in New York City
and was at work on a new album when he died on September 18, 1970, in London. He was just 27
years old. Jimi's last days were indeed a record of wild excessive living that
has only been documented by his countless girlfriends. His manic moods and
violent temperament saw him lose all his friends and it was a lonely Jimi who
was finally found dead one day, after having choked on his own vomit.
Jimi had left his business affairs in a total
mess and his death saw the release of over 300 bootleg recordings. It's only
recently that his father and sister have been able to regain legal rights to
Jimi's artistic legacy and we see digitally re-mastered re-releases of all his
works in the music markets of the world. Truly a fabulous gift for any young
kid wanting to be the future guitar king of the world!
Rock on!
Nandu Bhende
http://nandu_bhende.tripod.com
