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Jimi Hendrix, the greatest guitarist in rock history,

revolutionized the sound of rock. In 1967, the Jimi Hendrix

Experience rocked the nation with their first album, Are You

Experienced?. Hendrix's life was cut short by the tragedy of drugs in

1970, when he was only twenty seven years old. In these three years

the sound of rock changed greatly, and Hendrix’s guitar playing was a

major influence.

Jimi was born in Seattle, Washington on November 27, 1942.

As a young boy, whenever the chance came, Jimi would try to play

along with his R & B records. However, music was not his life long

dream. At first, the army was. In the late 1950’s, Hendrix enlisted in

the 101st Airborne Division. After sustaining a back injury during a

jump, he received a medical discharge. After his army career came to

an abrupt end, he decided to go into the music field. By this time he

had become an accomplished guitarist, and was soon to become

known as the greatest guitarist ever (Stambler, pg. 290).

However, he did not start out at the top. Jimi started out

playing as part of the back-up for small time R & B groups. It did not

take long before his work was in demand with some of the best

known artists in the field, such as B.B. King, Ike and Tina Turner,

Solomon Burke, Jackie Wilson, Littler Richard, Wilson Pickett, and

King Curtis (Clifford, pg. 181). Using the name Jimmy James, he

toured with a bunch of R & B shows, including six months as a

member of James Brown’s Famous Flames (Stambler, pg. 290).

At the Cafe Wha! in New York, in 1966, Hendrix decided to

try singing. Jimi lucked out when a man by the name...