James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most influential electric guitarists in the history of popular music, and one of the most celebrated musicians of the 20th century. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame describes him as "arguably the greatest instrumentalist in the history of rock music".
Electric Ladyland is the third and final studio album by the Jimi Hendrix Experience and the final studio album released in Hendrix's lifetime before his death in 1970. Released by Reprise Records in North America on October 16, 1968, and by Track Records in the UK nine days later, the double album was the only record from the band produced by Hendrix. By mid-November, it had charted at number one in the US, where it spent two weeks at the top spot. Electric Ladyland was the Experience's most commercially successful release and their only number one album. It peaked at number six in the UK, where it spent 12 weeks on the chart.
"All Along the Watchtower" is a song by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan from his eighth studio album, John Wesley Harding (1967). The song was written by Dylan and produced by Bob Johnston. The song's lyrics, which in its original version contain 12 lines, feature a conversation between a joker and a thief. The song has been subject to various interpretations; some reviewers have noted that it echoes lines in the Book of Isaiah, Chapter 21, verses 5–9. Dylan has released several different live performances, and versions of the song are included on some of his subsequent greatest hits compilations.
"Purple Haze" is a song written by Jimi Hendrix and released as the second single by the Jimi Hendrix Experience on March 17, 1967. The song features his inventive guitar playing, which uses the signature Hendrix chord and a mix of blues and Eastern modalities, shaped by novel sound processing techniques. Because of ambiguities in the lyrics, listeners often interpret the song as referring to a psychedelic experience, although Hendrix described it as a love song.
Axis: Bold as Love is the second studio album by the Jimi Hendrix Experience. Track Records first released it in the United Kingdom on December 1, 1967, only seven months after the release of the group's highly successful debut, Are You Experienced. In the United States, Reprise Records delayed the release until the following month. The album reached the top ten in the album charts in both countries.
"Little Wing" is a song written by Jimi Hendrix and recorded by the Jimi Hendrix Experience in 1967. It is a slower tempo, rhythm and blues-inspired ballad featuring Hendrix's vocal and guitar with recording studio effects accompanied by bass, drums, and glockenspiel. Lyrically, it is one of several of his songs that reference an idealized feminine or guardian angel-like figure. At about two and a half minutes in length, it is one of his most concise and melodically focused pieces.
Band of Gypsys is a live album by Jimi Hendrix and the first without his original group, the Jimi Hendrix Experience. It was recorded on January 1, 1970, at the Fillmore East in New York City with Billy Cox on bass and Buddy Miles on drums, frequently referred to as the Band of Gypsys. The album mixes funk and rhythm and blues elements with hard rock and jamming, an approach which later became the basis of funk rock. It contains previously unreleased songs and was the last full-length Hendrix album released before his death.
George Allen "Buddy" Miles Jr., was an American composer, drummer, guitarist, vocalist and producer. He was a founding member of the Electric Flag (1967), a member of Jimi Hendrix's Band of Gypsys (1969–1970), founder and leader of the Buddy Miles Express and later, the Buddy Miles Band. Miles also played and recorded with Carlos Santana and others. Additionally, he sang lead vocals on the critically and commercially acclaimed "California Raisins" claymation TV commercials and recorded two California Raisins R&B albums.
Roger Mayer is an electrical engineer who developed several electric guitar effects, including the Octavia, a fuzz effects pedal which also doubled signal frequency, with a sound that was not attainable by simply connecting an octave pedal and a fuzz pedal together. The effect was popularized by Jimi Hendrix, and can be heard during the solos on the song "Purple Haze".
"Red House" is a song written by Jimi Hendrix and one of the first songs recorded in 1966 by the Jimi Hendrix Experience. It has the musical form of a conventional twelve-bar blues and features Hendrix's guitar playing. He developed the song prior to forming the Experience and was inspired by earlier blues songs.
"Spanish Castle Magic" is a song written by Jimi Hendrix and performed by the Jimi Hendrix Experience. Produced by Chas Chandler, it is the third track from the album Axis: Bold as Love. The lyrics refer to a club near Seattle, where Hendrix sometimes played early in his career. The song was a staple of live shows and several live recordings were released after Hendrix's death.
"Testify" is an uptempo soul song by the American rhythm and blues group the Isley Brothers. Written by the Isleys and recorded in 1964, it followed several successful singles by the group and was the first single to appear on their own T-Neck record label.
"1983… " is a song recorded in 1968 for the third studio album, Electric Ladyland, by the Jimi Hendrix Experience. Written and produced by Jimi Hendrix, the song features flute player Chris Wood of the band Traffic, and at over 13 minutes in duration is the second longest track released by the group.
"Come On" is a song written by New Orleans rhythm and blues artist Earl King. He first recorded the song as "Darling Honey Angel Child" in 1960 for the Ace Records subsidiary Rex. Later that year, he recorded it as a two-part song for Imperial Records using some new lyrics. Retitled "Come On", it was released in 1960 with "Come On – Part I” as the A-side backed with “Come On – Part II”.
Black Gold is an unreleased song cycle by Jimi Hendrix, recorded shortly before his death in 1970. Some consider Black Gold to be the "holy grail" of Hendrix collectibles. The themed songs, plus the label markings and conventions used by Hendrix to identify the tapes, led fans to believe that this demo represents a proposed fifth studio album, and predicted that the material will reveal the broadest extensions of Hendrix's intended musical direction. The tapes are currently in the possession of Hendrix's half-sister Janie.
Jimi Hendrix: An Illustrated Experience is a biography of American guitarist Jimi Hendrix, written by his stepsister Janie and his biographer John McDermott, and published on October 9, 2007. The book tells the story of Hendrix and his life through reproductions of rare material such as letters, drawings, postcards and posters. An Illustrated Experience also contains a companion CD entitled Hendrix: Live, which includes three live tracks, two interviews, and a studio jam entitled "Keep on Groovin'".
Leon Morris Hendrix is an American painter, songwriter, and musician who began playing the guitar later in life and has released several albums. He is the brother of American rock guitarist and singer Jimi Hendrix.
American guitarist Jimi Hendrix intended to release his fourth studio album as a double or triple LP before Christmas 1970. From June to August 1970, he made good progress on the realization of the planned album in his new Electric Lady Studios. Many songs were mixed on 20, 22 and 24 August. Four of these mixes were regarded as definitive versions and were presented at the opening party of Electric Lady on 26 August. Hendrix died on September 18 that year, leaving behind an enormous number of unreleased recordings in various stages of completion. It is impossible to know what Hendrix would have changed and what he actually would have released, but there is some documentation of the album configurations he had in mind. While a good part of the designated tracks only needed some finishing touches, others only existed as rough recordings and for some titles no recordings are known at all. The Cry of Love (1971), Voodoo Soup (1995) and First Rays of the New Rising Sun (1997) are officially released attempts to reconstruct the planned album. First Rays of the New Rising Sun is usually regarded as closest to Hendrix's vision, but features a track that was probably never part of Hendrix's plans and omits some tracks that were definitely considered. All but one of the tracks that are known to have been recorded for the album have eventually been released in some shape or other on official albums.
"Hey Baby " or simply "Hey Baby" is a song written and recorded by American musician Jimi Hendrix, from his second posthumous album Rainbow Bridge (1971). The song is a slower and more melodic piece, which features the prominent use of chorus- and tremolo-effects on guitar. Hendrix uses an idealized feminine figure that recurs in several of his lyrics. Commentators have seen the song as representative of his post-Band of Gypsys musical direction.
