JIMI HENDRIX

Jimi Hendrix remains the most innovative guitarist of any era, literally creating the vocabulary of the guitar while re-drafting the parameters of electric blues. He drew encouragement from greats like Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley and later the Beatles and Bob Dylan, and was rooted in the vibrant Delta blues of Muddy Waters. This blurring of musical and cultural styles explains why it makes it so difficult to fathom how long the guitarist languished in impoverished obscurity before finally achieving success in the UK. Even so, Swinging 60s London was entirely unprepared for the compelling lyrics, irrefutable talent, and dynamic stage presentation he infused with such unrefined sexuality. The Animals bassist Chas Chandler changed Hendrix's fortune, plucking him from the depths of Greenwich Village in 1966, and in Hendrix he saw a greater talent than his own. As his popularity blossomed, Hendrix stood out as a figure of rebellion and counterculture. Despite his early, tragic death and the turbulent life that preceded it, Hendrix remains forever frozen at the age of 27. He was a man who adored jamming with fellow musicians with impromptu sessions lasting for hours, be in a hip Manhattan nightspot or a dusty Southern roadhouse. His rich life and remarkable career is celebrated by his daughter Janie in this massive tribute publication, packed with exclusive never before seen photographs from the family album, the Wild Thing backstage and on stage in archive black-and-white and beautiful colour photographs, concerts, psychedelic artwork, posters and advertising, and organised by the decades, 1942 to 1967. Sprinkled with revealing quotes and private thoughts, concert tickets like the Roundhouse in London NW1, Top of the Pops in 1967, and with studio portraits looking very handsome in his velvet jacket or military style braided jackets, lounging by a pool in Beverly Hills with beautiful women, the crowds at his concerts, playing at the Royal Albert Hall and of course at Woodstock in New York. With colourful typography, vintage memorabilia and handwritten lyrics, and quotes by legendary musicians like Paul McCartney, Ronnie Wood, Keith Richards, Lenny Kravitz and others, and with many of the album covers like Are you Experienced? and Axis Bold as Love but sadly excluding the wonderful Electric Ladyland! 318 pages, 23 x 31cm.
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