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Jimi Hendrix: The Greatest Guitarist Was Born in 1942
Born 27 November 1942 in Seattle, Jimi Hendrix permanently changed rock music in just four years. Purple Haze, Woodstock, Electric Ladyland — the legend of 1942.
Chris
7/15/20263 min read
Who Was Jimi Hendrix?
James Marshall Hendrix — known to the world as Jimi Hendrix — was born on 27 November 1942 in Seattle, Washington. He died on 18 September 1970, aged just 27. In those 27 years, he became the most celebrated electric guitarist in history. His innovations in feedback, distortion, and expressive technique changed rock music permanently.
Rolling Stone magazine ranked him the greatest guitarist of all time. His performances — especially the incendiary rendition of The Star-Spangled Banner at Woodstock in 1969 — remain among the most iconic moments in rock history.
A Career Compressed Into Three Years
Hendrix's recording career as a solo artist lasted only four years, from 1966 to 1970. In that time he released three studio albums with The Jimi Hendrix Experience — Are You Experienced (1967), Axis: Bold as Love (1967), and Electric Ladyland (1968) — and a live album. Each one was a landmark. Are You Experienced alone contained Purple Haze, Hey Joe, The Wind Cries Mary, and Foxy Lady.
He formed Band of Gypsys in 1969 with bassist Billy Cox and drummer Buddy Miles, taking a harder, funkier direction. He died before finishing what would have been his fourth studio album, First Rays of the New Rising Sun, released posthumously in 1997.
Books About Jimi Hendrix
Few musicians have been written about as extensively as Hendrix. The best books go beyond the mythology to explore the musician and the man.
- Jimi Hendrix biographies — Amazon UK
- Room Full of Mirrors by Charles R. Cross — Amazon UK — the definitive Hendrix biography
- Starting at Zero: His Own Story — Amazon UK — Hendrix in his own words
- Jimi Hendrix photography books — Amazon UK
- Woodstock 1969 — books on the festival — Amazon UK
His Music on Vinyl and CD
Hendrix's catalogue has been lovingly remastered and reissued over the decades. His albums on vinyl are among the most coveted records a collector can own.
- Are You Experienced on vinyl — Amazon UK
- Electric Ladyland on vinyl — Amazon UK
- Jimi Hendrix Experience box sets — Amazon UK
A 1942 Legend
Jimi Hendrix shares his birth year with Mick Jagger, Paul McCartney, Harrison Ford, Muhammad Ali, Barbra Streisand, and Stephen Hawking. The class of 1942 shaped the second half of the twentieth century in music, film, sport, and science as no other birth year has.
Browse more personalities born in 1942, or explore the full Jimi Hendrix catalogue on Amazon UK.