Interesting Facts About Jimi Hendrix
- John Allen Hendrix was born in Seattle, WA on November 27th 1942
- When his father, Al Hendrix, returned from the Army, he renamed him James Marshall Hendrix
- He didn’t become Jimi Hendrix until he arrived in London in 1966.
- He dropped out of High School and enlisted in the Army in May 1959, becoming a member of ‘The Screaming Eagles’ 101st Airborne Division in Fort Campbell, Kentucky, as a trainee paratrooper. Less than a year later he received a medical discharge after breaking an ankle on his twenty-sixth parachute jump.
- The first instrument Jimi learned to play was a one-string Ukulele his father bought for him after Jimi was caught playing the broom like a guitar.
- His father bought Jimi his first $5 acoustic guitar when he was fifteen-years-old. A year later Al purchased his first electric guitar, a Supro Ozark 1560S.
- Hendrix’s is known for his outrageous guitar techniques. He could play with his teeth, behind his back, and fans were amazed.
- He played his Fender Stratocaster upside down to accommodate for him being left handed.
- His father thought being left handed was a sign of evil.
- He could not read music, and was self-taught.
- In 1967 at the Monterey Pop Festival, Jimi took the stage following The Who. While Pete Townshend smashed his guitar and tossed it into the crowd, Jimi set his on fire.
- He played backup guitar for Ike and Tina Turner, Little Richard, King Curtis, The Isley Brothers, and Wilson Pickett.
- He learned to play by ear and would often use words or colors to express what he wanted to communicate.
- His dreams are what inspired many of his songs.
- Hendrix once met 1950’s rocker Jerry Lee Lewis, but Lewis declined to shake his hand.
- One of his most memorable performances was at Woodstock in 1969, where he performed “The Star Spangled Banner.”
