Jimi Hendrix

Hello there! Now I will talk about the guitarist known as the best of them all: Jimi Hendrix, the Guitar Hero. Even though I have just heard one of his songs and I don’t like him because he is one place above my man, I have heard as many people might have heard too that he occupies a big place in Rock n’ Roll history because he was the first guitar hero. He was the first guitarist who was seen like the best, like a God, and who really made people think guitar heroes could exist if somebody played guitar like that. He is probably best known as a hippie guy with spongy hair, but he is more than that.

He was born in 1942 and died in 1970 at the age of 27. He is also widely recognized as one of the most creative and influential musicians of the 20th century. Jimi Hendrix pioneered the explosive possibilities of the electric guitar. His innovative style of combining fuzz, feedback and controlled distortion created a new musical form (jimihendrix.com).

When he was a teenager he became interested in music, as he was influenced by many major artists at the time including B.B. King, and Buddy Holly. His father told: “he used to be sitting at the end of the bed there and strumming the broom like he was playing a guitar". He also learned to play by himself because he was unable to read music, something that made him concentrate even harder on the music he heard (jimihendrix.com).

After playing with different bands, Jimi Hendrix met Animal’s bass player, who became his manager and later, manager of the band he would form that accompanied Hendrix. However, his first important task was to name Hendrix as Jimi instead of James. The band, Jimi Hendrix Experience, quickly became the talk of London in the fall of 1966 (jimihendrix.com).

The band's first single, "Hey Joe," spent ten weeks on the UK charts. The debut single was quickly followed by the release of a full-length album Are You Experienced. This album is considered one of the most popular rock albums of all time, featuring tracks like "Purple Haze," "The Wind Cries Mary," "Foxy Lady," "Fire," and "Are You Experienced?” (jimihendrix.com).

From demo recordings to finished masters, Jimi Hendrix generated a big collection of songs throughout his short career. His music embraced the influences of blues, ballads, rock, R&B, and jazz, a collection of styles that make Hendrix one of the most popular figures in the history of Rock n’ Roll (jimihendrix.com).

At his time guitar was used in its basic form, without the harsh sound of Rock n’ Roll, and nobody played his way then. He was almost the first to start playing guitar in a very different way than before, with a louder guitar that involved blues sound and fast playing, so he was innovative for that time. If you listen to this song you will believe me ;) Another good proof of that he is an excellent guitar player is that he made me like him when I did not before X)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WoAXW30mMAg&feature=related

Works Cited

“Jimi Hendrix Biography”. jimihendrix.com. Jimi Hendrix. Sony Music Entertainment, 2011. Web. October 27, 2011.