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Jimi Hendrix

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Jimi Hendrix: Reflections of the Man Through the Development of His Albums James McGuire UWC 4, Hampton November 4, 1996 On November 27, 1942,Jimi Hendrix was born as John Allen Hendrix in Washington at Seattle General Hospital. His childhood was not a privileged one, however, he did indulge himself in one particular way: Jimi loved to play the guitar. At first he played an old acoustic, and later a cheap Silvertone electric, which were both strung for a lefty on a right-handed guitar, one of the defining Hendrix traits (Murray 34- 5) . As a teenager, young Jimi listened to the music which affected his music so greatly later: “‘everyone from Buddy Holly to Muddy Waters and through Chuck Berry way back to Eddie …show more content…

The structure and lyrics on most of the songs on Are You Experienced? form the basis upon which it is possible to measure the change in the style of Hendrix, both lyrically and musically, that were to occur until his untimely death in 1970. The commercial success of the album and the confidence that Jimi must have gained from reviews which called him things like “an absolute master” allowed Jimi to make smooth transitions to whatever he felt like experimenting with or changing. The importance in Are You Experienced? lies in the fact that it was successful, and that the Jimi Hendrix that everyone heard on that album would be acceptable whether he was playing straight-forward blues, playing “Stone Free” or covering “Hey Joe.” Are You Experienced? represents the starting point from which Jimi Hendrix would take his new style of music and make himself into one of the most influential musical figures of his time. The true arrival of Jimi Hendrix occurred with the release of The Jimi Hendrix Experience’s second studio effort, Axis: Bold As Love. With this album, production costs were estimated at ten thousand pounds, allowing Jimi the valuable studio time he needed in order to more completely master his craft. Approximately three thousand of those pounds were spent production costs of the album sleeve, which picture Jimi and his bandmates in and surrounded by Indian imagery, to which Jimi responded:

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