The Extraordinary Jimi Hendrix Essay

Eric Clapton responded, “You never told me he was that good”. The songs of Jimi Hendrix was what made him the passionate songwriter in the years of 1960’s. Last, He was one of

As Jimi Hendrix matured, he turned to his guitar skills when nothing else was working for him. He joined a blues and rhythm circuit that traveled around playing at different restaurants in Nashville. Jimi was only a sideman and was making only a little money, if any at all. Hendrix was sick of being a sideman and decided to move to New York City to try and make it big. Being unfamiliar with New York City, Hendrix met Fanyne Pridgeon, a local Harlem native. She and Hendrix grew close over the years as she introduced him to other musicians such as the Allen twins. The Allen Twins played a big part in Hendrix's early career as the pushed him to succeed because they knew that he had talent. Because of the help of the Allen twins and Fayne Pridgeon, Hendrix won his first prize in the Apollo Theater. Later on, Jimi met a man named Curtis Knight who was the lead singer of Curtis Knight and the Squires. Hendrix and Knight quickly became close friends. Knight knew the music industry and helped out Hendrix. Though Knight helped Hendrix, he also hurt him. Knight introduced Hendrix to Greenwhich Village. This is where all the music was, but that's not all. Marijuana, Cocaine, and pep pills were all introduced to Hendrix and became apart of his daily life, as he

went back to the only place he considered home, Sedalia. Joplin played in the Queen City

Another area that new music was beginning to develop was in the slums of San Francisco. The Haight-Ashbury district would spawn acts such as Janis Joplin, Jefferson Airplane, and the Grateful Dead. San Francisco had developed a consciousness about rock. Janis Joplin left in 1967 and traveled to Texas where she found her claim to fame. Jefferson Airplane and the Grateful Dead stayed in Sna Francisco playing in small theatres and venues. The most famous of these was the Filmore West. The combination of this improvisational rock bands and psychedelic drugs produced a subculture never seen before. The hippies had invaded the United States. Jimi Hendrix helped pave this new style of music. "He challenged people with his extensions of the guitar into all sorts of realms that had been overlooked, ignored, or undiscovered." The improvisational rock was strongly supported by an underground force that helped the band in many ways. They gained the band popularity by spreading the word, they kept the venues packed by

When the majority of the population thinks of rock 'n ' roll, most tend to correlate the beginnings of the rock genre with Elvis Presley or The Beatles. However, the greater part of the start of rock 'n ' roll must be attributed to the influence of African American culture and music. The African American culture initiated and impacted so many of the first genres in music that stemmed off into be many of the genres we still listen to today. Due to racism and discrimination many “race” artists were not recognized for their artistic abilities. Most African American musicians have become discredited due to white musicians covering African American songs and making it more popular. Rock ‘n’ roll was a collective effort of white and black culture and musicians but little credit has gone to the African American side of the genre. To truly understand how “race” artists were the people to help mold rock ‘n’ roll, you must go back to the very beginning of the start of the music business.

took up crapshooting. All of these odd jobs brought in enough money to feed Mama Lucy

This American guitarist, singer, and songwriter is one of the pioneers of rock and roll music and his songs are electrifying and his videos great to view. Chuck Berry whose full name is Charles Edward Anderson came out with such great hits in the 50s as “Maybellene”, “Roll Over Beethoven”, “Rock and Roll Music”, and “Johnny B. Goode”. He performed in such a way which left a lasting impression and greatly influenced rock music.

There are certain musicians that come along that shift a culture, attitude, or future musicians. Another musician that went on influence future generations and considered one of the greatest guitar players in the world is Eddie Van Halen.

Despite serving for only one year as a paratrooper, Jimi was medically discharged in 1962 due to injury (Murray). However, during his short time in the military, Hendrix formed a band with fellow soldier, Billy Cox, and played for troops all over the country (“Jimi Hendrix Biography”). When Hendrix was discharged, he and Cox formed the band the King Kasuals, and played regularly in Nashville, TN (“Jimi Hendrix Biography”). While in Tennessee, Jimi played not only on the bass with the King Kasuals, but as an accompanist to many musicians throughout the city (Murray). A few of these musicians were Little Richard, the Isley Brothers, King Curtis, and Curtis Knight with whose manager, Ed Chaplin, he signed a contract with. This contract, however, failed, and Jimi moved himself and his band “Jimmy James and the Blue Flames” to New York in 1965. ‘Cafe Wha?’, in Greenwich Village, NY, was the club “Jimmy James and the Blue Flames” frequented most to perform in. When witnessing one of the band 's’ performances, concert-goer, Linda Keith, suggested to her friend Chas Chandler, former bassist of the band The Animals and new found music manager and producer (Armstrong).

The emergence of Rock and Roll was one of the most pivotal moments of our nation’s history. The impact that this genre of music made is still evident in our culture. However, before this genre was able to gain momentum, it faced many cultural conflicts. The book, All Shook Up: How Rock ‘N’ Roll Changed America by Glenn C. Altschuler analyzes the impact that rock and roll music has made on American culture. It explores how the Rock and Roll culture was able to roughly integrate and later conflict with preceding cultural values. This is especially apparent in chapters regarding race and sexuality. Overall, Rock and Roll was extremely controversial amongst parents and educators. This new music genre was condemned by the previous generation as

Billy Joel joined a total of 3 bands before becoming a solo artist. The first group he joined was called the Echoes, a cover band that quickly gained popularity and would later be known as the Lost Souls. While enjoying the success of his first band, Billy Joel saw the Beatles’ iconic performance on the Ed Sullivan Show and was inspired to pursue a career as a professional musician. As a result, he dropped out of high school at age 17 and devoted his life to a musical career.

Hendrix Page stepped out of the little corner cafe and shielded his eyes from the midday sun. Hendrix was just a few months past the ripe age of 32 and had an extraordinary figure for his age. He was a tall 6’ 5” and his 190lbs were spread evenly through his lanky frame. His hazel eyes were framed by a strong face with a sharp Roman nose and high cheekbones that were highlighted

“All Along the Watchtower” is known as a classic rock song, but was originally crafted by Bob Dylan in 1967. Artists like Pearl Jam, U2, Dave Matthews Band and Eric Clapton have all covered this song, but notably the most famous version would be Jimi Hendrix’ rendition. A year after the song’s original release, Hendrix covered the unknown Bob Dylan song and propelled its legacy. Both songs draw different artistry and interpretations, but the concept is fundamentally the same.

They knew that they were all on our way to the same place to enjoy "three days of peace and music." Had the festival lasted much longer, as many as one million youths might have made the trip to Bethel. What started off as a promotion for a music studio, ended up as one of the most significant political and sociological events of the age. The main attraction of the festival was an all-star cast of top rock artists. Some of the greatest musicians of the 1960s performed, including singers Janis Joplin, Ravi Shankar, Arlo Guthrie, and Joan Baez as well as the bands The Stone; and Creedence Clearwater Revival (Sandow, 1). Singer Joe Cocker and guitar player Carlos Santana, up to then unknown, became overnight stars. Some performers who were scheduled to appear could not due to traffic problems. Jimi Hendrix ended the event with a freeform solo guitar performance of "The Star Spangled Banner." The dictionary defines a hippie as one who doesn't conform to society's standards and advocates a liberal attitude and lifestyle. Most of the people at Woodstock were not hippies in the commonly accepted sense: a good half of them, at least, were high school or college students from middle class homes ("The Big Woodstock, 33"). But at Woodstock they exhibited to the world many of the hippie values and life styles, from psychedelic clothing to spontaneous, unashamed nudity to open and casual sex, and also illicit drugs. Youthful imaginations were

he joined the band, which was, at that time, The Quarrymen. He was allowed to join because John