James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix ( Johnny Allen Hendrix; born
November 27, 1942 – September 18, 1970) was an American musician,
singer, and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four
years, he is widely
regarded
as one of the most influential electric guitarists in the history of
popular music, and one of the most celebrated musicians of the 20th
century. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame describes him as "arguably the greatest instrumentalist in the history of rock music"
Jimi Hendrix is considered by many to be the greatest rock musician that ever lived.
Jimi released three studio albums and one live album in three years. His career was cut short by his untimely death in 1970 after he had spent the day with his girlfriend relaxing in between shows.
Jimi
was a great musician and a great entertainer, he learned a lot about
showmanship playing in bands in the earlier years of his career. Bands
led by great entertainers like Little Richard who humorously once said
Jimi was so good he made his big toe jump when he heard Jimi play
guitar, and another led by Buddy and Stacy who had a hit with Shotgun.
Wether
Jimi was playing a supporting role or fronting his own band Jimi knew
how to dress in styles that at the time were haute couture.
Jimi loved the blues and lived for music and recording great songs and performing them live.
Jimi
Hendrix was the highest paid musician to perform at woodstock. Here
with Jimi is The Band of Gypsys performing Jimi's classic blues song Red
House.
When you have someone as brilliant with talent and aura as Jimi and you're making a film about his music and you have Jimi on site for filming, a 12 string acoustic strung for a left handed player more specifically for Jimi, and he asks you if he can play it what do you do?
Peter Neal who co produced and directed the film Experience had this to say about the filming of Jimi playing Hear My Train Comin :
“ Just
before we left we asked Jimi if he would mind playing some acoustic
blues. We’d decided to ask him to do that beforehand and since I had
this 12-string guitar, I took it along thinking it would be more
interesting for him than an ordinary 6 string. I’d restrung it so it was
ready to be played left-handed, and then left it leaning against the
wall in the corner of the room. I noticed how Jimi kept looking at it
and then he asked me if he could play it. I said that I’d hoped he
would, so he picked it up and launched into that number. We didn’t have
much film left at that point, and so I told him that he’d have to do it
in one take but it was just one of those magic moments that happen
sometimes.”
Jimi
is filmed sat on a high stool against a white backdrop, playing Hear My
Train A Comin’ which he hadn’t yet recorded at that stage. After
settling into it, he requests that Peter stops filming for a second as
he’s “scared to death.” After the restart his playing and singing is
flawless. It’s one of the most iconic film performances of Hendrix’s
career, and the only one to show him playing acoustic guitar. Peter says
it was filmed in one roaming take, and the cameraman did an
instinctively brilliant job of moving around Jimi as he sang and played.
That clip showed Jimi in a different light, but then Peter wanted the
film to be a portrait of him, rather than take a more predictable route