50 Fun Facts About Jimi Hendrix

In which city was Hendrix born in 1942?

His father Al was in the Army stockade in Alabama at the time, locked up to stop him going AWOL to see the baby.

What was Hendrix's name at birth?

His parents renamed him James Marshall in 1946, after his father and a late uncle.

What one-stringed instrument did the young Hendrix pull from a woman's rubbish in 1957?

He picked out Elvis songs on it by ear, especially 'Hound Dog'.

How much did Hendrix pay for his first acoustic guitar in 1958?

He was 15; the first tune he learned was the 'Peter Gunn' TV theme.

What was Hendrix's first electric guitar, bought by his father in 1959?

When it was stolen from backstage, Al replaced it with a red Silvertone Danelectro.

Which Army division was Hendrix assigned to after enlisting in 1961?

He enlisted rather than face prison after twice being caught in stolen cars, and earned the Screaming Eagles patch as a paratrooper.

Which bassist did Hendrix meet in the Army and later bring into Band of Gypsys?

He heard Hendrix playing in an army club and described his style as 'John Lee Hooker and Beethoven'.

Hendrix won first prize at an amateur contest at which venue in February 1964?

He was living at the Hotel Theresa in Harlem at the time, and soon joined the Isley Brothers' backing band.

Which rock-and-roll pioneer's touring band employed Hendrix until he was fired in 1965?

They clashed over lateness, wardrobe and stage antics; the star's brother Robert finally sacked him.

What was the name of the band Hendrix formed in Greenwich Village in 1966?

It included future Spirit guitarist Randy California; the Kasuals were his earlier Tennessee band.

At which Greenwich Village club did Chas Chandler first see Hendrix play?

Chandler liked the song 'Hey Joe' and was convinced he could make a hit of it with the right artist.

Chas Chandler, who became Hendrix's manager, had been the bassist in which band?

He was leaving the group to manage and produce artists, and took Hendrix to London on September 24, 1966.

Who played bass in the Jimi Hendrix Experience?

He had turned up to audition as a guitarist for the New Animals; Hendrix reportedly liked his hairstyle.

Who was the Experience's drummer?

He had just been fired from Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames, and had once taken drum lessons from amp maker Jim Marshall.

Which Howlin' Wolf song did Hendrix play when he jumped on stage with Cream in October 1966?

Eric Clapton later said: 'He walked off, and my life was never the same again.' It also opened his Monterey set.

The Experience played their first shows in France supporting which singer?

Their 15-minute set at the Paris Olympia on October 18, 1966, is the earliest known recording of the band.

The Who's managers signed the Experience to which newly formed label?

Kit Lambert and Chris Stamp signed them in late October 1966; Polydor handled distribution.

What was the Experience's first single?

Released in December 1966, it peaked at number six in the UK; the same song flopped as his first US single.

In which city did Hendrix first smash a guitar on stage, in November 1966?

He was scrambling back from a crowd that had pulled him off stage; Chandler saw the reaction and made it part of the act.

Which journalist suggested Hendrix set fire to his guitar, first done at the London Astoria?

Hendrix had joked 'Maybe I can smash up an elephant'; the road manager was sent for lighter fluid.

After the Astoria stunt, the London press dubbed Hendrix the 'Wild Man of' where?

They also called him the 'Black Elvis'.

A British urban legend credits Hendrix with releasing which birds on Carnaby Street?

A study that mapped historical sightings of the feral birds found the story is not true.

What was the Experience's debut album?

It spent 33 weeks on the UK chart, peaking at number two, and Rolling Stone later ranked it the 15th greatest album ever.

Which album kept the debut off the top of the UK chart in 1967?

Hendrix returned the compliment by opening a Saville Theatre show with its title track three days after it came out, with McCartney watching.

Which Beatle insisted the Monterey Pop Festival book the Experience?

He joined the festival's board on condition that Hendrix, 'an absolute ace on the guitar', was on the bill.

Which Rolling Stone introduced Hendrix on stage at Monterey in June 1967?

He called him 'the most exciting performer I've ever heard'; the set ended with the guitar in flames.

How old was Ed Caraeff when he took the famous photo of Hendrix burning his guitar at Monterey?

He had one frame left on his roll and had never heard Hendrix's music; Rolling Stone colorized it for a 1987 cover.

The Experience quit after six shows as opening act for which band's 1967 US tour?

The headliners were fans; their young audience was not. Chandler later said he set it up for the publicity.

Where did Hendrix lose the master tape of side one of Axis: Bold as Love?

Most of side one was remixed overnight; 'If 6 Was 9' was rescued from a wrinkled tape of Redding's that had to be ironed flat.

The cover of Axis: Bold as Love depicts the band as avatars of which deity?

Hendrix said it should have reflected his American Indian heritage instead: 'I'm not that kind of Indian.'

Which album was Hendrix's only US number one?

The double LP topped the Billboard chart for two weeks in November 1968 and was credited as 'produced and directed by Jimi Hendrix'.

Which Bob Dylan cover became Hendrix's best-selling single and only US top-40 hit?

It peaked at number 20 in the US and five in the UK; Dylan's own live versions have followed the Hendrix arrangement ever since.

Which was the first Hendrix recording to feature a wah-wah pedal?

He got hooked on the pedal after watching Frank Zappa use one at the Garrick Theater in July 1967.

Which octave-doubling pedal did Roger Mayer introduce to Hendrix in 1966?

Hendrix once called Mayer 'the secret' of his sound.

Which amplifier brand did Hendrix buy three 100-watt heads from in October 1966?

He bought between 50 and 100 of them over the next four years; the founder called him 'the greatest ambassador' the company ever had.

Which guitar model is Hendrix most associated with?

He bought his first, a used one from around 1964, with money lent by a girlfriend in 1966.

Hendrix, a lefty, mostly played what kind of instrument?

The flipped bridge pickup made his low strings brighter and high strings darker, the opposite of the design.

What did Hendrix call his expanded band at Woodstock?

The MC had introduced them as the Experience; the line-up added rhythm guitarist Larry Lee and two conga players.

Which piece did Hendrix play at Woodstock with feedback imitating rockets and bombs?

Guitar World's editors named it the greatest performance of all time in 2011; Hendrix said it was 'like Go America!'.

Who was the drummer in Band of Gypsys?

Formerly of Wilson Pickett's band and the Electric Flag; manager Michael Jeffery fired him after the Madison Square Garden show.

At which venue was the Band of Gypsys live album recorded over New Year 1969-70?

Four shows over two nights; it was the only official live album released in his lifetime, and settled a lawsuit with producer Ed Chalpin.

What did Hendrix ask architect John Storyk to avoid when designing his New York studio?

Electric Lady got round windows, an ambient lighting machine and a psychedelic mural; it cost about $1 million, twice the budget.

Hendrix's final concert, on September 6, 1970, was at a festival on which island?

The West German crowd booed him for cancelling the previous night in torrential rain; the Isle of Wight headline slot had been six days earlier.

Hendrix's last public performance was a jam at Ronnie Scott's with which singer's band?

He joined Burdon and War on 'Mother Earth' and 'Tobacco Road' on September 16, 1970, and died less than 48 hours later.

How old was Hendrix when he died in London in September 1970?

The coroner recorded an open verdict: asphyxia while intoxicated with barbiturates. Brian Jones, Janis Joplin and Jim Morrison died at the same age.

In which Washington city is Hendrix buried, beside his mother's grave?

More than 200 people attended the funeral, including Miles Davis and Johnny Winter; a post office near the grave was renamed for him in 2019.

At which city's airport was Hendrix arrested for drug possession in May 1969?

He testified a fan had handed him a vial he took for legal medication, and was acquitted in December; his bandmates believed it was planted.

Hendrix's flat at 23 Brook Street, London, neighboured the former home of which composer?

His blue plaque was English Heritage's first for a pop star; the building reopened as the Handel Hendrix House museum in 2023.

In which year was the Experience inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?

The same year Hendrix received a Lifetime Achievement Grammy and his home town declared November 27 Jimi Hendrix Day.

Hendrix played to his largest US audience, about 500,000, at which 1970 event?

The footage lay undeveloped in a director's barn for 30 years before the documentary Electric Church.