Jimi Hendrix’s sister on his mysterious death: ‘The suspects are gone’
Eighty years since the great guitarist was born, Janie Hendrix talks about his extraordinary life and untimely death on the Telegraph (22Nov.)
Janie recalls watching her brother perform from the back of the stage. “During the last concert of that tour, when Jimi bent down his trousers ripped. Nobody knew except for us. He just took his jacket off, wrapped it around him and kept playing. And then my mum fixed his trousers later.”
Janie, is also the chief executive of Experience Hendrix, the company that manages Jimi’s estate
First, a live album, Jimi Hendrix Experience Los Angeles Forum: April 26, 1969, will arrive on November 18 on 2LP vinyl, CD and all digital platforms through Experience Hendrix L.L.C. in partnership with Sony’s Legacy Recordings.
(Excerpt from UCR) Description: JIMI is the ultimate tribute to the greatest guitar player in rock and roll history, celebrating what would have been Jimi Hendrix's 80th birthday on November 27, 2022. This comprehensive visual celebration is an official collaboration with Jimi's sister, Janie Hendrix, and John McDermott of Experience Hendrix L.L.C.
JIMI significantly expands on the authors' previously published titles, including An Illustrated Experience, and features a new introduction by Janie, extensive biographical texts, and a trove of lesser known and never-before-published photographs, personal memorabilia, lyrics, and more.
Additionally, JIMI includes quotations by legendary musicians, such as Paul McCartney, Ron Wood, Jeff Beck, Lenny Kravitz, Eric Clapton, Drake, Dave Grohl, and others who have spoken about Hendrix's lasting influence.
The City of London is going to honour Jimi Hendrix with another Blue Plaque. The plaque will be located at the Hard Rock Hotel in Marble Arch and will be unveiled on June 10 alongside the ‘Experience Hendrix L.L.C’ event.
The lo
ation marks Hendrix’s last London residence, which was then known as the Cumberland Hotel. Hendrix also wrote the lyrics to ‘Look Over Yonder’ and ‘Suddenly November Morning’ on the hotel’s stationary.
As part of the celebrations, there will be a screening of the Grammy-nominated documentary Music, Money, Madness… Jimi Hendrix In Maui as well as a question-and-answer session with Jimi’s sister Janie Hendrix, his producer and engineer Eddie Kramer, and the film’s director John McDermott.
Jimi Hendrix Got Rejected by the Same Producer Who Turned Down The BeatlesDecca’s Dick Rowe turned down the Jimi Hendrix Experience about 5 years after rejecting The Beatles
According to Beatles manager Brian Epstein, Rowe went so far as to disparage the brand of music they played. “Guitar groups are on their way out,” Epstein quoted Rowe telling him in A Cellarful of Noise. (Excerpt from the cheatsheet.com)
If the story ended there — with Rowe rejecting the biggest band of all time — that would be more than enough. But Rowe had another monumental blunder still to come. When the manager of Jimi Hendrix and his Experience approached Decca with the group’s first recordings, Rowe whiffed again.
When Hendrix arrived in London with manager Chas Chandler in late ’66, he made almost an instant splash. Chandler knew Hendrix could deliver a knockout punch to any guitarist on the scene, so he asked Cream if Hendrix could jam with the group at one of its shows.
Hendrix blew away everyone — Eric Clapton included — with the version of “Killing Floor” he played the night of his London debut. But while Hendrix had limitless potential, he still needed a backing band, original material, and a record deal to get started.
From there, the outfit needed music to secure a record deal. The group recorded “Hey Joe” as the first single of the newly minted Jimi Hendrix Experience. But when Jeffery approached Rowe at Decca, the label’s A&R man passed on the Experience.
With Rowe having passed on the Fab Four and Hendrix within five years, Chandler and Jeffery continued their search. Chandler succeeded by using the same tactic he’d used to get Hendrix noticed by the audience and Cream. He simply had people hear Hendrix play on stage.
Kit Lambert, the flamboyant manager of The Who who’d just launched Track Records, got the full Hendrix experience at a small-club show in London around that time. “Kit was [at the gig] and nearly knocked over the tables trying to get across to me,” Chandler is quoted saying in Setting the Record Straight.
After Hendrix and Lambert signed a deal on “a beer mat” on a bar table, Hendrix had his first real recording contract. As for “Hey Joe,” the Experience’s debut single, it went to No. 6 on the U.K. charts in Jan. ’67. Once again, it didn’t take long for Rowe to be proven dead wrong.
