Yet another musician to die at the magical age of 27. He is still a hero for me, as a guitarist myself. It is still debatable wether anyone before or since has/had comparable skills with the instrument as he played it. I know there have been technically better, faster etc... Eric Clapton is truly at least one of the greatest guitarists who has ever lived, as was Frank Zappa. But Hendrix, he played by feeling, there was a river of emotion running through him constantly and in my opinion no one has come close ever since. He was also a fantastic natural show man, something that most great musicians lack.
Disregarding the official line about his death, my mother who worked on a couple of his shows as a wardrobe assistant told me he died from asphyxia after inhaling his own vomit as a result of mixing barbiturates and alcohol and laid on his back in the ambulance which unfortunately as he was unconscious at the time the attending paramedics failed to notice. (I don't know if this is true it's just what I've been told, and it would be wrong to lay fault with the medical staff involved as they were likely working very hard in an extremely tense state) He was also practically penniless at that time after being conned out of most of his money by groupies, hangers on and last but certainly not least record companies.
Tragic loss for his family, and to the world of music. It's been a long time now and we've not seen anyone like him since.
