The real Jimi Hendrix experience

Gerald · 09-18-10, 10:59 AM

Forty years ago, one of the most admired of all rock guitarists died in London at the age of 27.

Since his death, Jimi Hendrix has become an icon of 1960s culture, both the music and the visual image known around the world.

Born in the US, Hendrix spent his final years mainly in London.
Jimi Hendrix performs onstage, late 1960s Hendrix is considered to be one of the best electric guitar players in the world

He died of an apparent overdose at what was then the Samarkand Hotel in Lansdowne Crescent, Notting Hill, on 18 September 1970.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-11349374

Note: 18 September 2010 Last updated at 08:45 GMT

Sammi79 · 09-18-10, 12:09 PM

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.

Gerald · 09-18-10, 12:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sammi79

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.

Torvald Von Mansee · 09-18-10, 07:07 PM

Sigh. It's a shame he died when he did. I think he would have been a huge touring act up until today. He certainly would have done shows co-billing with Clapton, etc.

Sailor Steve · 09-18-10, 09:52 PM

I listened to his music the first time around, and was one of the generation who appreciated him when he happened on the scene.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sammi79

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.

Umm, that is the official verdict, according to the Death Certificate. His friend Eric Burdon (of 'The Animals' fame) said that he was already dead when Hendrix's girlfriend found the body and came to him, and that he was the one who called the police and the ambulance. The story we heard at the time was that he had taken the barbituates because he was suffering from the flu, and the alcohol because the medicine wasn't helping.

Again, that was the story at the time.

Gerald · 09-19-10, 01:09 AM

Sammi79 · 09-19-10, 03:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sailor Steve

I listened to his music the first time around, and was one of the generation who appreciated him when he happened on the scene.

Why you lucky... Awww I am jealous now. I would die to have seen him at Woodstock, or the BBC sessions. Like I said IMO there really has been no one of his calibre since.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sailor Steve

Umm, that is the official verdict, according to the Death Certificate.

Ahh OK, I only stated it because I find it a bit annoying the way things get simplified to 'drug overdose' when that is simply not the case. The drugs/drink were contributing factors (to him being unconscious at least).

To my mind, as I work in the entertainment industry, I see a lot of performers and touring crews roll through many different venues and I can tell you, drink/drugs are still a huge part of that lifestyle. From the lowliest techie to the promoters reps, It is rife. My conclusion a while back was that as long as the 'Artists' are in effect expected by the media and public in general to do drugs to further their art, then the industry will remain full of it. It is one of the seedier unpleasant sides of the whole thing.

Sailor Steve · 09-19-10, 11:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sammi79

Why you lucky... Awww I am jealous now. I would die to have seen him at Woodstock, or the BBC sessions. Like I said IMO there really has been no one of his calibre since.

As would I. I bought the records; never saw him live.

Sammi79 · 09-19-10, 05:58 PM

My bad, Sailor Steve, I assumed (for some reason?) that you'd seen him.

think I may have been staring at this screen too long

I watched the Woodstock '69 vid over and over, that pitiful crowd of die hards who'd waited all night huddled in blankets. Then by about half way through the first number the field is heaving as if the night had never happened while the sun comes up!

09-18-10, 10:59 AM	#1
Gerald SUBSIM Newsman Join Date: May 2008 Location: Close to sea Posts: 24,254 Downloads: 553 Uploads: 0	The real Jimi Hendrix experience Forty years ago, one of the most admired of all rock guitarists died in London at the age of 27. Since his death, Jimi Hendrix has become an icon of 1960s culture, both the music and the visual image known around the world. Born in the US, Hendrix spent his final years mainly in London. Jimi Hendrix performs onstage, late 1960s Hendrix is considered to be one of the best electric guitar players in the world He died of an apparent overdose at what was then the Samarkand Hotel in Lansdowne Crescent, Notting Hill, on 18 September 1970. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-11349374 Note: 18 September 2010 Last updated at 08:45 GMT __________________ Nothing in life is to be feard,it is only to be understood. Marie Curie

09-18-10, 12:09 PM	#2
Sammi79 XO Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Penzance Posts: 428 Downloads: 272 Uploads: 0	R.I.P. 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.

09-18-10, 07:07 PM	#4
Torvald Von Mansee Sea Lord Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: CA4528 Posts: 1,693 Downloads: 3 Uploads: 0	Sigh. It's a shame he died when he did. I think he would have been a huge touring act up until today. He certainly would have done shows co-billing with Clapton, etc. __________________ "You may not be interested in war, but war is interested in you" - Leon Trotsky

09-19-10, 01:09 AM	#6
Gerald SUBSIM Newsman Join Date: May 2008 Location: Close to sea Posts: 24,254 Downloads: 553 Uploads: 0	__________________ Nothing in life is to be feard,it is only to be understood. Marie Curie

09-19-10, 05:58 PM	#9
Sammi79 XO Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Penzance Posts: 428 Downloads: 272 Uploads: 0	My bad, Sailor Steve, I assumed (for some reason?) that you'd seen him. think I may have been staring at this screen too long I watched the Woodstock '69 vid over and over, that pitiful crowd of die hards who'd waited all night huddled in blankets. Then by about half way through the first number the field is heaving as if the night had never happened while the sun comes up!