Jimi Hendrix

Name: James Marshall Hendricks
Born/Died: 27th November, 1942 - 18th September, 1970
Profile: An American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Hendrix was one of the musicians who popularized the wah-wah pedal in mainstream rock which he often used to deliver an exaggerated pitch in his solos, particularly with high bends and use of legato based around the pentatonic scale.

History: Hendrix was exposed to blues and R&B music through his father's record collection and was given a harmonica at the age of 4 and an acoustic guitar at 10. He went "electric" a year later. In 1965, Hendrix formed his own band, adopting the name Jimmy James and the Blue flames. When the "Animals'" bass guitarist, Chas Chandler, heard Hendrix play he offered to bring him to London, when he was there he use his real name with the modified spelling and formed Jimi Hendrix Experience. Hendrix was well known for his unique sense of fashion and wardrobe and his Afro hairstyle. A set of hair curlers was one of the few possessions that traveled with him to England when he was first discovered in 1966.

Influences: Elmore James, B.B King, Albert King, Muddy Waters, Pete Townshend and Eric Clapton.

Axology: Right-handed Fender Stratocaster upside down with the strings reversed, Gibson Les Paul, Fender Jaguar, left-handed Gibson Flying V, Marshall 4x12 cabinets, Vox wah wah pedal, Arbiter Fuzz Face, Uni-vibe and Octavia.

"I'd like to get something together, like with Handel and Bach and Muddy Waters, a flamenco type of thing," - Jimi Hendrix

"It's the most psychedelic experience I ever had, going to see Hendrix play. When he started to play, something changed; colors changed, every thing changed." - Pete Townshend.