I have listened to Jimi Hendrix since I can remember and he was probably the first person I ever wanted to be when I was a kid. I love the guitar but I can play it about as much as I can walk on the moon. When I was much younger I attempted to take guitar lessons, but I didn't have my own guitar and had to use my dads. The problem with that is, I'm left handed and my dad right handed and so we had to keep switching the strings about which my dad moaned at. There was no way I could play the guitar left handed like Jimi Hendrix so I eventually gave up and decided to appreciate the guitar skills in others and focus my energy on other things.



Jimi Hendrix was born on November 27th 1942 in Seattle, Washington and is remembered as one of the greatest guitarists of all time (the greatest to me). Jimi Hendrix first became famous within the USA (his home country) and ended his career in London, England. Jimi Hendrix made success in the US when he performed at the Monteray Pop Festival in 1967, he later headlined at the Woodstock Festival in 1969. Jimi Hendrix had many influences to his music, including Muddy Waters, B.B. King, Curtis Mayfield and even Pete Townshend (The Who) and was also influenced by his Native American heritage.

Over the years Jimi Hendrix helped to revolutionize music by developing several guitar techniques (using overdriven amplifiers to produce guitar feedback), and was one of the first performers to use stereophonic and phasing effects in the recording studio. Jimi Hendrix is also well known for his flamboyant dress sense and stage performances. Jimi Hendrix was found dead in the basement flat of the Samarkand Hotel in London (I went to see for myself on a visit) and the cause of death was said to be he had died by drowning on his own vomit after drinking red wine and taking several sleeping pills. The circumstances leading upto Jimi Hendrix's death still remain somewhat a mystery and the details vary from report to report.

Jimi Hendrix was inducted into the Rock N' Roll Hall Of Fame in 1992 and holds many other achievements such as Melody Maker' Pop Musician Of The Year 1967 and 1968, Rolling Stone Magazine's Number 1 of their 100 Greatest Guitarists Of All Time, and also has his star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame.

Jimi Hendrix released several studio albums (some notable ones being Are You Experienced, Axis: Bold as Love, Rainbow Bridge and Electric Ladyland) and has also released several live albums (Band Of Gypsys, Isle of Wight, and Bleeding Heart to name a few). Some of Jimi Hendrix's most popular singles were: Hey Joe, Stone Free, Purple Haze, All Along the Watchtower, Foxy Lady, Voodoo Child and Little Wing.

There have been many artists and bands who have covered Jimi Hendrix's songs over the years (The Cure - Purple Haze, Stone Free - Eric Clapton, Bold As Love - The Pretenders) and there have been also several tribute albums released in his honor.

My Top 10 Jimi Hendrix Songs are:

01. All Along The Watchtower

02. Hey Joe

03. Purple Haze

04. Voodoo Child

05. Crosstown Traffic

06. Little Wing

07. Stepping Stone

08. Look Over Yonder

09. Izabella

10. Spanish Castle Magic