Jimi Hendrix

Jimi Hendrix was an American musician and singer-songwriter who is widely considered to be the greatest electric guitarist in music history and one of the most influential musicians of his era. After initial success in Europe with his group The Jimi Hendrix Experience, he achieved fame in the United States following his 1967 performance at the Monterey Pop Festival. Later, he headlined the iconic 1969 Woodstock Festival and the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival.

Hendrix was a pioneer in experimentation with stereophonic phasing effects in recordings made of rock music. He was influenced by electric blues artists such as B.B. King, Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Albert King and Elmore James, surf rock guitarist Dick Dale, rhythm and blues and soul guitarists Curtis Mayfield and Steve Cropper, and the jazz guitarist Wes Montgomery.

Hendrix won several prestigious rock music awards during his lifetime, and many more posthumously. The Jimi Hendrix Experience was inducted into the US Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992. Hendrix was inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2005.

Hendrix released three studio albums, two live albums, two compilation albums, and twelve singles.

In 1966, The Experience's first record was a cover of Billy Roberts' "Hey Joe", and peaked at #6 in the UK. "Purple Haze" and "The Wind Cries Mary" were released in 1967 followed by the band's debut LP, Are You Experienced. The album reached #2 in the UK and a version with a different track listing reached #5 in the US.

The fourth single released by Hendrix was "Burning of the Midnight Lamp", which later appeared on The Experience's third album. Another single, "Foxy Lady", was released also.

The album Bold as Love was released in December 1967 peaking at #5 in the UK and #3 in the US. The single "Up from the Skies" reached #82 in the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The Experience's first compilation, Smash Hits, was released in the UK in April 1968 and reached #4.

Their famous cover of Bob Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower" became their highest-charting single in the States in 1968 when it reached #20. Electric Ladyland was released shortly after. Also, "Crosstown Traffic" was released in the US.

After the Woodstock Festival, two more singles, "Stone Free" and "Fire" (under the title "Let Me Light Your Fire"), were released.

The last record issued before Hendrix's death was Historic Performances Recorded at the Monterey International Pop Festival on August 26 in the US, which partly documented The Experience's performance at the Monterey Pop Festival on June 18, 1967. Jimi Hendrix died on September 18, 1970.