Jimi Hendrix
Today marks what would have been the 69th birthday of Jimi Hendrix, a man widely recognized as the single greatest guitar player in history and a hugely influential figure in all music to come after him. Hendrix’s innovations and stylistic impact simply cannot be understated:
“Hendrix was mostly self-taught on the guitar. He was ambidextrous but chose to play the guitar upside-down and re-strung for playing left-handed, which suggests he was more comfortable left-handed. As a guitarist, he built upon the innovations of blues stylists such as B.B. King, Albert King, Buddy Guy, T-Bone Walker, and Muddy Waters, as well as those of rhythm and blues and soul music guitarists such as Curtis Mayfield. Hendrix’s music was also influenced by jazz; he often cited Rahsaan Roland Kirk as his favorite musician. In addition, Hendrix extended the tradition of rock guitar: although previous guitarists, such as The Kinks’ Dave Davies, Jeff Beck, and The Who’s Pete Townshend, had employed techniques such as feedback, distortion and other effects as sonic tools, Hendrix was able to exploit them to a previously undreamed-of extent, and made them an integral part of his own private, unique genre, which he called ‘Red.’
“Jimi’s father Al Hendrix is credited as the one who gave Jimi his first real guitar, and (less positively) for claiming posthumous copyright ownership to suppress the publication of, for example, a live collaboration album between Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Buddy Miles, & Johnny Winter. Earlier, the two would have jam sessions with Al on either bass or saxophone. As a record producer, Hendrix was an innovator in using the recording studio as an extension of his musical ideas. Hendrix was notably one of the first to experiment with stereo effects during the recording process. Hendrix was also an accomplished songwriter whose compositions have been performed by countless artists.”
Read more:
http://www.thesixtyone.com/JimiHendrix
http://www.licklibrary.com/news/2011/11/2630-birthday_tribute_jimi_hendrix
