Jimi Hendrix "The London Years"

Jimi Hendrix: I don't want to be a clown anymore

In London, the virtuoso is Handel's neighbor, loves tea and soaps. When Jimi Hendrix set his Fender Stratocaster on fire at the end of his historic performance at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival, it was the ultimate mind-blowing rock 'n' roll spectacle, a brilliant performance by an unsurpassed psychedelic showman, well-trained in the breathtaking show tricks of the great rhythm and blues artists such as T-Bone Walker and Little Richard. It is also a deep gesture of love and gratitude.

"I could sit here all night and tell you, 'Thank you, thank you, thank you. I just wanna grab you,” Hendrix shouted to the adoring crowd.
“But, I just can't do that. What I want to do is sacrifice something here that I really love. Don't think I'm stupid for doing this, because I'm not losing my mind! At this point, I'm convinced it's the right thing to do. I can't do anything more than that," he addresses the audience.

Shouts the guitar like Tarzan and leads his "British assistants", bassist Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell, in a truly incendiary reinvention of the Troggs' "Wild Thing". Kneel down and light the musical instrument - it is considered one of the most iconic in the history of rock.
25 years later, and more than two decades after his death, Jimi Hendrix has finally received official recognition for his achievements as a performer, guitarist and musical visionary. On January 15, 1992, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame along with Bobby "Blue" Bland, Booker T. and the MGs, Johnny Cash, Sam & Dave, the Yardbirds and, ironically, his former employers 'Isley Brothers'.

The genius, the symbol, the phenomenon, the personification of freedom - Jimi Hendrix was no more than he was de jure in this world, but he never really left, de facto. Hendrix left the stage of this world in 1970. Thus he "entered" Club 27, of stars who died at that age. If he were alive, he would be 80 years old.
In 1969, he gave an interview to Rolling Stone, two years after the magazine began publication. Author Sheila Weller writes: “We pile into Jimmy's silver Scat (Chevrolet make). He says, “I want to paint it—maybe black. I want to write songs about peace, about beautiful things," he says.
Already in his house, he walks around, cleans ashtrays, arranges things. "I'm like a cackling old lady," he smiles.

His friends say almost everyone is looking to take advantage of him. Even the highway patrol exploits it. They know his car: they stop him on the road between New York and Woodstock and harass him. Then they have something to gloat about for the rest of the day. A cop once stopped me on the freeway and started bragging, "Hey, I pulled over Jimi Hendrix for the second time today," says his colleague Juma.

Sheila Weller continues to recount her close encounter with the virtuoso. “We're listening to the recording of the jam from the night before: Jimmy on electric guitar, avant-garde pianist Michael Efron on pianos, Juma on congas and flute. A beautiful fusion of different elements, sometimes separated, sometimes united, a wonderful extravaganza. "Space music," they call it. Music without ego. These are not the things that wax masters make a lot of money from. Not the sound guaranteed to boost a rock superstar's popularity.

“I don't want to be a clown anymore. I don't want to be a "rock 'n' roll star," Jimmy says flatly. To continue to develop as an artist when a business empire has pressed you to its bosom requires toughness, insight. It's not about selling, it's about dying, artistically and spiritually. Refusing to die, but unprepared to fight dirty, many sensitive, non-commercial creatives retreated.

When Hendrix took the stage, he played the guitar with every fiber of his being.
Even as a child, Jimmy is crazy about playing the guitar. From a poor background, he never considered going to college and instead joined the Army in 1961, a way for young black men to make a decent living. His development as a musician was influenced by blues guitarists B.B. King, Albert King, T Bone Walker and Moore and Moore. He is also an accomplished composer whose songs have been performed by hundreds of musicians. Additionally, his rock star image places him alongside Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley and the Beatles.

Jimi Hendrix is one of the brightest symbols of the hippie movement in the 1960s.
After Lucille's death, Al gave his son a ukulele and later bought him an acoustic guitar for $5. Ironically, his only double at school that year was in music. Then he plays with a Fender Stratocaster, or Strat. He bought his first around 1965 and used this brand of guitars as a priority.
In 1966, Hendrix moved from the US to London, where music producer Chaz Chandler was in the midst of assembling a band centered around the immensely talented performer.

Written By Boryana Kolchagova 

Written By Boryana Kolchagova