Instant Access To 100,000+ Essays!

Jimi Hendrix "is considered one of the greatest guitarists in rock music history." (Encarta) He was born Johnny Allen Hendrix on November 27, 1942 in Seattle, Washington, but after his parents divorced, his father changed his name to James Marshall Hendrix. He picked up his first guitar at age 11. It was a right handed guitar and because Jimi was left handed he switched the strings and flipped it upside down and taught himself how to play. At age 17, Jimi enlisted in the army as a paratrooper. A year later he was granted an honorable discharge because he broke his ankle. (Sigdolch) After leaving the army Jimi toured with numerous groups and played backup on various artists' albums; including the Isley Brothers, Little Richard and King Curtis. In 1965 Jimmy James, as he was calling him self at that time, and soul singer Curtis Knight teamed up to form a group initially dubbed the Rainflowers, then Jimmy James And The Blue Flames. After playing with the Blue Flames for a year in New York City, Jimi traveled to London in search of better talent to back him. Along with his managers Chas Chandler and Mike Jeffries, Jimi held auditions for a backup band, eventually choosing Noel Redding on bass and John "Mitch" Mitchell on dr