name	Brian Jones
background	non_vocal_instrumentalist
birth name	Brian Hopkins Jones
alias	Jones, Nick
birth date	February 28, 1942
birth place	Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England
death date	July 03, 1969
death place	Hartfield, Sussex, England
instrument	Guitar, harmonica, keyboards, Appalachian dulcimer, trumpet, trombone, mellotron, sitar, tambura, recorder, saxophone, percussion, autoharp, marimba, slide guitar, clavinet, oboe, banjo, clarinet, piano, steel-string acoustic guitar, xylophone, organ, flute, accordion, cello
genre	Rock, rock and roll, blues rock, psychedelic rock, rhythm and blues
occupation	Musician, composer, bandleader, record producer
years active	1961–69
label	Decca Records, Atco Records, London, Rolling Stones Records
associated acts	The Rolling Stones, Master Musicians of Joujouka
notable instruments	Harmony Stratotone H46Vox Mark VIGibson Firebird }}

Lewis Brian Hopkins Jones (28 February 1942 – 3 July 1969), known as Brian Jones, was an English musician and a founding member of The Rolling Stones.

His main instruments were the guitar and the harmonica, but he played a wide variety of other instruments. His innovative use of traditional or folk instruments, such as the sitar and marimba, was integral to the changing sound of the band.

He was originally the leader of the group, but Mick Jagger and Keith Richards soon overshadowed him, especially after they became a successful songwriting team. Jones developed a serious substance abuse problem over the years and his role in the band steadily diminished.

He left the Rolling Stones in June 1969 to be replaced by guitarist Mick Taylor; Jones died less than a month later in his own swimming pool.

Biography

Early life and fatherhood

Jones was born in the Park Nursing Home in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, on 28 February 1942. An attack of croup at the age of four left him with asthma, which lasted for the rest of his life. His middle-class parents, Lewis Blount Jones and Louisa Beatrice Jones (née Simmonds) were of Welsh descent. Brian had two sisters: Pamela, who was born on 3 October 1943 and who died on 14 October 1945 of leukaemia; and Barbara, born on 22 August 1946.

Both Jones's parents were interested in music: his mother Louisa was a piano teacher, and in addition to his job as an aeronautical engineer, Lewis Jones played piano and organ and led the choir at the local church.

In 1957 Jones first heard Cannonball Adderley's music, which inspired his interest in jazz. Jones persuaded his parents to buy him a saxophone, and two years later his parents gave him his first acoustic guitar as a 17th birthday present.

Jones attended local schools, including Dean Close School, from September 1949 to July 1953 and Cheltenham Grammar School for Boys, which he entered in September 1953 after passing the Eleven-plus exam. He enjoyed badminton and diving at school and became first clarinet in the school orchestra. In 1957 he reportedly obtained seven O-level passes, then he continued into the sixth form and obtained a further two O-levels. He also took three A-levels in Physics, Chemistry and Biology and passed in Physics and Chemistry, but failed in Biology. Despite academic ability, however, he found school regimented and disliked conforming. He disliked the school uniforms and angered teachers with his behaviour, though he was generally popular among students. His hostility to authority figures resulted in his suspension from school on two occasions. According to Dick Hattrell, a childhood friend: "He was a rebel without a cause, but when examinations came he was brilliant."

In the spring of 1959, Jones's 14-year-old girlfriend, a Cheltenham schoolgirl named Valerie Corbett, became pregnant. Although Jones is said to have encouraged her to have an abortion, she placed the baby boy up for adoption by an infertile couple. Corbett later married one of Jones's friends, author Graham Ride.

Jones quit school in disgrace and left home, travelling through northern Europe and Scandinavia for a summer. During this period, he lived a bohemian lifestyle, busking with his guitar on the streets for money, and living off the charity of others. While Jones was fond of telling others stories concerning his adventures in Europe, it remains uncertain as to how much was fact, and how much was fiction. Other friends claimed Jones merely stayed with friends and relatives outside the UK.

Jones grew up listening to classical music, but he preferred blues, particularly Elmore James and Robert Johnson. He began playing at local blues and jazz clubs in addition to busking and working odd jobs. He was also known to steal small amounts of money from work to pay for cigarettes, which tended to get him fired.

In November 1959, Jones went to the Wooden Bridge Hotel in Guildford to see a band. He met a young married woman named Angeline, and the two had a one-night stand that resulted in her pregnancy. Angeline and her husband decided to raise the baby together, a girl, born on 4 August the following year. Jones never knew about her birth.

On 23 October 1961, Jones's girlfriend Pat Andrews gave birth to his third child, Julian Mark Andrews. Jones sold his record collection to buy flowers for Pat and clothes for the newborn and lived with them for a while. However, on 23 July 1964, another woman, Linda Lawrence, gave birth to Jones's fourth child, Julian Brian Lawrence. Julian adopted the surname Leitch after Linda Lawrence married folk singer Donovan on 2 October 1970. Jones is said to have named both of his sons Julian in tribute to the jazz saxophonist Julian "Cannonball" Adderley.

Brian's fifth child was born in Wimbledon on 24 March 1965, to teenager Dawn Molloy. He was originally named Paul Andrew Molloy. Dawn was forced to give the baby up for adoption and Paul's adoptive parents re-named him John. Finally, on 23 February 1969, Brian's sixth and youngest child was born to a married but separated American model named Elizabeth. Brian met Elizabeth on 12 May in Wembley and saw her a few times between 12 and 20 May. She and her husband were reunited in November 1968 and flew back to the United States. The baby, Brian's second daughter, was born in Chicago, IL, and named after Brian's surviving sister, Barbara. Barbara was raised by Elizabeth and her husband.

Forming the Rolling Stones

Jones left Cheltenham and moved to London where he became friends with fellow musicians Alexis Korner, future Manfred Mann singer Paul Jones, future Cream bassist Jack Bruce and others who made up the small London rhythm and blues and jazz scene there. He became a blues musician, for a brief time calling himself "Elmo Lewis", and playing slide guitar. Jones also started a band with Paul Jones called The Roosters and in January 1963, after both Brian and Paul left the group, Eric Clapton took over Brian's position as guitarist.

Jones placed an advertisement in ''Jazz News'' (a Soho club information sheet) of 2 May 1962 inviting musicians to audition for a new R&B; group at the Bricklayers Arms pub; pianist Ian "Stu" Stewart was the first to respond. Later singer Mick Jagger also joined this band; Jagger and his childhood friend Keith Richards had met Jones when he and Paul Jones were playing Elmore James' "Dust My Broom" with Korner's band at The Ealing Club. Jagger brought guitarist Richards to rehearsals; Richards then joined the band. Jones's and Stewart's acceptance of Richards and the Chuck Berry songs he wanted to play coincided with the departure of blues purists Geoff Bradford and Brian Knight, who had no tolerance for Chuck Berry.

As Keith Richards tells it, Jones came up with the name "The Rollin' Stones" (later with the 'g') while on the phone with a venue owner. "The voice on the other end of the line obviously said, 'What are you called?' Panic. ''The Best of Muddy Waters'' album was lying on the floor—and track one was 'Rollin' Stone Blues'".

The Rollin' Stones played their first gig on 12 July 1962 in the Marquee Club in London with Jagger, Richards, Jones, Stewart, bass player Dick Taylor (later of The Pretty Things) and drummer Tony Chapman.

From September 1962 to September 1963 Jones, Jagger and Richards shared an apartment (referred to by Richards as "a beautiful dump") at 102 Edith Grove, Chelsea, with James Phelge, a future photographer whose last name was used in some of the band's early "Nanker/Phelge" writing credits. Jones and Richards spent day after day playing guitar while listening to blues records (notably Jimmy Reed, Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon and Howlin' Wolf). During this time, Jones also taught Jagger how to play harmonica.

The four Rollin' Stones went searching for a bassist and drummer, finally settling on Bill Wyman on bass because he had a spare VOX AC30 guitar amplifier and always had cigarettes, as well as a bass guitar that he had built himself. After playing with Mick Avory, Tony Chapman and Carlo Little, in January 1963 they finally persuaded jazz-influenced Charlie Watts to join them. At the time, Watts was considered by fellow musicians to be one of the better drummers in London; he had played with (among others) Alexis Korner's group Blues Incorporated.

Watts described Jones's role in these early days: "Brian was very instrumental in pushing the band at the beginning. Keith and I would look at him and say he was barmy. It was a crusade to him to get us on the stage in a club and be paid a half-crown and to be billed as an R&B; band".

The group played at local blues and jazz clubs, garnering fans in spite of resistance from traditional jazz musicians who felt threatened by their popularity. While Jagger was lead singer, Jones, in the group's embryonic period, was the leader—promoting the band, landing gigs, and negotiating with venue owners. Jones played guitar and harmonica, and during performances, especially at the Crawdaddy Club in Richmond, he proved to be a more lively and engaging performer than even Jagger.

While acting as the band's business manager, Jones received £5 more than the other members, which did not sit well with the rest of the band and created resentment. Keith Richards has said that both he and Mick were surprised to learn that Brian considered himself the leader and was receiving the extra £5, especially as other people, like Giorgio Gomelsky appeared to be doing the gig arrangements.

Musical contributions

Jones's main guitar in the early years was a Harmony Stratotone, which he replaced with a Gretsch Double Anniversary in two-tone green. In 1964 and 1965 he often used a teardrop-shaped prototype Vox Mark VI. From late 1965 until his death, Jones used Gibson models (various Firebirds, ES-330, and a Les Paul model), as well as two Rickenbacker 12-string models. He can also be seen playing a Fender Telecaster in the 1968 "Jumpin' Jack Flash" promo video.

Examples of Jones's contributions are his slide guitar on "I Wanna Be Your Man" (1963), "I'm a King Bee" (1964, on ''The Rolling Stones''), "Little Red Rooster" (1964), "I Can't Be Satisfied" (1965, on ''Rolling Stones No. 2''), "I'm Movin' On" (1965, on the EP ''Got Live If You Want It!''), "Doncha Bother Me" (1966, on ''Aftermath'') and "No Expectations" (1968, on ''Beggars Banquet''). Jones can also be heard playing Bo Diddley-style rhythm guitar on "I Need You Baby (Mona)", the guitar riff in "The Last Time"; sitar on "Street Fighting Man" and "Paint It, Black"; organ on "Let's Spend the Night Together", "Complicated", and "2000 Man"; marimba on "Under My Thumb", "Out Of Time" and "Yesterday's Papers"; recorder on "Ruby Tuesday" and "All Sold Out"; trumpet on "Child of the Moon"; Appalachian dulcimer on "I Am Waiting" and "Lady Jane" and harpsichord on "Lady Jane"; accordion on "Backstreet Girl"; saxophone and oboe on "Dandelion"; mellotron on "She's a Rainbow", "We Love You"; saxophone on Citadel, "Stray Cat Blues" and "2000 Light Years from Home"; and (for his final recording as a Rolling Stone) the autoharp on "You Got the Silver".

Jones also played harmonica on many of the Rolling Stones' early songs. Examples of Jones's playing are on "Stoned" (1963), "Not Fade Away" (1964), "I Just Want to Make Love to You", "Now I've Got A Witness" (1964)" (from ''The Rolling Stones''), "Good Times, Bad Times" (1964), "2120 South Michigan Avenue" (1964) (from E.P. ''Five By Five''), "The Under Assistant West Coast Promotion Man", "One More Try" (1965) (from ''Out Of Our Heads''), "High and Dry" and "Goin' Home" (1966) (from ''Aftermath''), "Who's Driving Your Plane?" (1966), "Cool Calm and Collected", "Who's Been Sleeping Here" (1967) (from ''Between The Buttons''), and "Dear Doctor" and "Prodigal Son" (1968) (from ''Beggars Banquet'').

In the early years, Jones also sometimes served as a backing vocalist. Notable examples are "Come On", "I Wanna Be Your Man", "I Just Wanna Make Love to You", "Walking the Dog", "Money (That's What I Want)", "I'm Alright", "You Better Move On" and "It's All Over Now". He is also responsible for the whistling on "Walking the Dog."

Richards maintains that what he calls "guitar weaving" emerged from this period, from listening to Jimmy Reed albums: "We listened to the teamwork, trying to work out what was going on in those records; how you could play together with two guitars and make it sound like four or five". Jones's and Richards's guitars became a signature of the sound of the Rolling Stones, with both guitarists playing rhythm and lead without clear boundaries between the two roles.

From 1966 onwards Jones's contributions in the recording studio were more as a multi-instrumentalist than as a guitarist. His aptitude for playing a wide variety of instruments is particularly evident on the albums ''Aftermath'' (1966), ''Between the Buttons'' (1967) and ''Their Satanic Majesties Request'' (1967).

Estrangement from bandmates

Andrew Loog Oldham's arrival marked the beginning of Jones's slow estrangement, his prominent role gradually diminishing as the Stones' centre shifted from Jones to Jagger and Richards. Oldham recognised the financial advantages of bandmembers writing their own songs, as exemplified by Lennon/McCartney, and that playing covers would not sustain a band in the limelight for long. Further, Oldham wanted to make Jagger's charisma and flamboyance a focus of live performances. Jones saw his influence over the Stones' direction slide as their repertoire comprised fewer of the blues covers that he preferred; more Jagger/Richards originals developed, and Oldham increased his own managerial control, displacing Jones from yet another role.

According to Andrew Loog Oldham in his book ''Stoned'', Jones was an outsider from the beginning. When the first tours were arranged in 1963, Jones travelled separately from the band, stayed at different hotels, and demanded extra pay. According to Oldham, Jones was very emotional, and felt alienated because he was not a prolific song writer and his management role had been taken away. Jones "resisted the symbiosis demanded by the group lifestyle, and so life was becoming more desperate for him day by day. None of us were looking forward to Brian totally cracking up".

The toll from days on the road, the money and fame and the feeling of being alienated from the group resulted in Jones's overindulgence in alcohol and other drugs. He frequently used LSD, pills, and cannabis, and he drank heavily. These excesses had a debilitative effect on Jones's physical health, and according to Oldham, Jones became unfriendly and anti-social at times. His health problems caused him to be hospitalised on a number of occasions.

Jones was arrested for drug possession on 10 May 1967, shortly after the "Redlands" incident at Richards's Sussex home. Authorities found marijuana, cocaine, and methamphetamine in Jones's flat. He confessed to marijuana use but claimed he did not use hard drugs. Reacting in a manner similar to the arrests of his band mates, protesters appeared outside court demanding that Jones be freed, and he was not kept in jail. He was fined, given probation, and ordered to see a counselor.

In June 1967, Jones attended the Monterey Pop Festival, with singer Nico, with whom he had a brief relationship. There he met Frank Zappa and Dennis Hopper, and went on stage to introduce the Jimi Hendrix Experience, not well known yet in the US. One review referred to Jones as "the unofficial 'king' of the festival".

Hostility grew between Jones, Jagger and Richards, alienating Jones further from the group. Although many noted that Jones could be friendly and outgoing, Wyman and Richards have both commented that Jones could also be cruel and difficult. By most accounts, Jones's attitude changed frequently, one minute caring and generous, the next making an effort to anger everyone. As Wyman observed in ''Stone Alone'': "There were two Brians... one was introverted, shy, sensitive, deep-thinking... the other was a preening peacock, gregarious, artistic, desperately needing assurance from his peers... he pushed every friendship to the limit and way beyond".

As tensions and Jones's substance use increased, his musical contributions became sporadic. He became bored with the guitar and sought exotic instruments to play, and he was increasingly absent from recording sessions. In the promotional film for "We Love You", made in July 1967, he appears groggy. However, Jones maintained close relationships with many performing artists outside of the Stones camp, including Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Paul McCartney, John Lennon, Jimi Hendrix, Noel Redding, Steve Winwood, Eric Burdon and Steve Marriott.

In March 1967, Anita Pallenberg, Jones's girlfriend of two years, left him for Richards when Jones was hospitalised during a trip the three made to Morocco, further damaging the already strained relations between Jones and Richards.

Jones's last substantial sessions with the Stones occurred in spring and summer of 1968, when the Stones produced "Jumpin' Jack Flash" and the ''Beggars Banquet'' album. He can be seen in the Jean-Luc Godard film ''One Plus One'' playing acoustic guitar, chatting and sharing cigarettes with Richards, although Jones is neglected in the music-making. The film chronicles the making of "Sympathy for the Devil". Jones's acoustic guitar can be heard occasionally in the film through the microphones of the film crew but was not included in the released version.

It was clear Jones was not long for the group. Where once he played multiple instruments on many tracks, now he played only minor roles on a few pieces. Jones's last formal appearance was in the December 1968 ''The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus'', a part concert, part circus-act film organised by the band. It went unreleased for 25 years because Jagger was unhappy with the band's performance compared to others in the film, such as Jethro Tull, The Who, and Taj Mahal. In the DVD release of the film Jones's playing is inaudible except during "Jumpin' Jack Flash", "Sympathy For The Devil", and "No Expectations". Commentary included as bonus material indicated that almost everyone at the concert sensed that the end of Jones's time with the Rolling Stones was near, and Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend of The Who thought it would be Jones's last live musical performance.

Departure from the band

Jones was arrested a second time on 21 May 1968, for possession of cannabis, which Jones said had been left by previous tenants of the flat. He was facing a long jail sentence if found guilty, owing to his probation. Wyman commented, "The fact that the police had secured a warrant with no evidence showed the arrest was part of a carefully orchestrated plan. Brian and the Stones were being targeted in an effort to deter the public from taking drugs". The jury found him guilty, but the judge had sympathy for Jones; instead of jailing him, he fined him £50 plus £105 in costs and told him: "For goodness sake, don't get into trouble again or it really ''will'' be serious".

Jones's legal troubles, estrangement from his bandmates, substance abuse and mood swings became too much of an obstacle to active participation in the band. The Rolling Stones wanted to tour the United States in 1969 for the first time in three years, but Jones was not in fit condition to tour and his second arrest exacerbated problems with acquiring a US work visa. In addition, Jones's attendance of rehearsals and recording sessions had become erratic; and when he did appear, he rarely contributed anything musically, or his bandmates would switch off his guitar, leaving Richards playing nearly all the guitars. According to Gary Herman, Jones was "literally incapable of making music; when he tried to play harmonica, his mouth started bleeding".

This behaviour was problematic during the ''Beggar's Banquet'' sessions, and had worsened by the time the band commenced recording ''Let It Bleed''. While the band was recording "You Can't Always Get What You Want", Jones asked Jagger, "What can I play?"; Jagger's response was, "I don't know, Brian, what ''can'' you play?" From this point, he made himself scarce, rarely attending sessions. By May, he had made two contributions to the work in progress: autoharp on "You Got the Silver" and percussion on "Midnight Rambler". Jagger informed Jones that he would be dismissed from the band if Jones did not appear at a photo shoot on 21 May 1969 for the compilation album ''Through The Past Darkly''. He showed.

The Stones decided that following the release of the ''Let it Bleed'' album (scheduled for a July 1969 release in the US), they would start a North American tour in November 1969. However, the Stones management was informed that because of his drug convictions, Jones would not receive a work permit. At the suggestion of pianist and road manager Ian Stewart, the Stones decided to add a new guitarist, and on 8 June 1969, Jones was visited by Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, and Charlie Watts, and was told that the group he had formed would continue without him.

To the public, it appeared as if Jones had left voluntarily; the other band members told him that although he was being asked to leave, it was his choice how to break it to the public. Jones released a statement on 9 June 1969 announcing his departure. In this statement he said, among other things, that "I no longer see eye-to-eye with the others over the discs we are cutting". Jones was replaced by 20-year-old guitarist Mick Taylor (formerly of John Mayall's Bluesbreakers).

During the period of his decreasing involvement in the band, Jones was living at Cotchford Farm in East Sussex, the residence formerly owned by ''Winnie-the-Pooh'' author A. A. Milne, which Jones had purchased in November 1968. There is uncertainty as to the mental and physical state Jones was in. The last known photographs of Jones, taken by schoolgirl Helen Spittal on 23 June 1969, shortly after his departure from the Stones, are not flattering; he appears bloated, with deep-set eyes. However, Alexis Korner, who visited in late June only shortly after the Spittal photos were taken, noted that Jones seemed "happier than he had ever been". He is known to have contacted Korner, Ian Stewart, Mitch Mitchell and Jimmy Miller about intentions to put together another band.

Death

At around midnight on the night of 2–3 July 1969, Jones was discovered motionless at the bottom of his swimming pool at Cotchford Farm. His Swedish girlfriend, Anna Wohlin, was convinced he was alive when they took him out, insisting he still had a pulse. However, by the time the doctors arrived, it was too late, and he was pronounced dead. The coroner's report stated "death by misadventure", and noted his liver and heart were heavily enlarged by drug and alcohol abuse. As Jones was 27 at the time of his death, he is one of the well known members of the 27 Club.

Wohlin claimed in 1999 that Jones had been murdered by a builder who had been renovating the house the couple shared. The builder, Frank Thorogood, allegedly confessed to the murder on his deathbed to the Rolling Stones' driver, Tom Keylock, who later denied this. In the book ''The Murder of Brian Jones'', Wohlin alleges that Thorogood behaved suspiciously and showed little sympathy when Jones was discovered in the pool (he was the last to see Jones alive), but she has stated that he was not present at Jones's death. Witnesses who claim to have seen the "murder" have been interviewed by journalists; however, these witnesses have almost always used pseudonyms, and none has been willing to go on record or report to the police. A critical witness, still alive, is a man called "Marty" in the Hotchner book ''Blown Away''.

Many items, such as instruments and expensive furniture, reportedly were stolen from the home after Jones's death. Rumours also exist that recordings by Jones for his future projects were stolen but nothing has surfaced to date. A watch given by Alexis Korner to Jones, with a personal inscription, surfaced in an auction at Christie's in New York.

Upon Jones's death, Pete Townshend of The Who wrote a poem titled "A Normal Day for Brian, A Man Who Died Every Day" (printed in ''The Times''), Jimi Hendrix dedicated a song to him on US television, and Jim Morrison of The Doors published a poem entitled "Ode to L.A. While Thinking of Brian Jones, Deceased". Hendrix and Morrison both died at the same age as Jones.

The Rolling Stones performed at a free concert in Hyde Park on 5 July 1969, two days after Jones's death. The concert had been scheduled weeks earlier as an opportunity to present the new guitarist, and the band decided to dedicate the concert to Jones. Before the Rolling Stones' set, Jagger read excerpts from "Adonais", a poem by Percy Shelley about the death of his friend John Keats, and stagehands released hundreds of white butterflies as part of the tribute. The band opened with a Johnny Winter song that was one of Jones's favourites, "I'm Yours and I'm Hers".

Jones was reportedly buried deep in Cheltenham Cemetery (to prevent exhumation by trophy hunters) in a lavish casket sent by Bob Dylan. Watts and Wyman were the only Rolling Stones who attended the funeral. Mick Jagger and Marianne Faithfull were travelling to Australia to begin filming the movie ''Ned Kelly''; they stated that their contracts did not allow them to delay the trip to attend the funeral. Keith Richards reportedly remained in the recording studio.

When asked if he felt guilty about Jones's death, Mick Jagger told Rolling Stone in 1995: "No, I don't really. I do feel that I behaved in a very childish way, but we were very young, and in some ways we picked on him. But, unfortunately, he made himself a target for it; he was very, very jealous, very difficult, very manipulative, and if you do that in this kind of a group of people, you get back as good as you give, to be honest. I wasn't understanding enough about his drug addiction. No one seemed to know much about drug addiction. Things like LSD were all new. No one knew the harm. People thought cocaine was good for you."

In August 2009 it was reported around the world that Sussex Police had decided to review Brian Jones's death for the first time since 1969, after new evidence was handed to them by Scott Jones, an investigative journalist in the UK. Scott Jones has traced many of the people who were at Brian Jones's house the night he died, plus unseen police files held at the National Archives. In the ''Mail on Sunday'' in November 2008 Scott Jones said Frank Thorogood killed Brian Jones in a fight and the senior police officers covered up the true cause of death. Robert Greenfield wrote about the police review in the March 2010 edition of ''Playboy''. Depending on the results of this review, the 1969 case that was originally ruled to be death by misadventure could be reopened as a murder investigation or the coroner may be asked to review the inquest verdict. According to Ben Harris, the editor of the Brian Jones Fanzine, the main person of interest in Brian Jones's death was the builder Frank Thorogood, who died in 1994. Thorogood was interviewed by police but not charged; other witnesses were not interviewed.

Songwriting credits

Unsure and insecure as a composer, Jones was not a prolific songwriter. The 30-second "Rice Krispies" jingle for Kellogg's, co-written with the J. W. Thompson advertising agency in 1963 and performed by the Rolling Stones incognito was credited to Jones; this did not sit well with the rest of the band, who felt it was a group effort and all should benefit equally. Jones was also included in the "Nanker/Phelge" songwriting credit, a pseudonym used on fourteen tracks that were composed by the entire band and Andrew Oldham.

According to Andrew Oldham the main reason for Jones not writing songs was that Jones, being a blues purist, did not love simple pop music enough. Oldham tried to establish a songwriting partnership between Jones and Gene Pitney after "becoming bored senseless by Jones's bleating about the potential of half-finished melodies that by no means deserved completion" but after two days of sessions "the results remain best to be unheard, even by Stones' completists".

When asked in 1965 if he had written songs, Jones replied: "Always tried. I've written quite a few, but mostly in blues style". Many years later after his death, Keith Richards stated: "No, no. Absolutely not. That was the one thing he would never do. Brian wouldn't show them to anybody within the Stones. Brian as far as I know never wrote a single finished song in his life; he wrote bits and pieces but he never presented them to us. No doubt he spent hours, weeks, working on things, but his paranoia was so great that he could never bring himself to present them to us". Bill Wyman has stated that Jones was "an incredibly gifted musician, but not a song writer"; and in 1995 Mick Jagger told ''Rolling Stone'' that Jones had been jealous of the Jagger/Richards songwriting team, and added: "To be honest, Brian had no talent for writing songs. None. I've never known a guy with less talent for songwriting."

He is credited (along with Keith Richards) for the instrumental piece; "Hear It", though it is generally considered Jones's work.

However, in 1966 Jones composed, produced and played on the soundtrack to ''Mord und Totschlag'' (English title: ''A Degree Of Murder''), an avant-garde German film with Anita Pallenberg. Guitarist Jimmy Page is one of the musicians Jones hired to play on the soundtrack.

In 1990, Carla Olson was given permission from Jones's estate to put one of his poems to music and thus created the Jones/Olson song "Thank You For Being There". It appeared on the album ''True Voices'', performed by Krysia Kristianne and Robin Williamson.

Other contributions

In summer 1968, Jones recorded the Morocco-based ensemble, the Master Musicians of Joujouka; the recording was released in 1971 as ''Brian Jones Presents the Pipes of Pan at Joujouka''. Jagger and Richards visited Jajouka in 1989 after recording "Continental Drift" for the Rolling Stones album ''Steel Wheels'' with The Master Musicians of Jajouka led by Bachir Attar in Tangier. A homage to Jones entitled "Brian Jones Joujouka very Stoned", painted by Mohamed Hamri, who had brought Jones to Jajouka in 1967, appeared on the cover of Joujouka Black Eyes by the Master Musicians of Joujouka in 1995. ''Brian Jones Presents the Pipes of Pan at Jajouka'' was rereleased in 1995. The executive producers were Philip Glass, Kurt Munkasci, and Rory Johnston, with notes by Bachir Attar, Paul Bowles, William S. Burroughs, Stephen Davis, Brian Jones, Brion Gysin, and David Silver. and included additional graphics, more extensive notes by David Silver and William S. Burroughs, and a second CD, produced by Cliff Mark, with two “full-length remixes.” In mid-May 1967, Jones played oboe on the Beatles' "Baby You're A Rich Man"; and he played alto saxophone on their "You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)", which was released in March 1970, eight months after his death.

Public image and legend

Brian Jones was regarded as a fashion icon due to his rebellious and flamboyant style. His style of dress and manner did much to influence the fashion scene of swinging 1960s London. Anita Pallenberg has stated in an interview that he wanted to look like Françoise Hardy, he loved 'dressing up and posing about' and that he would ask her to do his hair and make-up.

He was 1.68 metres tall (5'6") with blue-grey eyes and blond hair.

His death at 27 was the first of the Sixties rock movement; Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and Jim Morrison found their own drug-related deaths at the same age within two years (Morrison dying two years to the day after Jones). The coincidence of ages has been described as the "27 Club".

The Stones' ''Shine a Light'' was written by Jagger after his death and depicts Jones's behaviour and remoteness from the band, and asks God to shine a light on his soul. Several others songs have been written about Jones: The Doors' song "Tightrope Ride" was originally written for Jones by Morrison, but after Morrison's death Ray Manzarek rewrote some of the lyrics so that they apply to both musicians. The Psychic TV song "Godstar" is about Jones's death, as are Robyn Hitchcock's "Trash", The Drovers' "She's as Pretty as Brian Jones Was" and Ted Nugent's "Death by Misadventure". Toy Love's song "Swimming Pool" lists several dead rock icons including Jones (the others are Morrison, Hendrix, and Marc Bolan); he is also mentioned in De Phazz's song "Something Special". The Master Musicians of Joujouka song "Brian Jones Joujouka Very Stoned" was released in 1974 and 1996. The Brian Jonestown Massacre was named partially after him.

The 2005 film ''Stoned'' is a fictional account of Jones and his role in the Rolling Stones. The part of Brian was played by English actor Leo Gregory.

A fictionalized version of Jones and the tribute concert to him appears in Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill's ''The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume III: Century'' in its second issue, "Paint it Black".

Notes

References

Gary Herman, ''Rock 'N' Roll Babylon'' (Norfolk: Fakenham Press, 1982), ISBN 0-85965-041-3

Geoffrey Giuliano, Paint It Black: The Murder Of Brian Jones.

Gered Mankowitz, Brian Jones: Like a Rollin' Stone

Robert Weingartner, A tribute to Brian Jones

Terry Rawlings (1994), ''Who Killed Christopher Robin?: The Life and Death of Brian Jones'', ISBN 0-7522-0989-2

Laura Jackson (1992), ''Golden Stone: The Untold Life and Tragic Death of Brian Jones'', ISBN 0-312-09820-0

R. Chapman, "The bittersweet symphony", ''Mojo'', 68 (July 1999), pg.62-84

Bill Wyman and Ray Coleman, ''Stone Alone'', ISBN 0-670-82894-7

Alan Clayson, ''Brian Jones'', ISBN 1-86074-544-X

Bill Wyman, Richard Havers. ''Rolling With The Stones'', ISBN 0-7894-8967-8

Andrew Loog Oldham, ''Stoned : A Memoir of London in the 1960s'' ISBN 978-0-312-27094-0

Mandy Aftel, ''Death of a Rolling Stone: The Brian Jones Story'' (Delilah Books, 1982) ISBN 0-933328-37-0

External links

Brian Jones: A Rollin' Stone

Brian Jones at Find-A-Grave

Brian Jones, Founder of the Rolling Stones, Brian Jones profile with comprehensive discography and bibliography at YoursDaily.com.

Brian Jones: Death of a Rolling Stone

Brian Jones memorial fan club

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Category:The Rolling Stones members Category:English guitarists Category:English rock guitarists Category:English rock musicians Category:Drug-related deaths Category:Appalachian dulcimer players Category:Marimbists Category:Xylophonists Category:English buskers Category:Sitar players Category:Slide guitarists Category:Lead guitarists Category:Rhythm guitarists Category:English multi-instrumentalists Category:People from Cheltenham Category:Music and musicians from Gloucestershire Category:Old Patesians Category:English people of Welsh descent Category:1942 births Category:1969 deaths Category:Old Decanians Category:People associated with The Beatles Category:British rhythm and blues boom musicians

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name	Keith Richards
background	solo_singer
alias	Keith Richard
born	December 18, 1943Dartford, Kent, England
instrument	Guitar, Vocals, Bass guitar, Keyboards
genre	Rock and rollBluesCountryBlues rockRhythm and blues
occupation	MusicianSongwriterRecord producer
years active	1962–present
label	DeccaRolling StonesVirginMindless Records
associated acts	The Rolling StonesThe Dirty MacThe New BarbariansThe X-Pensive Winos
website	keithrichards.com
notable instruments	1953 Fender Telecaster "Micawber"1959 Gibson Les PaulGibson ES-355Fender Stratocaster }}

Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943) is an English musician, songwriter and founding member of The Rolling Stones. ''Rolling Stone'' magazine, calling him the creator of "rock's greatest single body of riffs", placed him as the "10th greatest guitarist of all time", and listed fourteen songs written by Richards and songwriting partner and band vocalist Mick Jagger as among their "500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Richards' notoriety for illicit drug use has stemmed in part from several drug busts in the late 1960s and the 1970s.

Early life

Keith Richards is the only child of Bert Richards and Doris Dupree Richards. He was born at Livingston Hospital in Dartford, Kent. His father was a factory worker injured during World War II during the Normandy invasion.

Richards' paternal grandparents were socialists and civic leaders whose family originated from Wales. His maternal grandfather (Augustus Theodore Dupree), who toured Britain with a jazz big band, "Gus Dupree and his Boys", fostered Richards' interest in guitar.

Richards' mother introduced him to the music of Billie Holiday, Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington and bought his first guitar, while his father disparaged his son's musical enthusiasm. Richards' first guitar hero was Scotty Moore.

Richards attended Wentworth Primary School with Mick Jagger and was his neighbor until 1954, when the family moved. From 1955 to 1959 he attended Dartford Technical School. Recruited by Dartford Tech's choirmaster Jake Clair, Richards sang in a trio of boy sopranos at, among other occasions, Westminster Abbey for Queen Elizabeth II.

In 1959 Richards was expelled from Dartford Technical School for truancy and transferred to Sidcup Art College. At Sidcup, he was diverted from his studies proper and devoted more time to playing guitar with other students in the boys room. At this point, Richards had learned most of Chuck Berry's solos. thumb|220px|right|Richards 1965 Richards met Jagger on a train as Jagger was headed to classes at the London School of Economics. The mail order rhythm & blues albums from Chess Records albums by Chuck Berry and Muddy Waters Jagger was carrying revealed a mutual interest and led to a renewal of their friendship. Along with mutual friend Dick Taylor, Jagger was singing in an amateur band: "Little Boy Blue and the Blue Boys", which Richards soon joined. The Blues Boys folded when Brian Jones and Ian Stewart accepted Richards, Jagger, and Taylor into the just-forming Rolling Stones.

In mid-1962 Richards had left Sidcup Art College to devote himself to music and moved into a London flat with Jagger and Jones. His parents divorced about the same time, resulting in his staying close to his mother and remaining estranged from his father until 1982.

After the Rolling Stones signed to Decca Records in 1963, their band manager, Andrew Loog Oldham, dropped the "s" from his surname believing "Keith Richard", in his words, "looked more pop". In the late 1970s Richards reestablished the "s" to his surname.

Musicianship

Bandleader

Richards views his role in the Rolling Stones as "oiling the machinery", while Stewart has called him the musical leader of the band. Both Bill Wyman and Ronnie Wood have said that, unlike most other bands which usually follow the drummer, the Rolling Stones, in Wyman's words, "have no way of ''not'' following him".

Guitar playing

Richards' guitar playing shows a fascination with chords and rhythm while avoiding flamboyant virtuosity in favour of riffs described by Chris Spedding as "direct, incisive and unpretentious." Richards prefers to play in tandem with another guitarist and has always toured with one. Chuck Berry has been an inspiration for Richards, and it was Richards and Jagger who introduced Berry's songs to the Rolling Stones' early repertoire. Chicago artists such as Jimmy Reed and Muddy Waters provided the basis of a style of interwoven lead and rhythm guitar that Richards developed with Brian Jones that continues with the Rolling Stones' current guitarist, Ronnie Wood. In the late 1960s, Jones' declining contributions led Richards to record all guitar parts on many tracks, including slide guitar, which had been Jones' specialty in the band's early years. Jones' replacement guitarist Mick Taylor worked with the Rolling Stones from 1969 to 1974, and Taylor's virtuosity at lead guitar led to a much more pronounced separation between lead and rhythm guitar roles, notably onstage. In 1975 Taylor was replaced by Wood, marking a return to the style of guitar interplay that he and Richards described as "the ancient art of weaving".

The 1967/68 break in touring allowed Richards to focus on open tunings, which are commonly used for slide guitar. Instead, Richards primarily used open tunings for fingered chording, developing a distinctive style of syncopated and ringing I-IV chording heard on "Street Fighting Man" and "Start Me Up". Richards has used various open tunings (while continuing to use standard tuning) but has often favoured a five-string variant of open G tuning using GDGBD unencumbered by a low sixth string. Several of his Telecasters are tuned this way (see the "Guitars" section below), and this tuning is prominent on Rolling Stones tracks and concert renditions including "Honky Tonk Women", "Brown Sugar" and "Start Me Up".

Richards regards acoustic guitar as the basis for his playing, believing that the limitations of electric guitar would cause him to "lose that touch" if he didn't play acoustic. Richards plays acoustic guitar on many Rolling Stones' tracks including like "Not Fade Away", "Satisfaction", "Brown Sugar", and "Angie". All guitars on the studio versions of "Street Fighting Man" and "Jumping Jack Flash" feature acoustic guitars overloaded to a cassette recorder which were then reamped through a loudspeaker in the studio.

Vocals

Richards' backing vocals appear on every Rolling Stones album; and on most albums since ''Between the Buttons'' (1967), he has sung lead or co-lead on at least one track (see list below). Richards views the vocal training he got in his choirboy days as part of his professional arsenal, and has said of his own singing: "It's not the most beautiful voice in the world anymore, but the Queen liked it, when it was at its best... It's not been my job, singing, but to me, if you're gonna write songs, you've got to know how to sing".

Richards began singing regular lead-vocals on stage in 1972, with "Happy" (from the album ''Exile on Main Street''). "Happy", a signature song for Richards, is often performed by him during Rolling Stones concerts, as well as on both of his solo tours. From 1972 to 1982, Richards routinely took one lead-vocal turn during Rolling Stones concerts; since 1989 he has normally sung lead on two numbers per show. Each of the band's studio albums since ''Dirty Work'' (1986) have also featured Richards's lead vocals on at least two tracks.

During concerts on the two final legs (autumn 2006 and summer 2007) of The Rolling Stones' Bigger Bang Tour, Richards set his guitar aside to sing his 1969 ballad "You Got the Silver" without self-accompaniment. Prior to that he had occasionally switched from guitar to keyboards in concert, but these concerts were the first time since his choirboy days that Richards appeared on stage armed with only his voice.

Other instruments

Richards has played bass guitar on about two dozen Rolling Stones studio recordings, from "Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing in the Shadow?" (1966) through "Infamy" (2005). One unusual instance was when he and Bill Wyman joined forces to play the bowed double bass on "Ruby Tuesday" (1967) – Wyman did the fingerboard work while Richards manned the bow. The rest of Richards' contributions that followed have been on bass guitar, rather than double bass. Among these were on tracks including "Jumpin' Jack Flash" (1968), "Sympathy for the Devil" (1968), "Live With Me" (1969), "Before They Make Me Run" (1978), "Sleep Tonight" (1986), and "Brand New Car" (1994). He has occasionally played bass on stage, including The Dirty Mac performance in 1968 (see "Recordings with other artists", below) and on "Sympathy for the Devil" at a Rolling Stones concert at Madison Square Garden in June 1975.

Richards' keyboard playing has also been featured on several Rolling Stones tracks, including "She Smiled Sweetly" (1967), "Memory Motel" (1976), "All About You" (1980), "Thru and Thru" (1994), and "This Place Is Empty" (2005), among others. He sometimes composes on piano – "Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing in the Shadow?" and "Let's Spend the Night Together" are two early examples, and he's said of his keyboard playing: "Maybe I'm a little more accomplished now – to me it's just a way of getting out of always using one instrument to write." Richards played keyboards on stage at two 1974 concerts while Wood toured to support his solo albums, and on The New Barbarians' tour in 1979, and 1977 and 1981 studio sessions featuring his piano and vocals have been well documented, though never officially released.

Richards has also served as percussionist on a few Rolling Stones tracks, including the floor tom on "Jumpin' Jack Flash" and bicycle spokes on "Continental Drift" (1989).

Songwriting

Richards and Jagger collaborated on songs in 1963, following the nearby example of the Beatles' Lennon/McCartney and the encouragement of Rolling Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham, who saw little future for a cover band. The earliest Jagger/Richards collaborations were recorded by other artists, including Gene Pitney, whose rendition of "That Girl Belongs to Yesterday" was their first top-ten single in the UK. Richards recalls: "We were writing these terrible pop songs that were becoming Top 10 hits... They had nothing to do with us, except we wrote 'em."

The Rolling Stones' first top-ten hit with a Jagger/Richards original was "The Last Time" (1965); "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" (also 1965) was their first international #1 recording. (Richards has stated that the "Satisfaction" riff came to him in his sleep; he woke up just long enough to record it on a cassette player by his bed.) Since ''Aftermath'' (1966) most Rolling Stones albums have consisted mainly of Jagger/Richards originals. Their songs reflect the influence of blues, R&B;, rock & roll, pop, soul, gospel and country, as well as forays into psychedelia and Dylanesque social commentary. Their work in the 1970s and beyond has incorporated elements of funk, disco, reggae and punk. Richards has also written and recorded slow torchy ballads, such as "All About You" (1980).

In his solo career, Richards has often shared co-writing credits with drummer and co-producer Steve Jordan. Richards has said: "I've always thought songs written by two people are better than those written by one. You get another angle on it."

Richards has frequently stated that he feels less like a creator than a conduit when writing songs: "I don't have that God aspect about it. I prefer to think of myself as an antenna. There's only one song, and Adam and Eve wrote it; the rest is a variation on a theme."

Richards was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1993.

Record production

Richards has been active as a record producer since the 1960s. He was credited as producer and musical director on the 1966 album ''Today's Pop Symphony'', one of manager Andrew Loog Oldham's side projects, although there are doubts about how much Richards was actually involved with it. On the Rolling Stones' 1967 album ''Their Satanic Majesties Request'' the entire band was credited as producer, but since 1974, Richards and Mick Jagger have frequently co-produced Rolling Stones and other artists' records under the joint name "The Glimmer Twins", often in collaboration with other producers.

Since the 1980s Richards has chalked up numerous production and co-production credits on projects with other artists including Aretha Franklin, Johnnie Johnson and Ronnie Spector, as well as on his own albums with the X-Pensive Winos (see below). In the 1990s Richards co-produced and added guitar and vocals to a recording of nyabinghi Rastafarian chanting and drumming entitled ''Wingless Angels'', released on Richards's own record label, Mindless Records, in 1997.

Solo recordings

Richards has released few solo recordings. His first solo single released in 1978 was versions of Chuck Berry's "Run Rudolph Run" and Jimmy Cliff's "The Harder They Come". In 1987, after Jagger pursued a solo recording and touring career, Richards formed the "X-pensive Winos" with co-songwriter, and co-producer Steve Jordan whom Richards assembled for his Chuck Berry documentary, ''Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll''.

Additional members of the X-pensive Winos included guitarist Waddy Wachtel, saxist Bobby Keys, keyboardist Ivan Neville and Charley Drayton on bass. The first Winos' record,''Talk Is Cheap'' also featured Bernie Worrell, Bootsy Collins and Maceo Parker). Since its release, ''Talk Is Cheap'' has gone gold and has sold consistently. Its release was followed by the first of the two U.S. tours Richards has done as a solo artist. ''Live at the Hollywood Palladium, December 15, 1988'' documents the first of these tours. In 1992 the Winos' second studio record ''Main Offender'' was released, and was also following by a tour.

Recordings with other artists

During the 1960s most of Richards's recordings with artists other than The Rolling Stones were sessions for Andrew Oldham's Immediate Records label. Notable exceptions were when Richards, along with Mick Jagger and numerous other guests, sang on The Beatles' 1967 TV broadcast of "All You Need Is Love"; and when he played bass with John Lennon, Eric Clapton, Mitch Mitchell, Ivry Gitlis and Yoko Ono as The Dirty Mac for ''The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus'' TV special, filmed in 1968.

In the 1970s Richards worked outside The Rolling Stones with Ronnie Wood on several occasions, contributing guitar, piano and vocals to Wood's first two solo albums and joining him on stage for two July 1974 concerts to promote ''I've Got My Own Album to Do''. In December 1974 Richards also made a guest appearance at a Faces concert. In 1976–77 Richards played on and co-produced John Phillips' solo recording ''Pay, Pack & Follow'' (released in 2001). In 1979 he toured the U.S. with The New Barbarians, the band that Wood put together to promote his album ''Gimme Some Neck''; he and Wood also contributed guitar and backing vocals to "Truly" on Ian McLagan's 1979 album ''Troublemaker'' (re-released in 2005 as ''Here Comes Trouble'').

Since the 1980s Richards has made more frequent guest appearances. In 1981 he played on reggae singer Max Romeo's album ''Holding Out My Love to You''. He has worked with Tom Waits on two occasions, adding guitar and backing vocals to Waits's 1985 album ''Rain Dogs'', and co-writing, playing and sharing the lead vocal on "That Feel" on ''Bone Machine '' (1992). In 1986 Richards produced and played on Aretha Franklin's rendition of "Jumping Jack Flash" and served as musical producer and band leader (or as he phrased it "S&M; director") for the Chuck Berry film ''Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll''.

In the 1990s and 2000s Richards has continued to contribute to a wide range of musical projects as a guest artist. A few of the notable sessions he has done include guitar and vocals on Johnnie Johnson's 1991 release ''Johnnie B. Bad'', which he also co-produced; and lead vocals and guitar on "Oh Lord, Don’t Let Them Drop That Atomic Bomb on Me" on the 1992 Charles Mingus tribute album ''Weird Nightmare''. He duetted with country legend George Jones on "Say It's Not You" on the ''Bradley Barn Sessions'' (1994); a second duet from the same sessions – "Burn Your Playhouse Down" – appeared on Jones' 2008 release ''Burn Your Playhouse Down – The Unreleased Duets''. He partnered with Levon Helm on "Deuce and a Quarter" for Scotty Moore's album ''All the King's Men'' (1997). His guitar and lead vocals are featured on the Hank Williams tribute album ''Timeless'' (2001) and on veteran blues guitarist Hubert Sumlin's album ''About Them Shoes'' (2005). Richards also added guitar and vocals to Toots & the Maytals' recording of "Careless Ethiopians" for their 2004 album ''True Love'' and to their re-recording of "Pressure Drop", which came out in 2007 as the b-side to Richards's iTunes re-release of "Run Rudolph Run".

Rare and unreleased recordings

In 2005 The Rolling Stones released ''Rarities 1971-2003'', which includes some rare and limited-issue recordings, but Richards has described the band's released output as the "tip of the iceberg". Many of the band's unreleased songs and studio jam sessions are widely bootlegged, as are numerous Richards solo recordings, including his 1977 Toronto studio sessions, some 1981 studio sessions and tapes made during his 1983 wedding trip to Mexico.

Public image and private life

Music journalist Nick Kent attached to Richards Lord Byron's epithet of "mad, bad, and dangerous to know." Jagger thought that Richards' image had "contributed to him becoming a junkie." In 1994 Richards said his image was "like a long shadow ... Even though that was nearly twenty years ago, you cannot convince some people that I'm not a mad drug addict." In 2010, Peter Hitchens wrote of Richards that he is "a capering streak of living gristle who ought to be exhibited as a warning to the young of what drugs can do to you even if you're lucky enough not to choke on your own vomit".

Richards has been tried on drug-related charges five times: in 1967, twice in 1973, in 1977 and in 1978. The first trial – the only one involving a prison sentence – resulted from a February 1967 police raid on Redlands, Richards's Sussex estate, where he and some friends, including Jagger, were spending the weekend. The subsequent arrest of Richards and Jagger put them on trial before the Courts of the United Kingdom while also exposing them to public opinion. On 29 June 1967, Jagger was sentenced to three months' imprisonment for possession of four amphetamine tablets; Richards was found guilty of allowing cannabis to be smoked on his property and sentenced to one year in prison. Both Jagger and Richards were imprisoned at that point: Jagger was taken to Brixton prison in south London, and Richards to Wormwood Scrubs Prison in west London. Both were released on bail the next day pending appeal. On 1 July ''The Times'' ran an editorial entitled "Who breaks a butterfly on a wheel?", portraying Jagger's sentence as persecution, and public sentiment against the convictions increased. A month later the appeals court overturned Richards's conviction for lack of evidence, while Jagger was given a conditional discharge. On 27 February 1977 Richards was charged with "possession of heroin for the purpose of trafficking" – an offence that under the Criminal Code of Canada can result in prison sentences of seven years to life. His passport was confiscated and Richards and his family remained in Toronto until 1 April, when Richards was allowed to enter the United States on a medical visa for treatment for heroin addiction. The charge against him was later reduced to "simple possession of heroin".

For the next two years, Richards lived under threat of criminal sanction. Throughout this period he remained active with The Rolling Stones, recording their biggest-selling studio album, ''Some Girls'', and touring North America. Richards was tried in October 1978, pleading guilty to possession of heroin. He was given a suspended sentence and put on probation for one year, with orders to continue treatment for heroin addiction and to perform a benefit concert on behalf of the Canadian National Institute for the Blind. Although the prosecution had filed an appeal of the sentence, Richards performed two CNIB benefit concerts at Oshawa Civic Auditorium on 22 April 1979; both shows featured The Rolling Stones and The New Barbarians. In September 1979 the Ontario Court of Appeal upheld the original sentence.

Later in 1979, Richards met future wife, model Patti Hansen. They married on 18 December 1983, Richards's 40th birthday, and have two daughters, Theodora and Alexandra, born in 1985 and 1986 respectively.

Richards maintains cordial relations with Italian-born actress Anita Pallenberg, the mother of his first three children; although they were never married, Richards and Pallenberg were a couple from 1967 to 1979. Together they have a son, Marlon (named after the actor Marlon Brando), born in 1969, and a daughter, Angela (originally named Dandelion), born in 1972. Their third child, a boy named Tara (after Richards's and Pallenberg's friend Guinness heir Tara Browne), died on 6 June 1976, less than three months after his birth.

Richards still owns Redlands, the Sussex estate he purchased in 1966, as well as a home in Weston, Connecticut and another in Turks & Caicos. His primary home is in Weston. He is an avid reader with a strong interest in history and owns an extensive library. An April 2010 article revealed that Richards yearns to be a librarian.

21st century

On 27 April 2006, Richards, while in Fiji, suffered a head injury after falling out of a tree; he subsequently underwent cranial surgery at a New Zealand hospital. The incident caused a six-week delay in launching The Rolling Stones' 2006 European tour and the rescheduling of several shows; the revised tour schedule included a brief statement from Richards apologising for "falling off his perch". The band made up most of the postponed dates in 2006, and toured Europe in the summer of 2007 to make up the remainder.

In August 2006 Richards was granted a pardon by Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee for a 1975 reckless driving citation.

On 12 March 2007 Richards attended the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame ceremony to induct The Ronettes; he also played guitar during the ceremony's all-star jam session.

In an April 2007 interview for ''NME'' magazine, music journalist Mark Beaumont asked Richards what the strangest thing he ever snorted was, and quoted him as replying: "My father. I snorted my father. He was cremated and I couldn't resist grinding him up with a little bit of blow. My dad wouldn't have cared ... It went down pretty well, and I'm still alive." In the media uproar that followed, Richards' manager said that the anecdote had been meant as a joke; Beaumont told ''Uncut'' magazine that the interview had been conducted by international telephone and that he had misquoted Richards at one point (reporting that Richards had said he listens to Motörhead, when what he had said was Mozart), but that he believed the ash-snorting anecdote was true. Musician Jay Farrar from the band Son Volt wrote a song titled 'Cocaine And Ashes', which was inspired by Richards drug habits.

Doris Richards, Richards' 91-year-old mother, died of cancer in England on 21 April 2007. An official statement released by a family representative stated that Keith kept a vigil by her bedside during her last days.

Richards made a cameo appearance as Captain Teague, the father of Captain Jack Sparrow (played by Johnny Depp), in ''Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End'', released in May 2007, and won the Best Celebrity Cameo award at the 2007 Spike Horror Awards for the role. Depp has stated that he based many of Sparrow's mannerisms on Richards. Richards reprised his role in ''Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides'', released in May 2011.

In March 2008 fashion house Louis Vuitton unveiled an advertising campaign featuring a photo of Richards with his ebony Gibson ES-355, taken by photographer Annie Leibovitz. Richards donated the fee for his involvement to The Climate Project, an organisation for raising environmental awareness.

On 28 October 2008 Richards appeared at the Musicians' Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Nashville, Tennessee, joining the newly inducted Crickets on stage for performances of "Peggy Sue", "Not Fade Away" and "That'll Be the Day".

In August 2009, Richards was ranked #4 in ''Time'' magazine's list of the 10 best electric guitar players of all time. In September 2009 Richards revealed to ''Rolling Stone'' magazine that in addition to anticipating a new Rolling Stones album, he has done some recording with Jack White: "I enjoy working with Jack," he said. "We’ve done a couple of tracks." On 17 October 2009, Richards received the Rock Immortal Award at Spike TV’s Scream 2009 awards ceremony at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles; the award was presented by Johnny Depp. "I liked the living legend, that was all right," Richards said, referring to an award he received in 1989, "but immortal is even better."

In 2009, a book of Richards' quotations was published, titled ''What Would Keith Richards Do?: Daily Affirmations from a Rock 'n' Roll Survivor''.

In August 2007 Richards signed a publishing deal for his autobiography, ''Life'', which was released October 26, 2010. On October 15, 2010, the Associated Press published an article stating that Richards refers to Mick Jagger as "unbearable" in the book and notes that their relationship has been strained "for decades."

Musical equipment

Guitars

Richards has a collection of approximately 3,000 guitars. Even though Richards has used many different guitar models, in a 1986 ''Guitar World'' interview he joked that no matter what model he plays, "give me five minutes and I'll make 'em all sound the same." However, Richards has often thanked Leo Fender, and other guitar manufacturers for making the instruments, as he did during the induction ceremony of the Rolling Stones into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Some of his notable instruments are: 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard: Richards acquired this instrument, fitted with a Bigsby tailpiece, in 1964. The guitar was the first "star-owned" Les Paul in Britain and served as one of Richards's main instruments through 1966. He later sold the guitar to future Rolling Stones bandmate Mick Taylor. 1961 Epiphone Casino: Richards first used this instrument in May 1964, shortly before the Stones' first tour of America. The guitar (along with the 1959 Les Paul Standard) became a frequently used guitar by Richards until 1966. 1957 Gibson Les Paul Custom: In 1966 Richards acquired a 1957 Les Paul Custom, and hand-painted it with psychedelic patterns in 1968. It served as his main stage and studio guitar from 1966 through the end of the Rolling Stones' 1970 European tour, for which he acquired a second late-50s Les Paul Custom which he used in open-G tuning.

1969 Gibson SG: In the 1969 film "Gimme Shelter", Richards is seen playing the iconic Gibson SG, with its signature "Heritage Cherry" finish. It is this Gibson flat-body which produced the raw, driving chord progression heard in the live version of "Jumping Jack Flash" on the Stones' 1969 live album "GET YER YA-YAS OUT!".

Gibson ES-355s: Richards used this semi-hollow model on stage during the Rolling Stones' 1969 tour; it was a favourite for both Richards and Taylor during recording sessions for ''Sticky Fingers'' and ''Exile on Main St.'' Richards has also used ES-355s on every tour since 1997. In 2006 he also unveiled a white Gibson ES-345. Gibson Les Paul Juniors: Richards has regularly used both single-cutaway and double-cutaway Juniors since 1973. The one he is most frequently seen with is a TV-yellow double-cutaway instrument nicknamed "Dice", which he has used since 1979. On recent tours he has used this guitar for "Midnight Rambler" and "Out of Control". 1953 Fender Telecaster: Richards acquired this butterscotch Telecaster in 1971. Nicknamed "Micawber", after a character in Charles Dickens's novel ''David Copperfield'', it is set up for five-string open-G tuning (-GDGBD), and has only five bridge saddles. The neck pick-up has been replaced by a Gibson PAF humbucking pick-up, and the bridge pick-up has been replaced by a Fender lap steel pick-up (similar to a Fender Broadcaster pick-up). "Micawber" is one of Richards' main stage guitars, and is often used to play "Brown Sugar", "Before They Make Me Run", and "Honky Tonk Women". 1954 Fender Telecaster: A second Telecaster, nicknamed both "Malcolm" and "Number 2", is also set up for 5-string open-G tuning and has a Gibson PAF pick-up in the neck position. It has a natural finish and the wood grain is visible. 1967 Fender Telecaster: A third Telecaster used for five-string open-G playing is a dark sunburst model which is also fitted with a Gibson PAF pick-up; the PAF on this guitar has had its cover removed, exposing the bobbins. Richards has used this guitar on stage for many songs, including "You Can't Always Get What You Want" and "Tumbling Dice". 1958 Fender Stratocaster: Fellow Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood gave Richards his 1958 Mary Kaye Signature Stratocaster after the band's 1982 tour. The guitar is finished in see-through blond and fitted with gold hardware. Richards has used this guitar onstage for "You Don't Have to Mean It" and "Miss You". 1975 Fender Telecaster Custom: Richards first used this guitar on the Rolling Stones' 1975 Tour of the Americas, and it was his main stage and recording guitar until 1986. It was later adapted for five-string open-G tuning, and reappeared on stage in 2005. Ampeg Dan Armstrong plexiglas guitar: The Dan Armstrong guitar was given to Richards during rehearsals for the 1969 tour, and became one of his main stage guitars from 1969 through the first shows of the 1972 tour. Fitted with a custom-made "sustained treble" humbucker pick-up, the guitar was used mainly in standard tuning and can be heard on "Carol", "Sympathy for the Devil" and "Midnight Rambler" on ''Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out''. On the 1970 tour Richards added a second Dan Armstrong guitar fitted with a "rock treble" pick-up.

Gibson L6-S Custom: Played around the time of "Black And Blue". Appears in a video performance of "Crazy Mama".

Zemaitis Five-String: Custom-made in 1974 by British luthier Tony Zemaitis, the guitar nicknamed both "Macabre" and "the Pirate Zemaitis" was decorated with skulls, a pistol and a dagger. Richards used it as his main open-G guitar from 1975 to 1978, when it was destroyed in a fire at his rented Los Angeles home. Richards used a Japanese-made replica on the 2005/06 tour. Newman-Jones custom guitars: Texas luthier Ted Newman-Jones made several custom five-string instruments that Richards used on the 1973 tours of Australasia and Europe. Richards used another Newman-Jones custom model on the 1979 New Barbarians tour.

Amplifiers

Richards's amplifier preferences have changed repeatedly, but some of his notable amplifiers are: Mesa Boogie Mark 1 A804 – Used between 1977 and 1993, this 100-watt 1x12" combo is finished in hardwood with a wicker grille. It can be heard on the Rolling Stones albums ''Love You Live'', ''Some Girls'', ''Emotional Rescue'' and Tattoo You, as well as on Richards's two solo albums ''Talk is Cheap'' and ''Main Offender''. This amplifier was handcrafted by Randall Smith and delivered to Richards in March 1977. Fender Twin – Since the 1990s, Richards has tended to use a variety of Fender "tweed" Twins on stage. Containing a pair of 12" speakers, the Fender Twin was, by 1958, an 80-watt all-tube guitar amplifier. Richards has utilised a pair of Fender Twins to "to achieve his signature clean/dirty rhythm and lead sound."

Fender Dual Showman – first acquired in 1964, Richards made frequent use of his blackface Dual Showman amp through mid-1966. Used to record The Rolling Stones, Now!, Out of Our Heads, December's Children and Aftermath before switching over to various prototype amplifiers from Vox in 1967 and the fairly new Hiwatt in 1968

Effects

In 1965 Richards used a Gibson Maestro fuzzbox to achieve the distinctive tone of his riff on "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction"; the success of the resulting single boosted the sales of the device to the extent that all available stock had sold out by the end of 1965. In the 1970s and early 1980s Richards frequently used guitar effects such as a wah-wah pedal, a phaser and a Leslie speaker, but he mainly relies on combining "the right amp with the right guitar" to achieve the sound he wants.

Discography

Studio albums

{|class="wikitable" |- !rowspan="2"| Year !rowspan="2"| Title !colspan="2"| Chart positions !rowspan="2"| Certifications(sales thresholds) |- ! U.K. ! U.S. |- |1988 |''Talk Is Cheap''

Released: October 3, 1988

Label: Virgin

| style="text-align:center;"|37 [3 wks] | style="text-align:center;"|24 [23 wks] |

US: Gold

|- |1991 |''Live at the Hollywood Palladium, December 15, 1988''

Released: December 10, 1991

Label: Virgin

| style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — |- |1992 |''Main Offender''

Released: October 19, 1992

Label: Virgin

| style="text-align:center;"|45 [2 wks] | style="text-align:center;"|99 [10 wks] |- |2010 |''Vintage Vinos''

Released: November 2, 2010

Label: Mindless Records

| style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — |- |}

Singles

!Release date	!Title	!US Mainstream Rock
December 1978	"Run Rudolph Run" b/w "The Harder They Come"
October 1988	"Take It So Hard"
November 1988	"You Don't Move Me"
February 1989	"Struggle"
October 1992	"Wicked As It Seems"
January 1993	"Eileen"
December 2007

Guest appearances on other artists' releases

The Beatles: backing vocals on "All You Need Is Love" broadcast (1967)

The Dirty Mac: ''The Rolling Stones' Rock & Roll Circus'' (recorded 1968, released 2004): bass on "Yer Blues" and "Her Blues"

Billy Preston: ''That's the Way God Planned It'' (1969): bass

Alexis Korner: ''Musically Rich...and Famous: Anthology 1967–1982'' (2003): guitar on "Get Off of My Cloud" (recorded 1974 or 1975)

Ronnie Wood: ''I've Got My Own Album to Do'' (1974): co-composer, guitar and vocals on "Sure the One You Need"; co-composer, guitar, piano and backing vocals on "Act Together"; guitar and backing vocals on several other tracks; ''The First Barbarians Live From Kilburn'' (recorded 1974, released 2007): guitar, vocals, keyboards; ''Now Look'' (1975): guitar and backing vocals on "Breathe on Me", "I Can't Stand the Rain" and "I Can Say She's Alright"; ''Gimme Some Neck'' (1979): guitar and backing vocals on "Buried Alive", backing vocals on "Seven Days"

Faces: ''The Faces' Final Concert'' (recorded 1974, released 2000): guitar on "Sweet Little Rock & Roller", "I’d Rather Go Blind" and "Twistin’ The Night Away"

John Phillips: ''Pay, Pack & Follow'' (recorded 1976–1977, released 2001) and ''Pussycat'' (outtakes and alternate mixes – recorded 1976–77, released 2008): co-producer, guitar, backing vocals

Peter Tosh: ''Bush Doctor'' (1978): guitar

The New Barbarians: ''Buried Alive: Live in Maryland'' (recorded 1979, released 2006): guitar, piano, lead and backing vocals

Ian McLagan: ''Troublemaker'' (1979, re-released in 2005 as ''Here Comes Trouble''): guitar and backing vocals on "Truly"

Screamin' Jay Hawkins: ''Portrait of a Man: A History of Screamin' Jay Hawkins'' (1979): guitar on "I Put a Spell on You and "Armpit #6"

Max Romeo: ''Holding Out My Love For You'' (1981): guitar, mixing

Tom Waits: ''Rain Dogs'' (1985): guitar and backing vocals on "Big Black Mariah", "Union Square" and "Blind Love"; ''Bone Machine'' (1992): co-composer, guitar and vocals on "That Feel"

''Sun City: Artists United Against Apartheid'' (1985): co-composer and guitar on "Silver and Gold"

Slim Jim Phantom, Lee Rocker & Earl Slick: ''Phantom Rocker and Slick'' (1986): guitar on "My Mistake"

Aretha Franklin: ''Jumpin' Jack Flash'' film soundtrack (1986): producer and guitar on title track, also on ''Jewels in the Crown: All-Star Duets with the Queen'' (2007)

Chuck Berry concert film ''Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll'' (1987): musical producer, guitar and backing vocals

Nona Hendryx: ''Female Trouble'' (1987): guitar on "Rock This House"

Ziggy Marley: ''Conscious Party'' (1988): guitar on "Lee & Molly"

Feargal Sharkey: ''Wish'' (1988): guitar on "More Love"

The Dirty Strangers: ''Dirty Strangers'' (1988): guitar; ''From W12 to Wittering'' (2009): piano on five tracks, co-composer of "Real Botticelli"

Johnnie Johnson: ''Johnnie B. Bad'' (1991): co-producer, guitar and vocals on "Key to the Highway", co-composer and guitar on "Tanqueray"

John Lee Hooker: ''Mr. Lucky'' (1991): guitar on "Crawling King Snake", guitar and backing vocals on "Whiskey and Wimmen"

The Neville Brothers: ''Uptown'' (1991): guitar

''Weird Nightmare: Meditations on Mingus'' (1992): guitar and vocals on "Oh Lord Don't Let Them Drop That Atomic Bomb on Me"

George Jones: ''Bradley Barn Sessions'' (1994): guitar and vocals on "Say It's Not You"; ''Burn Your Playhouse Down – The Unreleased Duets'' (2008): vocals on "Burn Your Playhouse Down" (recorded in 1994)

Bernie Worrell: ''Funk of Ages'' (1994): guitar

Bobby Womack: ''Resurrection'' (1994): guitar

Marianne Faithfull: ''A Collection'' (1994): co-producer and guitar on "Ghost Dance"; ''Easy Come, Easy Go'' (2008): guitar and harmony vocals on "Sing Me Back Home"

The Chieftains: ''Long Black Veil'' (1995): guitar on "The Rocky Road to Dublin"

Ivan Neville: ''Thanks'' (1995): guitar; ''Scrape'' (2004): guitar

Bo Diddley: ''A Man Amongst Men'' (1996): guitar on "Bo Diddley Is Crazy"

B.B. King: ''Deuces Wild'' (1997): guitar on "Paying the Cost to Be the Boss"

''Wingless Angels'' (1997): co-producer, guitar, backing vocals

Scotty Moore: ''All the King's Men'' (1997): guitar and vocals on "Deuce and a Quarter"

Jimmy Rogers All-Stars: ''Blues Blues Blues'' (1999): guitar on "Trouble No More", "Don't Start Me Talkin'" and "Goin' Away"

Sheryl Crow: ''Sheryl Crow & Friends: Live From Central Park'' (1999): guitar and vocals on "Happy"

Charlie Watts: ''Charlie Watts – Jim Keltner Project'' (2000): guitar on "The Elvin Suite"

''Timeless: Tribute to Hank Williams'' (2001): guitar and vocals on "You Win Again"

Peter Wolf: ''Sleepless'' (2002): guitar and vocals on "Too Close Together"

Willie Nelson & Friends: ''Stars & Guitars'' (2002): guitar and vocals on "Dead Flowers"; ''Outlaws & Angels'' (2004): guitar and vocals on "We Had It All", guitar on "Trouble in Mind" and "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin On"

Hubert Sumlin: ''About Them Shoes'' (2004): guitar and vocals on "Still a Fool", guitar on "I Love the Life I Lead" and "Little Girl"

Toots & the Maytals: ''True Love'' (2004): guitar and vocals on "Careless Ethiopians"; guitar and backing vocals on "Pressure Drop" (released 2007)

''Return to Sin City: A Tribute to Gram Parsons'' (2004): guitar and vocals on "Love Hurts", "Hickory Wind" and "Wild Horses"

''Make It Funky'' (2005): guitar and vocals on "I'm Ready"

Les Paul & Friends: ''American Made World Played'' (2005): guitar on "Good Morning Little Schoolgirl"

Buddy Guy: ''Bring 'Em In'' (2005): guitar on "The Price You Gotta Pay"

Jerry Lee Lewis: ''Last Man Standing: The Duets'' (2006): guitar and vocals on "That Kind of Fool"

Ronnie Spector: ''Last of the Rock Stars'' (2006): guitar and vocals on "It's Gonna Work Out Fine", guitar on "All I Want"

Lee "Scratch" Perry: ''Scratch Came Scratch Saw Scratch Conquered'' (2008): guitar on "Heavy Voodoo" and "Once There's a Will There's a Way"

''Little Steven's Underground Garage'': ''Christmas a Go-Go'' (2008): This compilation album starts with Richards' "Run Rudolph Run", which the liner notes state is now "available for the first time on CD"

Richards also appeared on ''The Simpsons'' episode, "How I Spent My Strummer Vacation"

Lead vocals on Rolling Stones tracks

Below is a list of the officially released Rolling Stones tracks on which Richards sings lead vocals or shares lead-vocal duties:

"Something Happened to Me Yesterday" (alternates with Jagger), "Connection" (co-lead with Jagger) – ''Between the Buttons'' (1967)

"Salt of the Earth" (first verse) – ''Beggars Banquet'' (1968)

"You Got the Silver" – ''Let It Bleed'' (1969)

"Happy" – ''Exile On Main St.'' (1972)

"Coming Down Again" – ''Goats Head Soup'' (1973)

"Memory Motel" (alternates with Jagger) – ''Black and Blue'' (1976)

"Happy" (live) – ''Love You Live'' (1977)

"Before They Make Me Run" – ''Some Girls'' (1978)

"All About You" – ''Emotional Rescue'' (1980)

"Little T&A;" – ''Tattoo You'' (1981)

"Wanna Hold You" – ''Undercover'' (1983)

"Too Rude", "Sleep Tonight" – '' Dirty Work'' (1986)

"Can't Be Seen", "Slipping Away" – ''Steel Wheels'' (1989)

"Can't Be Seen" (live) – ''Flashpoint'' (1991)

"The Worst", "Thru and Thru" – ''Voodoo Lounge'' (1994)

"Slipping Away" (acoustic studio rehearsal) – ''Stripped'' (1995)

"You Don't Have to Mean It", "Thief in the Night", "How Can I Stop" – ''Bridges to Babylon'' (1997)

"Thief in the Night" (live) – ''No Security'' (1999)

"Losing My Touch" – ''Forty Licks'' (2002)

"Happy" (live), "The Nearness of You" (live), "You Don't Have to Mean It" (live) – ''Live Licks'' (2004)

"This Place Is Empty", "Infamy" – ''A Bigger Bang'' (2005)

"Hurricane" – CD single (free at US Rolling Stones concerts in 2005 with donation to Hurricane Katrina fund)

"Thru and Thru" (live) – ''Rarities 1971-2003'' (2005)

"You Got the Silver" (live), "Connection" (live), "Little T&A;" (live) – ''Shine a Light'' (2008)

Filmography

+Film	! Year	! Title	! Role
2007	''Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End''	Captain Teague
2011	''Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides''	Captain Teague

References

External links

(requires Flash) in 2010

CBC Archives Richards's trial and sentencing in 24 Oct. 1978 and 16 April 1979

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Category:1943 births Category:Living people Category:English expatriates in the United States Category:English blues guitarists Category:English-language singers Category:English male singers Category:English rock musicians Category:English people of Welsh descent Category:English rock guitarists Category:English singer-songwriters Category:Ivor Novello Award winners Category:Lead guitarists Category:People convicted of drug offenses Category:People from Dartford Category:People from Fairfield County, Connecticut Category:People from Staten Island Category:People self-identifying as substance abusers Category:Recipients of American gubernatorial pardons Category:Songwriters Hall of Fame inductees Category:Rhythm guitarists Category:The Dirty Mac Category:The Rolling Stones members Category:British rhythm and blues boom musicians

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Cathy McGowan (born 1943) is a British broadcaster and journalist, presenter from 1964-6 of Rediffusion television’s rock music show, ''Ready Steady Go!''

''Ready Steady Go!''

''Ready Steady Go!'' ''(RSG)'' was first broadcast in August 1963, coinciding with the rise of The Beatles in Britain and internationally. As one historian of television reflected in the 1970s, "the revolution had the greatest possible effect on television ... and hindsight commentators were to see the year [1963] as a line of demarcation drawn between one kind of Britain and another".

With its slogan ,"the weekend starts here", ''RSG'' was shown on Fridays from 6-7pm. Its original presenter Keith Fordyce (1928-2011), a stalwart of the BBC Light Programme and Radio Luxembourg, was joined in 1964 by Cathy McGowan. McGowan, recruited as an advisor from 600 applicants, had been in the fashion department of ''Woman’s Own''. She is said to have secured the role in a "run off" with journalist Anne Nightingale, later a disc jockey on Radio 1, by answering "fashion" to a question from Elkan Allan (1922–2006), ''RSG'''s executive producer and head of entertainment at Rediffusion, as to whether sex, music or fashion were more important to teenagers.

While McGowan had answered an advert for 'a typical teenager' to work as an advisor, she found herself presenting the show. Her strength was that her status as a fan of the artists was evident in her style; stumbling over her lines, losing her cool and apparent inexperience only made her more popular, and by the end she was presenting the show alone. She may have been the inspiration for Susan Campy from The Beatles 1964 film ''A Hard Day's Night'', when George Harrison tells the producer of a fictitious teen television show that Campy is "... that posh bird who gets everything wrong", to which the producer played by Kenneth Haigh replies, "She's a trendsetter. It's her profession."

"Queen of the Mods"

McGowan seemed in tune with the times - "the girl of the day", according to Eric Burdon of the Animals - and, through her fashion sense, acquired the eponym, “Queen of the Mods”. (This term has been applied to others, such as Dusty Springfield and, in New Zealand, Dinah Lee.) Much of her appeal lay in the fact that she was the age of ''RSG'''s viewers : young women regarded her as a role model, while men were attracted by her looks. Anna Wintour, future editor of American ''Vogue'', was, according to her biographer Jerry Oppenheimer, among teenagers whom the show introduced to fashion. Another, Lesley Hornby, who became better known as Twiggy, regarded McGowan as her heroine: "I'd sit and drool over her clothes. She was a heroine to us because she was one of us".

A star among stars

A similar empathy extended to the artists that McGowan interviewed. Donovan, launched in 1965 by his appearances on ''RSG'', recalled McGowan as the "young Mary Quant-look hostess" (Quant being the leading British proponent of the mini-skirt, which McGowan helped popularise), with whom he developed an "easy-going" style of on-screen conversation. In the words of Dominic Sandbrook, a social historian:

The show's most celebrated presenter, McGowan was the same age as the national audience; she wore all the latest trendy shifts and mini-dresses; and she spoke with an earnest, ceaseless barrage of teenage slang, praising whatever was 'fab' or 'smashing', and damning all that was 'square' or 'out'. 'The atmosphere', one observer wrote later, 'was that of a King's Road party where the performers themselves had only just chanced to drop by'.

By Christmas 1965 McGowan's name was coupled with rising singer Jonathan King in a roll-call of stars on The Barron Knights' record, "Merrie Gentle Pops":

:Andy, Sandie, Pitney, Proby, :Cathy McGowan and Jonathan King.

The following summer McGowan was among celebrities - "a more glittering line up of guests could hardly be imagined" - at the opening in June of Sibylla, a nightclub close to Piccadilly Circus in London.

Impact on the "swinging" sixties

McGowan was an early patron of Biba, whose first store opened in September 1964, and had her own fashion range at British Home Stores. She endorsed a portable make-up set known as "Cathy's Survival Kit". Barbara Hulanicki, who founded Biba, observed that "the girls aped Cathy's long hair and eye-covering fringe and soon their little faces were growing heavy with stage make-up". Julia Dykins, half-sister of John Lennon of the Beatles, recalled how, despite wearing black eye make-up, black polo necks and dyed black jeans "à la Cathy McGowan", she was unable to convince doormen at the Cavern Club in Liverpool, where the Beatles came to prominence, that she was over 18, the age for admission. It has been claimed that the formation in 1966 of a British Society for the Preservation of the Miniskirt was prompted by McGowan's indicating that she would wear a long skirt on ''RSG''.

After Fordyce’s departure in March 1965, McGowan continued to present ''RSG'' until it ended on 23 December 1966. In 1965 a decision that artists should perform live gave it immediacy that its longer-running BBC rival, ''Top of the Pops'' (1964–2006), never acquired; indeed, the latter retained a Mancunian model Samantha Juste - in television, McGowan's rival - as its "disc girl" until 1967. Although ''RSG'''s momentum had begun to flag, it had become a "cult programme" whose impact on music and, through McGowan, on the "swinging" sixties more generally was widely acknowledged. As Sandbrook put it, "Thanks to the enthusiastic salesmanship of McGowan and her fellow presenters, the emerging youth culture that had once been confined to the capital [London] or to the great cities could now be seen and copied almost immediately from Cornwall to the Highlands". The musician and jazz critic George Melly thought ''RSG'' "made pop music work on a truly national scale ... It was almost possible to feel a tremor of pubescent excitement from Land's End to John O'Groats".

McGowan, who was a 5 foot 4½ inch (1.63m) brunette, modelled and also presented a show on Radio Luxembourg.

After ''Ready Steady Go!''

Once ''RSG'' had ended, McGowan's star began to wane. By way of illustration, the ''Sunday Times'', previewing an exhibition of photographs by Patrick, Earl of Lichfield 40 years later, has described ''Queen'''s use of his shots in 1967:

[Lichfield] was ... a great one for persuading people to join in, even if the outcome was not always the one they expected. In the 1960s he took a series of group portraits for Queen magazine supposedly documenting the movers and shakers of the time - except that some, such as Jonathan Aitken and Cathy McGowan, were deemed not to be "in", and were labelled as "out" in the magazine. But Lichfield, with his impeccable manners, refused to upset his subjects by letting them know that in advance.

However, in 1978, McGowan was the subject of a tribute - "I'm in love with Cathy McGowan" - by the English band Generation X in the song ''Ready Steady Go'', a single that hit #47 on the UK charts. The social historian Alwyn W. Turner has cited the band's "hymning" of McGowan as an example of punk's indebtedness to mod culture.

Later work

McGowan continued in journalism and broadcasting. She was a board member of London’s Capital Radio when it was launched in 1973. In the late 1980s she worked for the BBC's ''Newsroom South East'', specialising in entertainment. She interviewed celebrities, including some she had known in the 1960s and others such as singer Michael Ball, who became her partner, and Deborah Harry, formerly of Blondie, whom she described as the most beautiful woman she had met. In 1991, McGowan co-hosted with Alexei Sayle and Jonathan Ross a show by British comedians to mark the 30th anniversary of Amnesty International.

Family

In 1970 McGowan married actor Hywel Bennett, who appeared in such films as ''The Family Way'' (1966) and ''The Virgin Soldiers'' (1969). They had a daughter, Emma. The marriage was dissolved in 1988 and, since the early 1990s, she has been the partner of Michael Ball. Ball was godfather to McGowan's grandson, Connor, son of Emma.

McGowan's brother John McGowan was a disc jockey in 1965 on King Radio, a pirate radio station broadcasting from a fort in the Thames Estuary. In the mid 1990s the death from ovarian cancer of his wife Angela, a friend of McGowan since their teens, led to his becoming co-founder of a charity supporting research into the disease.

External links

''Ready Steady Go!'' and Cathy McGowan

Cathy McGowan marries Hywel Bennett: British Pathé, 1970

Notes

Category:1943 births Category:Living people Category:British television presenters Category:1960s Category:1960s fashion

Name	Jimi Hendrix
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Johnny Allen Hendrix, renamed James Marshall Hendrix
Born	November 27, 1942Seattle, Washington, US
Died	September 18, 1970Kensington, London, England
Instrument	Guitar, vocals, bass, keyboards, percussion, flute
Genre	Psychedelic rock, hard rock, blues rock, acid rock, funk rock
Occupation	Singer, songwriter, guitarist, record producer, recording studio owner
Years active	1963–1970
Label	RSVP, Track, Barclay, Polydor, Repsrise, Capitol, MCA
Associated acts	Little Richard, The Isley Brothers, The Blue Flames, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Gypsy Sun and Rainbows, Band of Gypsys, Curtis Knight
Website	www.jimihendrix.com
Notable instruments	Fender StratocasterGibson Flying VGibson SG }}

James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942 – September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter. He is widely considered to be the greatest guitarist in musical history, and one of the most influential musicians of his era across a range of genres.

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, Hendrix headlined the iconic 1969 Woodstock Festival and the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival. He often favored raw overdriven amplifiers with high gain and treble and helped develop the previously undesirable technique of guitar amplifier feedback.

Hendrix, as well as his friend Eric Clapton, popularized use of the wah-wah pedal in mainstream rock which he often used to deliver an exaggerated sense of pitch in his solos, particularly with high bends, complex guitar playing, and use of legato. As a record producer, Hendrix also broke new ground in using the recording studio as an extension of his musical ideas. He was one of the first to experiment with stereophonic phasing effects for rock recording.

Hendrix was influenced by blues artists such as B.B. King, Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Albert King and Elmore James, rhythm and blues and soul guitarists Curtis Mayfield and Steve Cropper, and the jazz guitarist Wes Montgomery. Hendrix (who was then known as 'Maurice James') began dressing and wearing a moustache like Little Richard when he performed and recorded in his band from March 1, 1964 through to the spring of 1965. In 1966, Hendrix stated, "I want to do with my guitar what Little Richard does with his voice".

Hendrix won many of the most prestigious rock music awards in his lifetime, and has been posthumously awarded many more, including being inducted into the US Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992 and the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2005. An English Heritage blue plaque was erected in his name on his former residence at Brook Street, London, in September 1997. A star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (at 6627 Hollywood Blvd.) was dedicated in 1994. In 2006, his debut US album, ''Are You Experienced'', was inducted into the United States National Recording Registry, and ''Rolling Stone'' named Hendrix the top guitarist on its list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all-time in 2003.

Biography

Early life

Born Johnny Allen Hendrix on November 27, 1942, in Seattle, Washington, the first of five children to James Allen "Al" Hendrix (10 June 1919, Vancouver, British Columbia – 17 April 2002, Renton, Washington) and Lucille Jeter (12 October 1925, Seattle, Washington – 2 February 1958, Renton, Washington).

Hendrix's ancestry was mostly African American, although he was part Cherokee, his paternal great-great grandmother being a full-blooded Cherokee from Georgia. His parents met at a dance in Seattle in 1941 when Lucille Jeter was 16. When she married Al Hendrix the next year, on March 13, 1942, she was pregnant. Since Al had been drafted into the United States Army due to World War II, he was shipped out three days later. Al Hendrix completed his basic training at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, but was stationed in Alabama when his son was born. Because the commanding officer believed that he would go AWOL to Seattle in order to visit his new son, he was locked up in the stockade as a preventative measure, where he remained to receive the telegram informing him of his son's birth. The baby that would grow up to become the guitarist Jimi Hendrix was born to a father who had six fingers on each hand. Al Hendrix spent the war in the South Pacific Theater mostly in Fiji. During the three years that he was away, Lucille struggled with raising her infant son who was neglected in favor of the nightlife scene. Thus Hendrix was mostly cared for by family members and others during this period.

His father received an honorable discharge from the U.S. Army on September 1, 1945, and retrieved his son from a woman who was caring for him in Berkeley. Al legally changed his son’s name to James Marshall Hendrix in memory of his late brother, Leon Marshall Hendrix. He was known as "Buster" to friends and family, from birth. After his return, Al reunited with Lucille. He found it difficult to gain steady employment after the Second World War, and the family was impoverished. Like Lucille, Al also struggled with alcohol and the couple had frequent fights. At one point a pimp named John Page who had a history with Lucille even tried to commandeer her out of a movie theater while she was with Al. Al objected and a fight ensued, spilling out into the street. Al had been an amateur boxer and stunned the pimp with a first punch, eventually winning the brawl and they never saw the pimp again.

During the early years of Hendrix’s life, the turmoil caused by his parent's fighting would sometimes cause him to withdraw and hide in a closet in their home. They moved often, staying in cheap hotels and apartments around Seattle. Throughout his childhood Hendrix would periodically be dropped off to be cared for by relatives. This all left an imprint on him as a small child which would remain with him the rest of his life. In addition to the instability of his home life, Hendrix in later years confided to two different girlfriends that as a youth he had been sexually assaulted by a man, although he never elaborated. In one instance while he was living in Harlem, Hendrix broke down crying as his girlfriend related the sexual abuse she had suffered as a child, telling her that the same thing had happened to him.

Hendrix had two brothers, Leon and Joseph, and two sisters, Kathy and Pamela. Joseph was born with physical difficulties and was placed in foster care at age three. His two sisters were also both placed in foster care at a young age. Kathy was born blind and Pamela suffered lesser physical difficulties.

On December 17, 1951, when Hendrix was nine years old, his parents divorced. His mother developed cirrhosis of the liver and died on February 2, 1958, when the state of her liver caused her spleen to rupture. On occasion, he was placed in the care of his paternal grandmother in Vancouver, British Columbia because of the unstable household, and his brother Leon was placed in foster care temporarily. Hendrix was a shy and sensitive boy, deeply affected by the poverty and family disruption he experienced at a young age. Unusual for his era, Hendrix's high school had a relatively even ethnic mix of African, European, and Asian Americans.

First guitar

At age 15, around the time his mother died, he acquired his first acoustic guitar for US$5 from an acquaintance of his father. This guitar replaced both the broomstick he had been strumming in imitation, and a ukulele which his father had found while cleaning a garage. Hendrix learned to play by practicing for several hours a day, watching others play, getting tips from more experienced players, and listening to records. In mid-1959, his father bought Hendrix a white Supro Ozark, his first electric guitar, but there was no available amplifier. According to fellow Seattle bandmates, he learned most of his acrobatic stage moves, a major part of the blues/R&B; tradition, including playing with his teeth and behind his back, from a fellow young musician, Raleigh "Butch" Snipes, guitarist with local band The Sharps. Hendrix himself performed Chuck Berry's trademark "duck walk" on occasion. Hendrix played in a couple of local bands, occasionally playing outlying gigs in Washington State and at least once over the border in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Hendrix was particularly fond of Elvis Presley, whom he saw perform in Seattle, in 1957. Leon Hendrix claimed in an early interview that Little Richard appeared in his Central District neighborhood and shook hands with his brother, Jimi. This is unattested elsewhere and vehemently denied by his father. He also claimed that Richard was visiting his mother there at the time, when Richard's mother actually lived in Los Angeles. Hendrix's early exposure to blues music came from listening to records by Muddy Waters and B.B. King which his father owned. Another early impression came from the 1954 western ''Johnny Guitar'', in which the hero carries no gun but instead wears a guitar slung behind his back.

Hendrix's first gig was with an unnamed band in the basement of a synagogue, Seattle's Temple De Hirsch. After too much wild playing and showing off, he was fired between sets. The first formal band he played in was The Velvetones, who performed regularly at the Yesler Terrace Neighborhood House without pay. He later joined the Rocking Kings, who played professionally at such venues as the Birdland. When his guitar was stolen (after he left it backstage overnight), Al bought him a white Silvertone Danelectro. He painted it red and had "Betty Jean" emblazoned on it—the name of his high school girlfriend.

Hendrix completed junior high at Washington Junior High School with little trouble but did not graduate from Garfield High School. Later he was awarded an honorary diploma, and in the 1990s a bust of him was placed in the school library. After he became famous in the late 1960s, Hendrix told reporters that he had been expelled from Garfield by racist faculty for holding hands with a white girlfriend in study hall. Principal Frank Hanawalt says that it was simply due to poor grades and attendance problems.

In the Army

Hendrix got into trouble with the law twice for riding in stolen cars. He was given a choice between spending two years in prison or joining the Army. Hendrix chose the latter and enlisted on May 31, 1961. After completing basic training, he was assigned to the 101st Airborne Division and stationed in Fort Campbell, Kentucky. His commanding officers and fellow soldiers considered him to be a subpar soldier: he slept while on duty, had little regard for regulations, required constant supervision, and showed no skill as a marksman. For these reasons, his commanding officers submitted a request that Hendrix be discharged from the military after he had served only one year. Hendrix did not object when the opportunity to leave arose. He would later tell reporters that he received a medical discharge after breaking his ankle during his 26th parachute jump. The rock music journalist Charles Cross contended in his biography of Hendrix, ''Room Full of Mirrors'' (2005) that Hendrix feigned being homosexual—claiming to have fallen in love with a fellow soldier—in order to be discharged, but did not produce credible evidence to support this contention.

At the base recreation center, Hendrix met fellow soldier and bass player Billy Cox, and the two forged a loyal friendship that Hendrix would call upon from April 1969 until Billy's breakdown shortly before Hendrix's death. The two would often perform with other musicians at venues both on and off the base as a loosely organized band there named the Casuals. As a celebrity in the UK, Hendrix mentioned his military service in three published interviews; one in 1967 for the film ''See My Music Talking'' (much later released under the title ''Experience''), which was intended for TV to promote his recently released ''Axis: Bold as Love'' LP, in which he spoke very briefly of his first parachuting experience: "...once you get out there everything is so quiet, all you hear is the breezes-s-s-s..." This comment has later been used to claim that he was saying that this was one of the sources of his "spacy" guitar sound. The second and third mentions of his military experience were in interviews for ''Melody Maker'' in 1967 and 1969, where he spoke of his dislike of the army. In interviews in the US, Hendrix almost never mentioned it, and when Dick Cavett brought it up in his TV interview, Hendrix's only response was to verify that he had been based at Fort Campbell.

Early career

After his Army discharge, Hendrix and Army friend Billy Cox moved to nearby Clarksville, Tennessee and undertook in earnest to earn a living with their existing band. Hendrix had already seen Butch Snipes play with his teeth in Seattle and now Alphonso 'Baby Boo' Young the other guitarist in the band, was featuring this gimmick. Not to be upstaged, it was then that Hendrix learned to play with his teeth properly, according to Hendrix himself: "... the idea of doing that came to me in a town in Tennessee. Down there you have to play with your teeth or else you get shot. There’s a trail of broken teeth all over the stage..." They played mainly in low-paying gigs at obscure venues. The band eventually moved to Nashville's Jefferson Street, the traditional heart of Nashville's black community and home to a lively rhythm and blues scene. After they moved to Nashville, upon learning there was already an established band by the name "The Casuals", they amended their name to the "King Kasuals". While in Nashville, according to Cox and Larry Lee—who replaced Alphonso Young on guitar—they were basically the house band at Club del Morocco. Hendrix and Cox shared a flat above Joyce's House of Glamor. Hendrix's girlfriend at this time was Joyce Lucas. Bill 'Hoss' Allen's memory of Hendrix's supposed participation in a session with Billy Cox in November 1962, in which he cut Hendrix's contribution due to his over-the-top playing, has now been called into question; a suggestion has been made that he may have confused this with a later 1965 session by Frank Howard and the Commanders in which Hendrix participated.

In December 1962, Hendrix visited his relatives in Vancouver, Canada, where as a child he had sometimes lived with his grandmother. It has been claimed that while there, he performed with future members of the Motown band Bobby Taylor & the Vancouvers, including Tommy Chong (of later Cheech & Chong fame). Chong, however, disputes this ever happened and that any such appearance is a product of Taylor's "imagination". In early 1963, Hendrix returned to the South. For the next two years, Hendrix made a living performing on a circuit of venues throughout the South catering to black audiences. These were venues affiliated with the Theater Owners' Booking Association (TOBA), sarcastically known as "Tough on Black Asses" because the audiences were very demanding. The TOBA circuit was also widely known as the Chitlin' Circuit. In addition to performing in his own band, Hendrix performed with Bob Fisher and the Bonnevilles, and in backing bands for various soul, R&B;, and blues musicians, including Chuck Jackson, Slim Harpo, Tommy Tucker, Sam Cooke, and Jackie Wilson. The Chitlin' Circuit was where Hendrix refined his style.

Feeling he had artistically outgrown the circuit and frustrated at following the rules of bandleaders, Hendrix decided to try his luck in New York City and in January 1964 moved into the Hotel Theresa in Harlem, where he soon befriended Lithofayne Pridgeon (known as "Faye", who became his girlfriend) and the Allen twins, Arthur and Albert (now known as Taharqa and Tunde-Ra Aleem). The Allen twins became friends and kept Hendrix out of trouble in New York. The twins also performed as backup singers (under the name Ghetto Fighters) on some of his recordings, most notably the song "Freedom". Pridgeon, a Harlem native with connections throughout the area's music scene, provided Hendrix with shelter, support, and encouragement. In February 1964, Hendrix won first prize in the Apollo Theater amateur contest. Hoping to land a gig, Hendrix made the club circuit and sat in with various bands. Eventually, Hendrix was offered the guitarist position with The Isley Brothers' back-up band and he readily accepted.

First recordings

Hendrix' first studio recording occurred in March 1964, when the Isley Brothers, with Hendrix as a member of the band, recorded the two-part single "Testify". Hendrix then went on tour with the Isley Brothers. "Testify" was released in June 1964, but did not make an impact on the charts. After touring as a member of the Isley Brothers until mid-late 1964, Hendrix grew dissatisfied and left the band in Nashville. There, he found work with the tour's MC "Gorgeous" George Odell.

On March 1, 1964, Hendrix (then calling himself Maurice James) began recording and performing with Little Richard. Hendrix would later (1966) say, "I want to do with my guitar what Little Richard does with his voice". During a stop in Los Angeles while touring with Little Richard in 1965, Hendrix played a session for Rosa Lee Brooks on her single "My Diary". This was his first recorded involvement with Arthur Lee of the band Love. While in L.A., he also played on the session for Little Richard's final single for Vee-Jay, "I Don't Know What You've Got, But It's Got Me". He later made his first recorded TV appearance on Nashville's Channel 5 ''Night Train'' with "The Royal Company" backing up "Buddy and Stacy" on "Shotgun". Hendrix clashed with Richard, over tardiness, wardrobe, and, above all, Hendrix's stage antics. He then rejoined the Isley Brothers in the summer of 1965 and recorded a second single with them, "Move Over and Let Me Dance" backed with "Have You Ever Been Disappointed" (1965 Atlantic 45-2303).

Later in 1965, Hendrix joined a New York–based R&B; band, Curtis Knight and the Squires, after meeting Knight in the lobby of the Hotel America, off Times Square, where both men were living at the time. He performed on and off with them for eight months. In October 1965, Hendrix recorded a single with Curtis Knight, "How Would You Feel" backed with "Welcome Home" (1966 RSVP 1120) and on October 15 he signed a three-year recording contract with entrepreneur Ed Chalpin, receiving 1% royalty. While the relationship with Chalpin was short-lived, his contract remained in force, which caused considerable problems for Hendrix later on in his career. The legal dispute has continued to the present day. (Several songs (and demos) from the 1965–1966 Curtis Knight recording sessions, deemed not worth releasing at the time, were marketed as "Jimi Hendrix" recordings after he became famous.) Aside from Curtis Knight and the Squires, Hendrix then toured for two months with Joey Dee and the Starliters.

In between performing with Curtis Knight in 1966, Hendrix toured and recorded with King Curtis. Hendrix recorded the two-part single "Help Me (Get the Feeling)" with Ray Sharpe and the King Curtis Orchestra (1966 Atco 45-6402) (the backing track was subsequently overdubbed by other vocalists with different lyrics and released as new songs). Later in 1966, Hendrix also recorded with Lonnie Youngblood, a saxophone player who occasionally performed with Curtis Knight. The sessions produced two singles for Youngblood: "Go Go Shoes"/"Go Go Place" (Fairmount F-1002) and "Soul Food (That's What I Like)"/"Goodbye Bessie Mae" (Fairmount F-1022). Additionally, singles for other artists came out of the sessions: The Icemen's "(My Girl) She's a Fox"/ "(I Wonder) What It Takes" (1966 SAMAR S-111) and Jimmy Norman's "You're Only Hurting Yourself"/"That Little Old Groove Maker" (1966 SAMAR S-112). As with the King Curtis recordings, backing tracks and alternate takes for the Youngblood sessions would be overdubbed and otherwise manipulated to create many "new" tracks. (Many Youngblood tracks without any Hendrix involvement would later be marketed as "Jimi Hendrix" recordings). Also around this time in 1966, Hendrix got his first composer credits for two instrumentals "Hornets Nest" and "Knock Yourself Out", released as a Curtis Knight and the Squires single (1966 RSVP 1124).

Hendrix, now going by the name Jimmy James, formed his own band, The Blue Flame, composed of Randy Palmer (bass), Danny Casey (drums), a 15-year-old guitarist who played slide and rhythm named Randy Wolfe, and the occasional stand in June 1966.

Since there were two musicians named "Randy" in the group, Hendrix dubbed Wolfe "Randy California" (as he had recently moved from there to New York City) and Palmer (a Tejano) "Randy Texas". Randy California would later co-found the band Spirit with his stepfather, drummer Ed Cassidy. It was around this time that Hendrix's only daughter Tamika was conceived with Diana Carpenter (also known as Regina Jackson), a teenage runaway and prostitute that he briefly stayed with. Her claim has not been recognized by the US courts where, after death, she may not have a claim on his estate even if she could legally prove he was her father, unless recognized previously as such by him or the courts.

Hendrix and his new band played at several places in New York, but their primary venue was a residency at the Cafe Wha? on MacDougal Street in Greenwich Village. The street runs along "Washington (Square) Park" which appeared in at least two of Hendrix's songs. Their last concerts were at the Cafe au Go Go, as John Hammond Jr.'s backing group, billed as "The Blue Flame". Singer-guitarist Ellen McIlwaine and guitarist Jeff "Skunk" Baxter also claim to have briefly worked with Hendrix in this period.

The Jimi Hendrix Experience

Early in 1966 at the Cheetah Club on Broadway at 53rd Street, Linda Keith, the girlfriend of Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards, befriended Hendrix and recommended him to Stones' manager Andrew Loog Oldham and later, producer Seymour Stein. Neither man took a liking to Hendrix's music, and they both passed. She then referred Hendrix to Chas Chandler, who was ending his tenure as bassist in The Animals and looking for talent to manage and produce. Chandler liked the song "Hey Joe" and was convinced he could create a hit single with the right artist.

Impressed with Hendrix's version, Chandler brought him to London and signed him to a management and production contract with himself and ex-Animals manager Michael Jeffery. It was Chandler who came up with the spelling change of "Jimmy" to "Jimi". Chandler then helped Hendrix form a new band, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, with guitarist-turned-bassist Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell, both English musicians. Shortly before the Experience was formed, Chandler introduced Hendrix to Pete Townshend and to Eric Clapton, who had only recently helped put together Cream. At Chandler's request, Cream let Hendrix join them on stage for a jam on the song "Killing Floor". Hendrix and Clapton remained friends up until Hendrix's death. The first night he arrived in London, he began a relationship with Kathy Etchingham that lasted until February 1969. She later wrote an autobiographical book about their relationship and the sixties London scene in general.

Hendrix sometimes had a camp sense of humor, specifically with the song "Purple Haze". A mondegreen had appeared, in which the line "'Scuse me while I kiss the sky" was misheard as "'Scuse me while I kiss this guy". In a few performances, Hendrix humorously used this, deliberately singing "kiss this guy" while pointing to Mitch or Noel, as he did at Monterey. In the Woodstock DVD he deliberately points to the sky at this point, to make it clear. A volume of misheard lyrics has been published, using this mondegreen itself as the title, with Hendrix on the cover.

UK success

After his enthusiastically received performance at France's No. 1 venue, the Olympia theatre in Paris on the Johnny Hallyday tour, an on-stage jam with Cream, a showcase gig at the newly opened, pop-celebrity oriented nightclub Bag O'Nails and the all important appearances on the top UK TV pop shows ''Ready Steady Go!'' and the BBC's ''Top of the Pops'', word of Hendrix spread throughout the London music community in late 1966. His showmanship and virtuosity made instant fans of reigning guitar heroes Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck, as well as Brian Jones and members of The Beatles and The Who, whose managers signed Hendrix to their new record label, Track Records.

Hendrix's first single was a cover of "Hey Joe", using Tim Rose's slower arrangement of the song including his addition of a female backing chorus. Backing this first 1966 "Experience" single was Hendrix's first songwriting effort, "Stone Free". Further success came in early 1967 with "Purple Haze" which featured the "Hendrix chord" and "The Wind Cries Mary". The three singles were all UK Top 10 hits and were also popular internationally including Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Japan (though failed to sell when released later in the US).

Onstage, Hendrix was also making an impression with sped up renderings of the B.B. King hit "Rock Me Baby" and Howlin' Wolf's hit "Killing Floor".

''Are You Experienced''

The first Jimi Hendrix Experience album, ''Are You Experienced'', was released in the United Kingdom on May 12, 1967, and shortly thereafter internationally, outside of the United States and Canada. It contained none of the previously released (outside the United States and Canada) singles or their B sides ("Hey Joe"/"Stone Free", "Purple Haze"/"51st Anniversary" and "The Wind Cries Mary"/"Highway Chile"). Only The Beatles' ''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' prevented ''Are You Experienced'' from reaching No. 1 on the UK charts.

At this time, the Experience extensively toured the United Kingdom and parts of Europe. This allowed Hendrix to develop his stage presence, which reached a high point on March 31, 1967, when, booked to appear as one of the opening acts on the Walker Brothers farewell tour, he set his guitar on fire at the end of his first performance, as a publicity stunt. This guitar has now been identified as the "Zappa guitar" (previously thought to have been from Miami), which has been partly refurbished. Later, as part of this press promotion campaign, there were articles about Rank Theatre management warning him to "tone down" his "suggestive" stage act, with Chandler stating that the group would not compromise regardless. On June 4, 1967, the Experience played their last show in England, at London's Saville Theatre, before heading off to America. The Beatles' ''Sgt. Pepper'' album had just been released on June 1 and two Beatles (Paul McCartney and George Harrison) were in attendance, along with a roll call of other UK rock stardom, including: Brian Epstein, Eric Clapton, Spencer Davis, Jack Bruce, and pop singer Lulu. Hendrix opened the show with his own rendering of "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band", rehearsed only minutes before taking the stage, much to McCartney's astonishment and delight.

While on tour in Sweden in 1967, Hendrix jammed with the duo ''Hansson & Karlsson'', and later opened several concerts with their song "Tax Free", also recording a cover of it during the Electric Ladyland sessions. He played there frequently throughout his career, and his only son James Daniel Sundquist was born there in 1969 to a Swede, Eva Sundquist, recognized as such by the Swedish courts and paid a settlement by Experience Hendrix LLC. He wrote a poem to a woman there (probably Sundquist). Sundquist had sent Hendrix roses on each of his opening nights in Stockholm, and began – according to the Swedish courts – a sexual relationship from then until conceiving Daniel with him, after his third visit in January 1969. Hendrix also dedicated songs to the Swedish-based Vietnam deserters organization in 1969.

Months later, Reprise Records released the US and Canadian version of ''Are You Experienced'' with a new cover by Karl Ferris, removing "Red House", "Remember" and "Can You See Me" to make room for the first three single A-sides. Where the (Rest of the World) album kicked off with "Foxy Lady", the US and Canadian one started with "Purple Haze". Both versions offered a startling introduction to the Jimi Hendrix Experience, and the album was a blueprint for what had become possible on an electric guitar, basically recorded on four tracks, mixed into mono and only modified at this point by a "fuzz" pedal, reverb and a small bit of the experimental "Octavia" pedal on "Purple Haze", produced by Roger Mayer in consultation with Hendrix. A remix using the mostly mono backing tracks with the guitar and vocal overdubs separated and occasionally panned to create a stereo mix was also released, only in the US and Canada.

US success

Although very popular in Europe at this time, The Jimi Hendrix Experience had yet to crack the United States.c Their first single there, "Hey Joe" c/w "51st Anniversary" (Reprise 0572, released 1 May 1967), failed to reach the Billboard chart.

Their chance came when Paul McCartney recommended the group to the organizers of the Monterey International Pop Festival. This proved to be a great opportunity for Hendrix, not only because of the large audience present at the event, but also because of the many journalists covering the event who wrote about him. The performances were filmed by D. A. Pennebaker and later shown in some movie theaters around the country in early 1969 as the concert documentary Monterey Pop, which immortalized Hendrix's iconic burning and smashing of his guitar at the finale of his performance.

The opening song was Hendrix's very fast arrangement of Howlin' Wolf's 1965 R&B; hit "Killing Floor". He played this frequently from late 1965 through 1968, usually as the opener to his shows. The Monterey performance included an equally lively rendering of B.B. King's 1964 R&B; hit "Rock Me Baby", Tim Rose's arrangement of "Hey Joe" and Bob Dylan's 1965 pop hit "Like a Rolling Stone". The set ended with The Troggs' "Wild Thing" and Hendrix repeating the act that had boosted his profile in the UK (and internationally) with him burning his guitar on stage, then smashing it to bits and tossing pieces out to the audience. This show finally brought Hendrix to the notice of the US public. A large chunk of this guitar was on display at the Experience Music Project in Seattle, along with the other psychedelically painted Stratocaster that Hendrix smashed (but did not burn) at his farewell concert in England before he left for the US and Monterey.

At the time Hendrix was playing sets in the Scene club in NYC in July 1967, he met Frank Zappa, whose Mothers of Invention were playing the adjacent Garrick Theater, and he was reportedly fascinated by Zappa's recently purchased wah-wah pedal. Hendrix immediately bought one from Manny's and starting using it right away on the sessions for both sides of his new single, and slightly later, on several jams recorded at Ed Chalpin's studio.

Following the festival, the Experience played a series of concerts at Bill Graham's Fillmore replacing the original headliners Jefferson Airplane at the top of the bill. It was at this time that Hendrix became acquainted with future musical collaborator Stephen Stills, and reacquainted himself with Buddy Miles who introduced Hendrix to his future partner, Devon Wilson. She had a turbulent on/off relationship with him, right up to the night of his death, and was the only one of his partners to record with him. She died only six months after Hendrix under mysterious circumstances, apparently falling from an upper window in the Chelsea Hotel.

Following this very successful West Coast introduction, which also included two open air concerts (one of them a free concert in the "panhandle" of Golden Gate Park) and a concert at the Whisky a Go Go, they were booked as one of the opening acts for pop group The Monkees on their first American tour. The Monkees asked for Hendrix because they were fans, but their (mostly early teens) audience sometimes did not warm to their act, and he quit the tour after a few dates. Chas Chandler later admitted that being thrown off the Monkees tour was engineered to gain maximum media impact and publicity for Hendrix, similar to that gained from the manufactured Rank Theatre's indecency dispute on the earlier UK Walker Brothers tour. At the time, a story circulated claiming that Hendrix was removed from the tour because of complaints made by the Daughters of the American Revolution that his stage conduct was "lewd and indecent". This report was concocted by a journalist accompanying the tour, the Australian Lillian Roxon.

Meanwhile in Western Europe, where Hendrix was appreciated for his authentic blues as well as his hit singles and recognized for his avant-garde musical ideas, his wild-man image and musical gimmickry (such as playing the guitar with his teeth and behind his back) had faded; but they later plagued him in the US following Monterey. He became frustrated by the US media and audience when they concentrated on his stage tricks and best known songs.

''Axis: Bold as Love''

The Jimi Hendrix Experience's second 1967 album, ''Axis: Bold as Love'' was his first recording made for stereo release and used panning and other stereo effects. It continued the style established by ''Are You Experienced''. The opening track, "EXP", featured a stereo effect in which a sound emanating from Hendrix's guitar appeared to revolve around the listener, fading out into the distance from the right channel, then returning in on the left. This album marked the first time Hendrix recorded the whole album with his guitar tuned down one half-step, to E, which he used exclusively thereafter and was his first to feature the wah-wah pedal. A mishap almost delayed the album's pre-Christmas release: Hendrix lost the master tape of side one of the LP, leaving it in the back seat of a London taxi. With the release deadline looming, Hendrix, Chas Chandler and engineer Eddie Kramer had to remix most of side one in an overnight session, but they could not match the lost mix of "If 6 Was 9". They soon learned that bassist Noel Redding had a tape recording of this mix. The tape had to be smoothed out as it had gotten wrinkled. Hendrix was disappointed that the album had to be finished so quickly and felt it could have been better, given more time. He was also somewhat disappointed in the album cover art work, which depicts Hendrix and his Experience bandmates as the various forms of Vishnu, incorporating a painting of them by Roger Law (from a photo-portrait by Karl Ferris). Hendrix remarked that it would have been more appropriate if the cover had highlighted his American Indian heritage.

The album was released in the UK near the end of their first headlining tour there, after which the pace slowed briefly during the Christmas holidays. In January 1968 the group went to Sweden for a short tour, and after the first show Hendrix, reportedly after drinking and according to Hendrix his drink being spiked, went berserk and smashed up his hotel room in a rage, injuring his hand and culminating in his arrest. Then on the 6th in Denmark his famous hat was stolen. The rest of the tour was uneventful, though Hendrix had to spend some time in Sweden waiting for his trial and eventual large fine.

''Electric Ladyland''

Hendrix's third recording, the double album ''Electric Ladyland'' (1968), was a departure from previous efforts. Following his third and penultimate French concert at the Paris Olympia, Hendrix flew to the US to start his first tour there, and after two months returned to his Electric Ladyland project at the newly opened Record Plant Studios with engineers Eddie Kramer and Gary Kellgren and initially Chas Chandler as producer.

As the album's recording progressed, Chas Chandler became so frustrated with Hendrix's perfectionism and with various friends and guests milling about the studio that he decided to sever his professional relationship with Hendrix. Chandler's departure had a clear impact on the artistic direction that the recording took.

Hendrix began experimenting with different combinations of musicians and instruments, and modern electronic effects. For example, Dave Mason, Chris Wood, and Steve Winwood from the band Traffic, drummer Buddy Miles and former Bob Dylan organist Al Kooper, among others, were involved in the recording sessions. He described how Hendrix went from a disciplined recording regimen to an erratic schedule, which often saw him beginning recording sessions in the middle of the night and with any number of guests.

Chandler also expressed exasperation at the number of times Hendrix would insist on rerecording particular tracks; the song "Gypsy Eyes" was reportedly recorded 43 times. This was also frustrating for bassist Noel Redding, who would often leave the studio to calm himself, only to return and find that Hendrix had recorded the bass parts himself during Redding's absence.

''Electric Ladyland'' includes "Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)" as well as Hendrix's rendering of Bob Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower".

Throughout the four years of his fame, Hendrix often appeared at impromptu jams with various musicians, such as B.B. King. In March 1968, Jim Morrison of The Doors joined Hendrix onstage at New York's Scene Club. Albums of this ''Electric Ladyland''-era bootleg recording were released under various titles, some falsely claiming the presence of Johnny Winter, who has denied, several times, being a participant at that jam session, and to ever having met Morrison.

Breakup of Jimi Hendrix Experience

After a year based in the US, Hendrix temporarily moved back to London and into his girlfriend Kathy Etchingham's rented Brook Street flat, next door to the Handel House Museum, in the West End of London. During this time The Jimi Hendrix Experience toured Scandinavia, Germany, and included a final French concert. They later performed two sold-out concerts at London's Royal Albert Hall on February 18 and February 24, 1969, which were the last European appearances of this line-up of the Jimi Hendrix Experience. A Gold and Goldstein-produced film titled ''Experience'' was also recorded at these two shows, which, according to Experience Hendrix LLC, "Elements of these recordings are sure to be utilized when the official release of this material is finally made".

Noel Redding felt increasingly frustrated by the fact that he was not playing his original and favored instrument, the guitar. In 1968, he decided to form his own band, Fat Mattress, which would sometimes open for the Experience (Hendrix would jokingly refer to them as "Thin Pillow"). Redding and Hendrix would begin seeing less and less of each other, which also had an effect in the studio, with Hendrix playing many of the bass parts on ''Electric Ladyland''.

Fruitless recording sessions at Olympic in London; Olmstead and the Record Plant in New York that ended on April 9, which only produced a remake of "Stone Free" for a possible single release, were the last to feature Redding. Hendrix then flew Billy Cox to New York and started recording and rehearsing with him on April 21 as a replacement for Noel.

In a recorded interview by Nancy Carter on June 15 at his hotel in Los Angeles, Hendrix announced that he had been recording with Cox and that he would be replacing Noel as bass player in The Jimi Hendrix Experience.

The last Experience concert took place on June 29, 1969 at Barry Fey's Denver Pop Festival, a three-day event held at Denver's Mile High Stadium that was marked by police firing tear gas into the audience as they played "Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)". The band escaped from the venue in the back of a rental truck which was partly crushed by fans trying to escape the tear gas. The next day, Noel Redding announced that he had quit the Experience.

Gypsy Sun and Rainbows

After the departure of Noel Redding from the group, Hendrix rented the eight-bedroom 'Ashokan House' in the hamlet of Boiceville near Woodstock in upstate New York, where he spent some time in mid-1969. Manager Michael Jeffery, who had a house in Woodstock, arranged the stay, with hopes that the respite would produce a new album. To replace Redding as bassist, Hendrix had been rehearsing and recording with Billy Cox, his old and trusted Army buddy, since at least April 21. Mitchell was unavailable to help fulfill Hendrix's commitments at this time, which include his first appearance on US TV – on the Dick Cavett show – where he was backed by the studio orchestra, and an appearance on ''The Tonight Show'' where he appeared with his new bass player Billy Cox, and session drummer Ed Shaughnessy sitting in for Mitchell.

Woodstock

Hendrix was advertised to play the Woodstock Music Festival, along with many of the other biggest rock groups of the time. It was to take place on rented farmland in Upper State New York from August 15–18, 1969. Although Hendrix's music had been written for a power trio of guitar, bass, and drums, he wanted to expand his sound so he added rhythm guitarist Larry Lee (another old friend from his R&B; days), and Juma Sultan and Jerry Velez to play congas. After drummer Mitch Mitchell arrived, this new lineup rehearsed for less than two weeks before the festival and according to Mitchell never really meshed. In addition, although Woodstock would become famous and mythologized through the documentary film of the same name, by the time of his performance, Hendrix had been up for three days, and his band was short on sleep as well, contributing a rawness to their filmed performance.

Before Hendrix even arrived at the festival he started to hear media reports that the crowds of kids showing up for the festival were swelling to biblical proportions, in addition to the emerging logistical problems being reported at the site. This gave Hendrix pause for concern since he did not like performing in front of very large crowds. Since he was considered an important draw for the festival, and because of his manager's negotiations, Hendrix was getting paid more than the other performers, (US$18,000, plus US$12,000 for rights to film him). As the scheduled time slot of Sunday night at midnight drew closer, Hendrix indicated that he would rather wait and close the show. A substantial rainstorm that day had delayed the schedule of performers, so when Hendrix insisted on being the closing headliner, it pushed back the time when they finally hit the stage - which ended up being 8:30am Monday morning. The audience which had peaked at an estimated 400,000 people during the festival, was now reduced to about 30-40,000 by that point; many of whom merely waited to catch a glimpse of Hendrix before leaving during his show. This reflected the reality that by the third day attendees had been sleeping in muddy conditions with limited food.

Hendrix and his band were introduced by the festival MC, Chip Monck, as "The Jimi Hendrix Experience", but once on stage Hendrix clarified saying, "We decided to change the whole thing around and call it 'Gypsy Sun and Rainbows'. For short, it's nothin but a 'Band of Gypsys'" He then launched into a two hour set, the longest of his career. Hendrix started off with a new song, “Message to Love". (His Woodstock set consisting of new material, along with his well-known hits).

Hendrix's psychedelic rendition of the U.S. national anthem, "The Star-Spangled Banner" occurred about 3/4 into their set (after which he morphed into "Purple Haze"). The song had actually been part of his set for a year and he had already performed it on at least three different occasions. During the number, Hendrix used feedback and sustain on his guitar to recreate the sound of wails and falling rockets. Although pundits quickly branded the song as a political manifesto against the Vietnam War, Hendrix himself never explained its meaning other than to say at a press conference three weeks later, "We're all Americans. . .it was like 'Go America!'. . .We play it the way the air is in America today. The air is slightly static, see". The song would become "part of the sixties Zeitgeist" as it was captured forever in the Woodstock film; Hendrix's image performing this number during the day wearing a blue-beaded white leather jacket with fringe and a red head scarf, has since been regarded as a defining moment of the 1960s.

Hendrix performed "Hey Joe" as the encore to finish off their set which concluded the 3½ day Woodstock Music Festival. Upon leaving the stage, Hendrix collapsed from exhaustion.

After Woodstock, this particular lineup of the band appeared on only two more occasions. The first was a street benefit in Harlem where, in a scenario similar to the festival, most of the audience had left and only a fraction remained by the time Hendrix took the stage. Within seconds of Hendrix arriving at the site two youths had stolen his guitar from the back seat of his car, although it was later recovered. The band's only other appearance was at the Salvation club in Greenwich Village, New York. After some studio recordings, Hendrix disbanded the group. Some of this band's recordings can be heard on the MCA Records box set ''The Jimi Hendrix Experience'' and on ''South Saturn Delta''. Their final work together was a session on September 6. Hendrix's September 9 appearance on TV's ''The Dick Cavett Show'', backed by Cox, Mitchell and Juma Sultan, was credited as the "Jimi Hendrix Experience".

Band of Gypsys

In 1967, a contractual dispute arose in relation to an agreement Hendrix had entered into with producer Ed Chalpin in 1965. The resolution for the dispute included Hendrix having to record an LP of new material for Chalpin company, which would not feature the Experience band, and would not be associated with the Experience band name. In addition, Chalpin was granted 2% of profits from Hendrix's back catalog sold in US. For the agreed upon album, Hendrix chose to record ''Band of Gypsys'', a live album.

Along with Billy Cox and drummer Buddy Miles (formerly with Wilson Pickett and The Electric Flag) with whom he had been jamming together since September, Hendrix wrote and rehearsed material which they then performed at a series of four concerts over two nights, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day at Fillmore East. The second night produced the material for the ''Band Of Gypsys'' LP, which was produced by Hendrix (under the name "Heaven Research").

The ''Band of Gypsys'' LP was the only official completely live LP released in Hendrix's lifetime. The band also released a single "Stepping Stone" which failed to sell, and recorded several studio songs slated for Hendrix's future LP. In 1999, the tapes from the four Fillmore concerts were remastered and additional tracks and edits were released as ''Live at the Fillmore East''. Litigation with Chalpin ended in 2007 after the "singularly uncredible witness" was fined nearly US$900,000 for failure to abide by contractual limitations and failure to pay ''Experience Hendrix L.L.C.'' its court ordered royalties.

On January 26 and 27, 1970, Mitch Mitchell and Noel Redding flew into New York and signed contracts with Jeffery for the upcoming Jimi Hendrix Experience tour. The next day, a second and final Band of Gypsys appearance occurred at a twelve-act show in Madison Square Garden which was a benefit for the anti-Vietnam War Moratorium Committee, titled the "Winter Festival for Peace". Similar to Woodstock, set delays forced Hendrix to take the stage at an inopportune 3 a.m., only this time he was obviously in no shape to play. He played "Who Knows" before snapping a vulgar response at a woman who shouted a request for "Foxy Lady". He played a second song, "Earth Blues", he then told the audience: "That's what happens when earth fucks with space—never forget that". He then sat down on the drum riser for a minute and then walked off stage. Various unverifiable assertions have been proffered to explain this bizarre scene. Buddy Miles claimed that manager Michael Jeffery dosed Hendrix with LSD in an effort to sabotage the current band and bring about the return of the Experience lineup, but none of Hendrix's other close associates verifies his statement.

Cry of Love tour

A week after the botched Band of Gypsys show, Hendrix, Mitch Mitchell and Noel Redding gave an interview to ''Rolling Stone'' for the upcoming tour dates as a reunited Jimi Hendrix Experience. But Redding never even got to rehearse, as Hendrix just continued to work with Billy Cox. Noel was not told he was not going to be playing until the pretour rehearsals. Fans refer to this final "Jimi Hendrix Experience" lineup as the "Cry of Love" band, named after The Cry of Love Tour to distinguish it from the original. Billy Cox has countered on several occasions that this lineup considered themselves "The Jimi Hendrix Experience" before they even went on tour and that any other title is bogus. All billing, adverts, tickets etc. on the tour used "Jimi Hendrix Experience" or occasionally, as previously, just "Jimi Hendrix".

Two of Hendrix's later recordings were the lead guitar parts on "Old Times Good Times" from Stephen Stills hit eponymous album (1970), and on "The Everlasting First" from Arthur Lee's new incarnation of Love, not so successful and aptly named LP ''False Start'' both tracks were recorded with these old friends on a fleeting and unexplained visit to London in March 1970, following Kathy Etchingham's marriage.

He spent the next four months of 1970 working on his next LP tentatively titled ''First Rays of the New Rising Sun'', recording during the week and playing live on the weekends. The Cry of Love tour, launched that April at the L.A. Forum, was partly undertaken to earn money to repay the Warner Bros. loan for completing his Electric Lady Studios. Performances on this tour featured Hendrix, Cox, and Mitchell playing new material alongside older audience favorites. The American leg of the tour included 30 performances and ended at Honolulu, Hawaii on August 1, 1970. A number of these shows were recorded and produced some of Hendrix's most memorable live performances.

Electric Lady Studios

In 1968, Hendrix and Jeffery had invested jointly in the purchase of the Generation Club in Greenwich Village. Their initial plans to reopen the club were scrapped when the pair decided that the investment would serve them much better as a recording studio. The studio fees for the lengthy ''Electric Ladyland'' sessions were astronomical, and Hendrix was constantly in search of a recording environment that suited him. In August 1970, Electric Lady Studios was opened in New York.

Designed by architect and acoustician John Storyk, the studio was made specifically for Hendrix, with round windows and a machine capable of generating ambient lighting in a myriad of colors. It was designed to have a relaxing feel to encourage Hendrix's creativity, but at the same time provide a professional recording atmosphere. Engineer Eddie Kramer upheld this by refusing to allow any drug use during session work.

Hendrix spent only two and a half months recording in Electric Lady, most of which took place while the final phases of construction were still ongoing. Following a recording/dubbing session on August 26, an opening party was held later that day. He then boarded an Air India flight for London with Billy Cox, joining Mitch Mitchell to perform at the Isle of Wight Festival.

European tour

The group then commenced the European leg of the tour. Longing for his new studio and creative outlets, the tour was a commitment that Hendrix was not eager to perform. In Aarhus, Hendrix abandoned his show after only two songs, remarking: "I've been dead a long time". In the months before Hendrix's death, a British music paper alleged that Hendrix had plans to join the band Emerson, Lake & Palmer. On September 6, 1970, his final concert performance, Hendrix was greeted with some booing and jeering by fans at the Isle of Fehmarn Festival in Germany, due to his non-appearance at the end of the previous night's bill (due to the torrential rain and risk of electrocution). Several acts played after he left the stage; later, part of the stage was burnt during the first stage appearance of Ton Steine Scherben. Billy Cox quit the tour and headed home to Memphis, Tennessee, reportedly suffering paranoia after taking LSD or being given it unknowingly, earlier in the tour. A live recording of the concert was later released as ''Live at the Isle of Fehmarn''.

Hendrix returned to London, where he reportedly spoke to Chas Chandler, Eric Burdon, and others about leaving his manager, Michael Jeffery. Hendrix's last public performance was an informal jam at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club in Soho with Burdon and his latest band, War. Much of this was recorded on a Sony cassette recorder by Bill Baker, of Shepherds Bush, London, then aged 20, who was present throughout the entire performance. Two Hendrix tracks from this recording, "Mother Earth" and "Tobacco Road", were later included, without permission from Baker, on a bootleg LP, ''Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window?'', produced in the mid-to-late 1970s, and on an audio tape of poor quality that went into circulation some years later. It was not until 2009, however, that the entire recording entered general circulation within the collecting community. This was remastered in California in December 2010 and includes tracks from the same night's performance by Eric Burdon's War. This is the last known recording of Jimi Hendrix, who died approximately 24 hours later.

Death

Early on September 18, 1970, Jimi Hendrix died in London. He had spent the latter part of the previous evening at a party and was picked up at close to 3:00 by girlfriend Monika Dannemann and driven to her flat at the Samarkand Hotel, 22 Lansdowne Crescent, Notting Hill. From autopsy data and statements by friends about the evening of September 17, it has been estimated that he died sometime after 3:00, possibly before 4:00, but also possibly later, though no estimate was made at the autopsy, or inquest.

Dannemann claimed in her original testimony that after they returned to her lodgings the evening before, Hendrix, unknown to her, had taken nine of her prescribed Vesparax sleeping pills. The normal medical dose was a half to one tablet as stated in the literature, but Hendrix was unfamiliar with this very strong Belgian brand. According to surgeon John Bannister, the doctor who initially attended to him, Hendrix had asphyxiated in his own vomit, mainly red wine which had filled his airways. Bannister's statement was made in January 1992 to Harry Shapiro, co-author of ''Electric Gypsy'', a book which also featured accusations of malpractice by Monika Dannemann in regards to Bannister's not performing a tracheotomy on Hendrix. He appears to have been using the amount of wine in his system as a reason for not performing a tracheotomy. He was reprimanded for two counts of medical malpractice, and struck off the medical register on 28 April 1992 for fraud. No one else at the time, the other two doctors, the ambulance men, or the police mentioned wine. The only mention of wine was by Monika much earlier, in ''Electric Gypsy'' (which Bannister had read), and that Hendrix had drunk some with food earlier that evening and also by Harvey at his, again, much earlier party, which were both several hours prior to death. The autopsy found very little alcohol in his system. The autopsy never mentioned wine, only vomited matter.

Until her death, Dannemann publicly claimed that she had only discovered that her lover had been sick at 11:00 a.m., but he was breathing, though unconscious and unresponsive (The ambulance was called at 11:18 and arrived 11:27). And that Hendrix was alive when placed in the back of the ambulance at approximately 11:30, and that she rode with him on the way to the hospital.

The ambulance crew later denied she was even there; additionally, Dannemann's comments about the timing of some events that morning often differed in places, varying from interview to interview.

Police and ambulance statements reveal that there was no one but Hendrix in the flat when they arrived at 11:27 a.m., and not only was he dead when they arrived on the scene, but was fully clothed and had been dead for some time.

Later, Dannemen claimed that former road managers Gerry Stickels and Eric Barrett had been present before the ambulance was called. and had removed some of Hendrix's possessions, including some of his most recent messages. Lyrics written by Hendrix, which were found in the apartment, led Eric Burdon to make a premature announcement on the BBC-TV program ''24 Hours'' that he believed Hendrix had committed suicide. Burdon often claimed he had been telephoned by Dannemann after she discovered that Hendrix failed to wake up.

In 1996, Monika Dannemann committed suicide shortly after being found guilty of contempt of court for repeating a libel against Kathy Etchingham, who had been a girlfriend of Hendrix in the 1960s.

Allegations of murder

A former Animals "roadie", James "Tappy" Wright, published a book in May 2009 claiming Hendrix's manager, Mike Jeffery, admitted to him that he had Hendrix killed because the rock star wanted to end his management contract. John Bannister, one of the doctors who attended to him in 1970 stated in 2009 that it "sounded plausible". Bannister was struck off the Medical register in 1992 for fraud. In 2011 Bob Levine, Wright's long term business associate and Mike Jeffery's assistant manager in N.Y., said he knows that Wright made up these stories to sell his book, that Jeffery didn't have insurance on Hendrix, but that he merely countersigned the Warner Bros. policy that Warner's had taken out as standard practice.

"There was a freak storm across Mallorca and all the phone lines were down. Somebody told Mike that Jimi had been trying to phone him. The first call that got through was to say Jimi was dead. Mike was terribly upset at the thought of Jimi not being able to get through to him." – Trixie Sullivan, secretary/assistant for Mike Jeffery

Fashion

Hendrix was well known for his unique sense of fashion and wardrobe and his Dylan-esque (c. 1966) hairstyle. A set of hair curlers was one of the few possessions that traveled with him to England when he was first discovered in 1966. When his first advance check arrived, Hendrix immediately took to the streets of London in search of clothing at famous boutiques like I Was Lord Kitchener's Valet and Granny Takes a Trip, both of which specialized in vintage fashion. He purchased at least two army dress uniform jackets including a (possibly antique) jacket styled in imitation of a Hussar's pelisse, adorned with tasseled ropes. A group of policemen once ordered him to remove the other, a Royal Veterinary Corps dress jacket, saying it was an offense to the men who had worn it.

Many photographs of Hendrix show him wearing various scarves, rings, medallions, and brooches, and in the early days occasionally badges (pins or buttons) that professed his support for the hippie movement or his fascination with Bob Dylan. He initially wore a dark suit and plain silk shirts that progressively became "louder" and more psychedelically patterned. He later favored a bright blue velvet suit, then a bright red one, antique military dress jackets, a very broadly striped suit, psychedelically patterned silk jackets, various exotic waistcoats and brightly colored flared trousers. At Monterey, he wore a hand-painted silk jacket by Chris Jagger (Mick Jagger's brother) and a bright pink feather boa. In late 1967 he started to wear a wide-brimmed Western style hat (brand name "The Westerner"). It was adorned with a narrow purple band and various brooches, as shown in the original ''Jimi Plays Monterey'' film. This hat was stolen in 1968, and replaced later with another, crowned variously with a longer purple scarf, a star-like brooch in front and a set of silver bangles, sometimes with an angled feather, though he went hatless for protracted periods after this.

From late 1968 he began tying scarves to one leg and one arm, and in mid-1969 he gave up the hat for bandanas. He started wearing increasingly fantastic custom-made stage costume with long trailing sleeves, culminating in his African-styled "Fire Angel" outfit that he wore throughout most of his final "Cry Of Love" tour, until it began to come apart during the Isle of Wight concert. He appeared in this outfit only once more (in just the jacket) at the disastrous concert in Aarhus, Denmark. His only non-work-related vacation was a two-week trip to Morocco in July 1969 with friends Colette Mimram, Stella Benabou (the then-wife of producer Alan Douglas), and Deering Howe. Upon his return Hendrix decorated his Greenwich Village apartment with Moroccan ''objets d'art'' and fabrics. Mimram and Benabou created some of Hendrix's most memorable later attire, the shortened blue kimono-style jacket that he wore in three TV appearances and the white fringed jacket, ornamented with blue glass beads, he wore at the Woodstock Festival.

Drug use and women

Hendrix is widely known for and associated with the use of psychedelic drugs, most notably lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), as were many other famous musicians and celebrities of that time. He supposedly had never taken psychedelic drugs until the night he met Linda Keith, but had smoked cannabis and drank alcohol previously. Amphetamines are also recorded as being used by Hendrix during tours. Hendrix was notorious among friends and bandmates for sometimes becoming angry and violent when he drank too much alcohol. Kathy Etchingham spoke of an incident that took place in a London pub in which an intoxicated Hendrix beat her with a public telephone handset because he thought she was calling another man on the pay phone. Carmen Borrero, another girlfriend, says she required stitches after he hit her with a bottle after drinking and becoming jealous. Alcohol was also cited as the cause of Hendrix's 1968 rampage that badly damaged a Stockholm hotel room and led to his arrest. Paul Caruso's friendship with Hendrix ended in 1970 when Hendrix, while under the influence, punched him and accused him of stealing from him.

On May 3, 1969, while checking through Canadian customs at Toronto Pearson International Airport, Hendrix was arrested when small amounts of heroin and hashish were found in his luggage. After being released on a CAN$10,000 cash bail the same day, only four hours before his show was to begin, (and being required to appear in court at a later date), the Experience were able to play their concert at Maple Leaf Gardens. In his trial defense, Hendrix claimed that the drugs were slipped into his bag by a fan without his knowledge. He was acquitted.

He was by all accounts promiscuous, having casual sex with many women.

Gravesite

Hendrix's body was returned to Seattle and he was interred in Greenwood Memorial Park, Renton, Washington. As the popularity of Hendrix and his music grew over the decades following his death, concerns began to mount over fans damaging the adjoining graves at Greenwood, and the growing, extended Hendrix family further prompted his father to create an expanded memorial site separate from other burial sites in the park. The memorial was announced in late 1999, but Al Hendrix's deteriorating health led to delays and he died two months before its scheduled completion in 2002. Later that year, the remains of Jimi Hendrix, his father Al Hendrix, and grandmother Nora Rose Moore Hendrix were moved to the new site. The headstone contains a depiction of a Fender Stratocaster guitar, the instrument he was most famous for using —– although the guitar is shown right-side up, rather than the way Hendrix played it, upside down (left-handed).

The memorial is a granite dome supported by three pillars under which Jimi Hendrix and other family members are interred. Hendrix's autograph is inscribed at the base of each pillar, while two stepped entrances and one ramped entrance provide access to the dome's center where the original Stratocaster adorned headstone has been incorporated into a statue pedestal. A granite sundial complete with brass gnomon adjoins the dome, along with over 50 family plots that surround the central structure, half of which are currently adorned with raised granite headstones.

To date, the memorial remains incomplete: brass accents for the dome and a large brass statue of Hendrix were announced as being under construction in Italy, but since 2002 no information as to the status of the project has been revealed to the public. A memorial statue of Jimi playing a Stratocaster stands near the corner of Broadway and Pine Streets in Seattle.

In May 2006, the city of Seattle honored Hendrix with the re-naming of a park near Seattle's Colman School in the Central District.

Recordings

Hendrix's recordings were originally released in North America on Reprise Records (a division of Warner Communications) from 1967 until 1993 and were released internationally (outside of US and Canada) on Polydor Records. (Because it was recorded to settle a legal dispute, the ''Band of Gypsys'' album was released on Capitol Records in US and Canada.) British releases of all his albums up to and including ''The Cry Of Love'' were first issued on the independent label Track Records, which was originally created by the managers of The Who. The label was later absorbed by Polydor.

In 1994, the Hendrix family prevailed in its long standing legal attempt to gain control of Jimi's music, and subsequently licensed the recordings to MCA Records (later Universal Music) through the family-run company Experience Hendrix. In August 2009, Experience Hendrix announced that it had entered a new licensing agreement with Sony Music Entertainment's Legacy Recordings division which would take effect in 2010.

Unfinished work and posthumous releases

Reports that Hendrix's tapes for a concept album ''Black Gold'' had been stolen and lost from the London flat, are incorrect. Hendrix gave those tapes to Mitch Mitchell at the Isle of Wight Festival three weeks prior to his death. They are now in the possession of Experience Hendrix LLC.

Hendrix's unfinished album was partly released as the 1971 title ''The Cry of Love''. The album was well received and charted in several countries. However, the album's producers, Mitchell and Kramer, would later complain that they were unable to make use of all the tracks they wanted. This was due to some tracks being used for 1971's ''Rainbow Bridge'' and 1972's ''War Heroes'' for contractual reasons.

Material from ''The Cry of Love'' was rereleased in 1997 as ''First Rays of the New Rising Sun'', along with the rest of the tracks that Mitchell and Kramer wanted to include.

Many of Hendrix's personal items, tapes, and many pages of lyrics and poems are now in the hands of private collectors and have attracted considerable sums at the occasional auctions. These materials surfaced after two employees, under the instructions of Mike Jeffery, removed items from Hendrix's Greenwich Village apartment following his death.

In 2010, Legacy Recordings and Experience Hendrix LLC launched the 2010 Jimi Hendrix Catalog Project, starting with the release of ''Valleys of Neptune'' in March. Legacy has also released deluxe CD/DVD editions of the Hendrix albums ''Are You Experienced'', ''Axis: Bold As Love'', ''Electric Ladyland'' and ''First Rays of the New Rising Sun'', as well as the 1968 compilation album ''Smash Hits''.

Legacy

Musical

Hendrix synthesized many styles in creating his musical voice and his guitar style was unique, later to be abundantly imitated by others. Despite his hectic touring schedule and notorious perfectionism, he was a prolific recording artist and left behind more than 300 unreleased recordings.

His career and death grouped him with Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison and Brian Jones as one of the 27 Club, a group including iconic 1960s rock stars who suffered drug-related deaths at the age of 27 within a two year period, leaving legacies in death that have eclipsed the popularity and influence they experienced during their lifetimes. Kurt Cobain and Amy Winehouse were later added to this list, also dying at the age of 27.

Musically, Hendrix did much to further the development of the electric guitar's repertoire, establishing it as a unique sonic source, rather than merely an amplified version of the acoustic guitar. Likewise, his feedback, wah-wah and fuzz-laden soloing moved guitar distortion well beyond mere novelty, incorporating other effects pedals and units specifically designed for him by his sound technician Roger Mayer (such as the Octavia and Uni-Vibe) with dramatic results.

Hendrix affected popular music with similar profundity; along with earlier bands such as The Who and Cream, he established a sonically heavy yet technically proficient bent to rock music as a whole, significantly furthering the development of hard rock and paving the way for heavy metal. He took blues to another level. His music has also had a great influence on funk and the development of funk rock especially through the guitarists Ernie Isley of The Isley Brothers and Eddie Hazel of Funkadelic, Prince, John Frusciante former member of the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Jesse Johnson of The Time. His influence even extends to many hip hop artists, including Questlove, Chuck D of Public Enemy, Ice-T (who covered "Hey Joe" with his heavy metal band Body Count), El-P and Wyclef Jean. Miles Davis was also deeply impressed by Hendrix and compared his improvisational skills with those of saxophonist John Coltrane, and Davis would later want guitarists in his bands to emulate Hendrix. Hendrix was ranked number 3 on VH1's ''100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock'' behind Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin.

Hendrix's guitar style also had significant influence upon ZZ Top guitarist Billy Gibbons, fellow Texas guitar legend Stevie Ray Vaughan, and later on Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett and Pearl Jam's Mike McCready, among others.

Hendrix was ranked number 3 on VH1's list of the 100 Greatest Artists of Rock N' Roll, behind the Rolling Stones and the Beatles. He has been voted by ''Rolling Stone'', ''Guitar World'', and a number of other magazines and polls as the best electric guitarist of all time. Conversely and with some modesty, Hendrix when asked in a Rolling Stone interview, "How does it feel to be the greatest guitarist in the world?", Hendrix replied, "I don't know, go ask Rory Gallagher."

In 2004, ''Rolling Stone'' ranked him number 6 on their list of the 100 greatest artists of all time.

''Guitar World'''s readers voted six of Hendrix's solos among the top "100 Greatest" of all time: "Purple Haze" (70), "The Star-Spangled Banner" (52), "Machine Gun" (32), "Little Wing" (18), "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" (11) and "All Along the Watchtower" (5).

In 1992, Hendrix was posthumously awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

Financial and legal

When Al Hendrix died of congestive heart failure in 2002, his will stipulated that Experience Hendrix, LLC was to exist as a trust designed to distribute profits to a list of Hendrix family beneficiaries. Upon his death, it was revealed that Al had signed a revision to his will which removed Hendrix's brother Leon Hendrix as a beneficiary. A 2004 probate lawsuit merged Leon's challenge to the will with charges from other Hendrix family beneficiaries that Janie Hendrix, Al's adopted daughter, was improperly handling the company finances. The suit argued that Janie and a cousin of Jimi Hendrix (Robert Hendrix) paid themselves exorbitant salaries and covered their own mortgages and personal expenses from the company's coffers while the beneficiaries went without payment and the Hendrix gravesite in Renton went uncompleted.

Janie and Robert's defense was that the company was not profitable yet, and that their salary and benefits were justified given the work that they put into running the company. Leon charged that Janie bilked Al Hendrix, then old and frail, into signing the revised will, and sought to have the previous will reinstated. The defense argued that Al willingly removed Leon from his will because of Leon's problems with alcohol and gambling. In early 2005, presiding judge Jeffrey Ramsdell handed down a ruling that left the final will intact, but replaced Janie and Robert's role at the financial helm of Experience Hendrix with an independent trustee.

On October 5, 2011 the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in a case ''Golan v. Holder'' concerning the 1994 U.S. federal law that protected foreign copyrights. At stake in the outcome of this case is whether previously unprotected foreign works could be suddenly copyrighted and withdrawn from public domain. In a hypothetical argument Justice John Roberts asked "what about Jimi Hendrix?" and if Hendrix's rendition of the "Star Spangled Banner" at Woodstock violated copyright protection or was protected under public domain. Solicitor General Donald Verrilli, who defended the 1994 law, stated "maybe Jimi Hendrix could claim fair use". The music of the "Star Spangled Banner" was composed by an English musician, John Stafford Smith in the mid 1760s. The lyrics of the "Star Spangled Banner" were written by American Francis Scott Key in 1814 and the song became America's National anthem in 1931.

The Jimi Hendrix Foundation

In 1987, Leon Hendrix commissioned the James (Jimi) Marshall Hendrix Foundation. This foundation is based in Renton, Washington. Though run for some time by Jimi's brother Leon Hendrix, in August 2006 Leon asked a childhood friend of Jimi Hendrix – James (Jimmy) Williams, to take control of the Foundation.

Guitar

Fender Stratocaster

Hendrix owned and used a variety of guitars during his career. However, his guitar of choice (and the instrument that became most associated with him), was the Fender Stratocaster. He started playing the model in 1966 and thereafter used it prevalently in his stage performances and recordings.

Hendrix bought many Stratocasters and gave some away as gifts. The original sunburst Stratocaster that Hendrix burnt at the Astoria in 1967, and that he kept as a souvenir, was given to Frank Zappa by a Hendrix roadie at the 1968 Miami Pop Festival; Zappa assumed it was the one Hendrix had played there.

Hendrix used right-handed guitars, turned upside down and restrung for left-hand playing. This had an important effect on his guitar sound: because of the slant of the Strat's bridge pickup, his lowest string had a bright sound while his highest string had a mellow sound, the opposite of the Stratocaster's intended design. Heavy use of the tremolo bar necessitated frequent tuning; Hendrix often asked the audience for a "minute to tune up", as heard on many live bootlegs of his performances.

In addition to Stratocasters, Hendrix was also photographed playing Fender Jazzmasters, Duosonics, two different Gibson Flying Vs, a Gibson Les Paul, three Gibson SGs, a Gretsch Corvette he used at the 1967 Curtis Knight sessions and miming with a right-strung Fender Jaguar on the ''Top of the Pops'' TV show, as well as several other brands. Hendrix borrowed a Fender Telecaster from Noel Redding to record "Hey Joe" and "Purple Haze", used a white Gibson SG Custom for his performances on ''The Dick Cavett Show'' in the summer of 1969, and the Isle of Wight film shows him playing his second Gibson Flying V. While Jimi had previously owned a Flying V that he had painted with a psychedelic design, the Flying V used at the Isle of Wight was a unique custom left-handed guitar with gold plated hardware, a bound fingerboard and "split-diamond" fret markers that were not found on other 1960s-era Flying Vs.

On December 4, 2006, one of Hendrix's 1968 Fender Stratocaster guitars with a sunburst design was sold at a Christie's auction for US$168,000.

Other instruments

Hendrix owned a Coral electric sitar that later wound up in the possession of Peter Frampton, who used it on tour during David Bowie's 1987 world tour.

Amplifiers and effects

Hendrix was a catalyst in the development of modern guitar effects pedals. His high volume and use of feedback required robust and powerful amplifiers. For the first few rehearsals he used Vox and Fender amplifiers. Sitting in with Cream, Hendrix played through a new range of high-powered guitar amps being made by London drummer turned audio engineer Jim Marshall, and they proved perfect for his needs. Along with the Stratocaster, the Marshall stack and amplifiers were crucial in shaping his heavily overdriven sound, enabling him to master the use of feedback as a musical effect, and he created a "definitive vocabulary for rock guitar".

While his mainstays were the Arbiter Fuzz Face and a Vox wah-wah pedal, Hendrix experimented with guitar effects as well. He had a fruitful association with engineer Roger Mayer who later went on to make the Axis fuzz unit, the Octavia octave doubler and several other devices based on units Mayer had created or tweaked for Hendrix. The Japanese-made Uni-Vibe, designed to simulate the modulation effects of the rotating Leslie speaker, provided a rich phasing sound with a speed control pedal, and is heard on the Band of Gypsys track "Machine Gun", which highlights use of the Uni-Vibe, Octavia and Fuzz Face.

The Hendrix sound combined high volume and high power, feedback manipulation, and a range of cutting-edge guitar effects. He was also known for his trick playing, which included playing with only his right (fretting) hand and using his teeth or playing behind his back and between his legs. Hendrix had large hands and characteristically used his thumb to fret bass notes, leaving his fingers free to play melodic lines on top. A clear demonstration of this thumb technique can be witnessed in the Woodstock video; during the song "Red House" there are closeups of Hendrix's fretting hand.

Discography

The Jimi Hendrix Experience

''Are You Experienced'' (1967)

''Axis: Bold as Love'' (1967)

''Electric Ladyland'' (1968)

Jimi Hendrix/Band of Gypsys

''Band of Gypsys'' (1970) [recorded live]

Posthumous studio albums

''The Cry of Love'' (1971)

''Rainbow Bridge'' (1971)

''War Heroes'' (1972)

''Loose Ends'' (1974)

''Crash Landing'' (1975)

''Midnight Lightning'' (1975)

''Nine to the Universe'' (1980)

''Radio One'' (1988)

''First Rays of the New Rising Sun'' (1997)

''Valleys of Neptune'' (2010)

See also

Eire Apparent

Electric Church

Rainbow Bridge (film) Maui, Hawaii, 1970

Citations

Further reading

Charles R. Cross, ''Room Full Of Mirrors: A Biography Of Jimi Hendrix, 2005: ISBN 1401300286

Gary Geldeart & Steve Rodham, "From The Benjamin Franklin Studios 3rd Edition Parts 1, 2 & 3" 2008

Curtis Knight, ''Jimi: An Intimate Biography of Jimi Hendrix'', Praegar Publishers, New York, 1974. The book includes ''A Jimi Hendrix Discography'', compiled by John McKellar.

John Kruth, ''Bright Moments: The Life & Legacy of Rahsaan Roland Kirk'', 2004: ISBN 1566491053

Mark Lewisohn, ''The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions'', Hamlyn 1988: ISBN 0600612074. See pp. 164–5 re Apple recording studio.

Ken Matesich, ''Jimi Hendrix: A Discography'', 1982

David Stubbs, ''Jimi Hendrix: Voodoo Child: The Stories Behind Every Song'', 2003

Brad Tolinski and Ross Halfin, ''Classic Hendrix: The Ultimate Hendrix Experience'', Genesis Publications 2004

External links

The Jimi Hendrix Foundation

Jimi Hendrix at MySpace

Jimi Hendrix Exhibition – slideshow by ''The First Post''

"Jimi Hendrix: 'You never told me he was that good'" Ed Vulliamy, ''The Guardian''

Category:1942 births Category:1970 deaths Category:African American guitarists Category:African American rock musicians Category:African American rock singers Category:African American singer-songwriters Category:Alcohol-related deaths Category:Alcohol-related deaths in England Category:American baritones Category:American expatriates in the United Kingdom Category:American people of Cherokee descent Category:Drug-related deaths Category:Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners Category:Lead guitarists Category:Musicians from Seattle, Washington Category:Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Category:The Jimi Hendrix Experience members Category:United States Army soldiers Category:People from Renton, Washington Category:Psychedelic rock musicians Category:American rock guitarists Category:American record producers Category:American funk guitarists

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Name	Dave Mason
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	David Thomas Mason
Born	May 10, 1946Worcester, England
Instrument	Guitar, vocals, bass guitar, keyboards, sitar
Genre	Rock, folk-rock, pop, psychedelic rock
Occupation	Session musician, singer-songwriter
Years active	1960s–present
Label	Blue Thumb, Columbia
Associated acts	Traffic, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, George Harrison, Fleetwood Mac, Cass Elliot
Website	}}

David Thomas "Dave" Mason (born 10 May 1946) is an English singer, songwriter, and guitarist from Worcester, who first found fame with the rock band Traffic. In his long career, Mason has played and recorded with many of the era's most notable rock musicians, including Jimi Hendrix, Delaney Bramlett, Michael Jackson, The Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, George Harrison, Fleetwood Mac and Cass Elliot. Mason's best known song is "Feelin' Alright", recorded by Traffic in 1968 and later by many other performers, including Joe Cocker, who had a major hit with the song in 1969. For Traffic, he also wrote "Hole in My Shoe", a psychedelic pop song that became a hit in its own right. "We Just Disagree", Mason's 1977 solo hit written by Jim Krueger, has become a staple of Oldies and Adult Contemporary radio playlists.

Musical career

Mason's tenure with Traffic was disjointed. He co-founded the group, but left following the recording of their debut album, ''Mr. Fantasy'' (1967), only to rejoin halfway through the sessions for their next album, ''Traffic'' (1968), after which the band broke up. ''Last Exit'' (1969), a compilation of odds and ends, features little material by Mason apart from his song "Just For You". Traffic later re-formed without Mason, although he briefly toured with the band in 1971 as captured on ''Welcome to the Canteen''.

Mason was a friend of legendary guitarist Jimi Hendrix, whose career was launched in England in 1966. Hendrix first heard the song "All Along the Watchtower", by Bob Dylan, at a party to which he was invited by Mason, and promptly decided to record his own version. That night he recorded the song at Olympic Studios, South West London, with Mason playing acoustic guitar. It was released on the ''Electric Ladyland'' album in September 1968. When the song came out as a single in October, it hit #5 on the UK Singles Chart and was a Top 40 in the U.S. Mason later recorded his own version of the song on his self-titled 1974 album, ''Dave Mason'', with Bob Glaub on bass.

Mason appears on the Rolling Stones' 1968 album ''Beggars Banquet'', although uncredited. Mason's connection was Jimmy Miller. Miller served as producer for the Stones and Traffic. In 1969–1970, Mason toured with Delaney and Bonnie and Friends along with Eric Clapton and George Harrison. Mason appears on George Harrison's 1970 solo set ''All Things Must Pass''. In 1970, Dave was slated to be the second guitarist for Derek and the Dominos, but left the group before they entered the studio. He co-wrote the song "Big Thirst" on ''Oh How We Danced'' by Jim Capaldi(Mason's bandmate in the Hellions, Deep Feeling, and Traffic), as well as playing the guitar solo on "Don't be a Hero".

After Traffic, Mason pursued a moderately successful solo career. His first single, "Just for You" had "Little Woman" as the B-side, with Family backing him, following his production of Family's first album. His song writing and sound culminating on his 1970 album ''Alone Together'' with backing of drummer Jim Gordon. In the early 1970s he enlisted his friend, singer-songwriter Ray Kennedy to tour and write for his next album. In the mid-late 1970s, he toured and recorded with guitarist Jim Krueger, keyboardist Mike Finnigan, bassist Gerald Johnson and drummer Rick Jaeger. The 1976 album, ''Certified Live'' is a display of Mason's songwriting, arranging, vocal and guitar talents. In 1977, Mason had his biggest hit with "We Just Disagree", written by Jim Krueger. Reaching #12 on the Billboard Hot 100, it was later successfully recorded by country singer Billy Dean. Mason's 1980 single, "Save Me", featured a duet with Michael Jackson.

For a brief period in the 1990s, Mason joined Fleetwood Mac and released the album ''Time'' with them in 1995.

In 2002, he released the DVD, ''Dave Mason: Live at Sunrise''. It featured a live performance at the Sunrise Musical Theater in Sunrise, Florida, backed by Bobby Scumaci on keyboards, Johnne Sambataro on rhythm guitar (who rejoined Mason for the DVD, after previously touring with him in 1978), Richard Campbell on bass and Greg Babcock on drums.

At one time, Mason lived in the Ojai Valley in California. As of 2005, he was performing about 100 shows a year with the Dave Mason Band across the U.S. and Canada.

Philanthropy

Mason is a proponent of music education for children. In 2005, he signed on as an official supporter of Little Kids Rock, a non-profit organization that provides free musical instruments and lessons to children in public schools throughout the U.S. He sits on the organization's board of directors as an honorary member. Mason also is a founding board member of Yoga Blue, a non profit organization devoted to teaching yoga and other holistic practices to those recovering from substance abuse and other self destructive disorders. Mason, together with his longtime friend John Niekrash, is also involved in the program Work Vessels for Veterans (WVFV), an all volunteer movement that provides veterans transitioning to civilian work with tools that have ranged from computers to boats to tractors.

Discography

Studio albums

1970 ''Alone Together''

1971 ''Dave Mason & Cass Elliot''

1972 ''Headkeeper''

1973 ''It's Like You Never Left''

1974 ''Dave Mason''

1975 ''Split Coconut''

1977 ''Let It Flow''

1978 ''Mariposa De Oro''

1980 ''Old Crest on a New Wave''

1987 ''Two Hearts''

1987 ''Some Assembly Required''

2008 ''26 Letters – 12 Notes''

Live albums

1973 ''Dave Mason is Alive!''

1976 ''Certified Live''

1999 ''Live: 40,000 Headmen Tour (w/ Jim Capaldi)''

2002 ''Live at Perkins' Palace|Live At Perkins Palace (originally recorded 1981)''

2002 ''Dave Mason: Live at Sunrise''

2007 ''XM Live (originally released in 2005 on Dave Mason's website, released to general public 2007)''

Compilations

1972 ''Scrapbook''

1974 ''The Best Of Dave Mason''

1978 ''The Very Best of Dave Mason''

1981 ''The Best of Dave Mason''

1995 ''Long Lost Friend: The Very Best of Dave Mason''

1999 ''Ultimate Collection''

2006 ''The Definitive Collection''

Singles

1968 "Just for You" b/w "Little Woman"

1970 "Only You Know and I Know" US #42

1970 "Satin Red and Black Velvet Woman" US #97 (was only a 45 rpm B-side until it was released on the Ultimate Collection CD in 1999)

1972 "To Be Free" US #121

1977 "So High (Rock Me Baby and Roll Me Away)" US #89

1977 "We Just Disagree" US #12, US AC #19

1978 "Mystic Traveller"

1978 "Don't It Make You Wonder"

1978 "Let It Go, Let It Flow" US #45

1978 "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?" US #39

1980 "Save Me"(With Michael Jackson) US #71

1988 "Dreams I Dream" (duet with Phoebe Snow) US AC #11

References

External links

Dave Mason's official website

Work Vessels for Veterans official website

Category:1946 births Category:Living people Category:English songwriters Category:English rock guitarists Category:Delaney & Bonnie & Friends members Category:Fleetwood Mac members Category:Traffic members Category:People from Worcester

cs:Dave Mason de:Dave Mason fr:Dave Mason nl:Dave Mason pt:Dave Mason ru:Мэйсон, Дэвид Томас fi:Dave Mason sv:Dave Mason uk:Дейв Мейсон