Jimi Hendrix Biography And Top 10 Songs by Andy Jackson

I have listened to Jimi Hendrix since I can remember and he was probably the first person I ever wanted to be when I was a kid. I love the guitar but I can play it about as much as I can walk on the moon. When I was much younger I attempted to take guitar lessons, but I didn't have my own guitar and had to use my dads. The problem with that is, I'm left handed and my dad right handed and so we had to keep switching the strings about which my dad moaned at. There was no way I could play the guitar left handed like Jimi so I eventually gave up and decided to appreciate the guitar skills in others and focus my energy on other things.

Jimi was born on November 27th 1942 in Seattle, Washington and is remembered as one of the greatest guitarists of all time (the greatest to me). Jimi first became famous within the USA (his home country) and ended his career in London, England. Jimi made success in the US when he performed at the Monteray Pop Festival in 1967, he later headlined at the Woodstock Festival in 1969. Jimi had many influences to his music, including Muddy Waters, B.B. King, Curtis Mayfield and even Pete Townshend (The Who) and was also influenced by his Native American heritage.

Over the years Jimi helped to revolutionize music by developing several guitar techniques (using overdriven amplifiers to produce guitar feedback), and was one of the first performers to use stereophonic and phasing effects in the recording studio. Jimi is also well known for his flamboyant dress sense and stage performances.

Jimi was found dead in the basement flat of the Samarkand Hotel in London (I went to see for myself on a visit) and the cause of death was said to be he had died by drowning on his own vomit after drinking red wine and taking several sleeping pills. The circumstances leading upto Jimi's death still remain somewhat a mystery and the details vary from report to report.

Jimi was inducted into the Rock N' Roll Hall Of Fame in 1992 and holds many other achievements such as Melody Maker' pop musician of the year 1967 and 1968, Rolling Stone Magazines number 1 of their 100 Greatest Guitarists Of All Time, and also has his star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame.

Jimi released several studio albums (some notable ones being Are You Experienced, Axis: Bold as Love, Rainbow Bridge and Electric Ladyland) and has also released several live albums (Band Of Gypsys, Isle of Wight, and Bleeding Heart to name a few). Some of Jimi's most popular singles were: Hey Joe, Stone Free, Purple Haze, All Along the Watchtower, Foxy Lady, Voodoo Child and Little Wing.

There have been many artists and bands who have covered Jimi's songs over the years (The Cure - Purple Haze, Stone Free - Eric Clapton, Bold As Love - The Pretenders) and there have been also several tribute albums released in his honor.

My Top 10 Jimi Hendrix Songs are:

01. All Along The Watchtower 02. Hey Joe 03. Purple Haze 04. Voodoo Child 05. Crosstown Traffic 06. Little Wing 07. Stepping Stone 08. Look Over Yonder 09. Izabella 10. Spanish Castle Magic