Guitar legend Jimi Hendrix was born in Seattle. Hendrix grew up
playing guitar, imitating blues greats like Muddy Waters as well
as early rockers.
He joined the army in 1959 and became a paratrooper but was
honorably discharged in 1961 after an injury that exempted him
from duty in Vietnam.
In the early 1960s, Hendrix worked as a pickup guitarist, backing musicians including Little Richard, B.B. King, Ike and Tina Turner,
and Sam Cooke.
In 1964, he moved to New York and played in coffeehouses, where bassist Chas Chandler of the British group the Animals heard
him. Chandler arranged to manage Hendrix and brought him to
London in 1966, where they created the Jimi Hendrix Experience
with bassist Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell.
The band’s first single, “Hey Joe,” hit No. 6 on the British pop
In 1967, the Jimi Hendrix Experience made its first U.S. appearance,
at the Monterey Pop Festival.
Hendrix in the Army in 1961
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/geraldford-589cf3da5f9b58819c71c4c0.jpg)
