The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Are You Experience
On this episode, we tackle a BIG album, the 1967 debut LP by the Jimi Hendrix Experience, Are You Experienced.
Heralded by many as the greatest rock guitarist of all time, to many Jimi Hendrix, along with his band the Jimi Hendrix Experience (bassist Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell) seemingly came out of nowhere. However, in reality, Hendrix more than paid his dues, playing in relative obscurity backing a myriad of musicians on the "Chitlin' Circuit," including the Isely Bothers and Little Richard.
Endlessly restless, his stints with these bands was often short lived because he would eventually tire of being in the background and get fired for upstaging the star he was hired to support. He was finally "discovered" in New York by Chas Chandler (bassist of the Animals) who convinced him to go to England where he finally found the success that had alluded him in his own country.
But Are You Experienced proves Hendrix was more than just an amazing guitarist. It showcases what a gifted singer (if a shy and underappreciated one) and songwriter he was. It underscores his imagination and creativity in how he used the studio in his quest to find new sounds from his guitar. After its release, Hendrix became a star and would eventually become the highest paid rock musician of the era. While he would continue to stretch the boundaries of what both the guitar and the studio could do over his next two LPs, Are You Experienced is where it all began, and the the music within sounds as innovative and imaginative as it did in the over the five-plus decades since its release.
No recommendation for this episode.
THINGS WE DISCUSSED ON THIS EPISODE
Lucile Hendrix with a baby Jimi.
Al Hendrix with a young Jimi.
The Rocking Kings circa 1960. That’s a teenage Hendrix on the left playing his very first electric guitar, a white Supro Ozark.
Hendrix posing with his second electric guitar: a 1959 Silvertone Danelctro.
While in the service, Hendrix met Billy Cox, who as luck would have it, was a bassist. They formed the Kasuals with a rotating cast of other service men. After they were both discharged, they continued to play together as the King Kasuals
Before striking out on his own, Hendrix played and toured with a lot of well know musicians, including Curtis Knight & the Squires (top left), Little Richard (top right), Wilson Pickett (bottom left) and the Isley Brothers (bottom right).
In 1965, Little Richard’s backing band the Upsetters, of which Hendrix was a part, backed up Buddy & Stacey when they appeared on Night Train an r&b and soul program filmed in Nashville, Tennessee. This is the earliest know television appearance by Hendrix.
While in New York, Hendrix and his band Jimmy James and the Blue Flames had a residency at the Cafe Wha? in Greenwich Village where he played with a 15 year old guitarist named Randy Wolfe, rechristened Randy California by Hendrix to avoid confusion with another Randy in the band. California would later make his name as the guitarist for the band Spirit.
Keith Richard’s girlfriend Linda Keith was one of Jimi’s biggest champions, trying to get various producers and record execs to check him out at the Cafe Wha?
One person that Linda Keith did get to see Hendrix was Chas Chandler, soon to be the ex bassist for Animals, who was looking to get into management and productions. He was blown away by what he saw and knew that Hendrix would be huge if he would relocate to the UK, which Chandler convinced him to do.
Kathy Mary Etchingham was Jimi’s girlfriend in London. She inspired him to write “The Wind Cries Mary” after she walked out on him after an argument they had.
The Jimi Hendrix Experience in all their hairy glory. Hendrix is flanked by drummer Mitch Mitchell on the left and bassist Noel Redding on the right.
One of the earliest recorded performances of the Jimi Hendrix Experience is the band performing “Wild Thing” in France in May of 1967.
The Jimi Hendrix Experience performing “Hey Joe” at the Monterey Pop festival.
Hendrix was still relatively unknown in America at the time of the festival. He and the band only made it on to the bill after Paul McCartney (who was on the festival’s organizing committee) lobbied hard for the Experience to be included. Their performance essentially marked the debut of the Jimi Hendrix Experience in America. His set ended with Hendrix setting his guitar on fire during the band’s version of the Trogg’s “Wild Thing”.
Jimi Hendrix on acoustic guitar performing "Hear My Train A Comin'" live at Bruce Fleming Photo Studio, London in December of 1967.
