Academic argument

Academic Argument

ED-2

01

Background Information

Jimi Hendrix

James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix, sometimes known as Johnny Allen Hendrix, was an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter who lived from November 27, 1942, until September 18, 1970. Despite the fact that his mainstream career lasted only four years, he is considered as one of the most important electric guitarists in popular music history and among the most illustrious artists of the 20th century. He is referred to as "perhaps the finest instrumentalist in the history of rock music" by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.1 Hendrix, who was born in Seattle, Washington, picked up the guitar when he was 15 years old. He joined the US Army in 1961 but was released the following year. Soon after, he relocated to Clarksville and then Nashville, Tennessee, where he started performing chitlin' engagements. Through these jobs, he was able to join the Isley Brothers' backing band and eventually Little Richard's band, with whom he worked until the middle of 1965. Later, after bassist Chas Chandler of the Animals became his manager, he performed with Curtis Knight and the Squires before relocating to England in late 1966. With the Jimi Hendrix Experience, Hendrix achieved three UK top ten successes in a short period of time: "Hey Joe," "Purple Haze," and "The Wind Cries Mary." Following his appearance at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967, he rose to stardom in the US, and his third and final studio album, Electric Ladyland, peaked at number one in the US in 1968. Hendrix's sole number-one album and most commercially successful album was the double LP. Prior to his untimely death from barbiturate-related asphyxia in London on September 18, 1970, he was the highest-paid musician in the world2 and headlined the Woodstock Festival in 1969 and the Isle of Wight Festival in 1970.2

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02

Why they're on the list

Jimi Hendrix

Hendrix favored overdriven amplifiers with high volume and gain.3 He was instrumental in developing the previously undesirable technique of guitar amplifier feedback, and helped to popularize use of the wah-wah pedal in mainstream rock.4 He chose to use his thumb to fret the bottom 6th string fundamental notes instead of the typical barre chord fretting approach preferred by most guitarists.5 Using this method, he was able to sustain the chord's root note while playing the melody in the opening bars of "Little Wing." This technique has been described as piano-style, with the other fingers acting as the right hand's melody and the thumb playing the notes a pianist's left hand would play.6 He mastered the ability to play lead lines and rhythm chords simultaneously, giving the auditory impression that more than one guitarist was performing after spending several years playing in front of a trio.7 He was the first artist to incorporate stereophonic phasing effects in rock music recordings.8 Holly George-Warren of Rolling Stone wrote: "Hendrix pioneered the use of the instrument as an electronic sound source. Players before him had experimented with feedback and distortion, but Hendrix turned those effects and others into a controlled, fluid vocabulary every bit as personal as the blues with which he began." 3

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Hendrix combined various musical styles to create his distinctive musical voice and guitar technique, including blues, R&B, soul, British rock, American folk music, 1950s rock and roll, and jazz.9 Musicologist David Moskowitz emphasized the importance of blues music in Hendrix's playing style, and according to authors Steven Roby and Brad Schreiber, "[He] explored the outer reaches of psychedelic rock"10 His influence is evident in a variety of popular music formats, and he has contributed significantly to the development of hard rock, heavy metal, funk, post-punk, grunge11, and hip hop music.12 His lasting influence on modern guitar players is difficult to overstate; his techniques and delivery have been abundantly imitated by others.13 Despite his hectic touring schedule and notorious perfectionism, he was a prolific recording artist who left behind numerous unreleased recordings.14 With annual album sales exceeding those of any year during his lifetime, Hendrix is still as popular as ever more than 40 years after his passing.15 Hendrix also influenced Black Sabbath16, industrial artist Marilyn Manson17, blues legend Stevie Ray Vaughan, Randy Hansen18, Uli Jon Roth19, pop singer Halsey20, Kiss's Ace Frehley21, Metallica's Kirk Hammett, Aerosmith's Brad Whitford22, Judas Priest's Richie Faulkner23, instrumental rock guitarist Joe Satriani, King's X singer/bassist Doug Pinnick24, Frank Zappa/David Bowie/Talking Heads/King Crimson/Nine Inch Nails hired gun Adrian Belew25, and heavy metal virtuoso Yngwie Malmsteen, who said: "[Hendrix] created modern electric playing, without question ... He was the first. He started it all. The rest is history.”26

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"For many", Hendrix was "the preeminent black rocker", according to Jon Caramanica27. Members of the Soulquarians, an experimental black music collective active during the late 1990s and early 2000s, were influenced by the creative freedom in Hendrix's music and extensively used Electric Lady Studios to work on their own music.28 Hendrix won a number of renowned rock music accolades both while alive and after his death. The Melody Maker readers selected him as the Pop Musician of the Year in 1967.29 In 1968, Rolling Stone declared him the Performer of the Year.29 Also in 1968, the City of Seattle gave him the keys to the city.30 Disc & Music Echo newspaper honored him with the World Top Musician of 1969 and in 1970 Guitar Player magazine named him the Rock Guitarist of the Year.31 All things considered, Hendrix was an incredible guitar player that pioneered over driven feedback sounds, inspired many greats, fused and influenced many genres. Together with all of these facts presented it is undeniable that Jimi Hendrix was a truly influencial figure and a hero to many guitarists today.

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References and Bibliography

1) "Biography of the Jimi Hendrix Experience". Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on February 1, 2013. Retrieved February 25, 2013. 2) Cross 2005, p. 255: "Though Jimi was now the highest-paid rock musician in the world–he'd made fourteen thousand dollars a minute for his [May 18, 1969] Madison Square Garden concert"; Shapiro & Glebbeek 1995, p. 220: "Once in New York, at a time [during spring 1970 recording sessions] when he was the highest-paid rock artist in the world". 3)Shadwick 2003, p. 92. 4) Heatley 2009, pp. 104–105: Hendrix helped to popularize use of the wah-wah pedal; Moskowitz 2010, p. 127: Hendrix helped to popularize use of the wah-wah pedal; Shadwick 2003, p. 92: Hendrix was instrumental in developing the previously undesirable technique of guitar feedback; Unterberger 2009, p. 212: Hendrix helped to popularize guitar feedback. 5) Aledort 1995, p. 59 6) Whitehill 1989b, p. 46 7)Unterberger 2009, p. 212 8) Stix 1992, p. 10 9) Moskowitz 2010, p. xiii: Hendrix synthesized R&B and American folk music; Unterberger 2009, p. 227: Hendrix synthesized blues, soul, British rock, 1950s rock and roll, and jazz. 10) Moskowitz 2010, pp. 113–116: Roby & Schreiber 2010, p. 177. 11)Nierenberg, Jacob (January 9, 2019). "Jimi Hendrix's Lost Influence on the '90s Grunge Explosion". Consequence of Sound. Archived from the original on February 13, 2019. Retrieved February 12, 2019.

12) Unterberger 2009, pp. v–vi: Hendrix influenced hard rock, heavy metal, and post-punk; Whitaker 2011, p. 378: Hendrix influenced funk and hip hop. 13) Moskowitz 2010, p. Xiii. 14) Moskowitz 2010, p. 85. 15)Unterberger 2009, p. vi. 16) "Black Sabbath's Geezer Butler talks lyrical inspiration". IGN. June 29, 2010. Retrieved October 27, 2020 – via Blabbermounth.net. Everybody in [SABBATH] liked CREAM and HENDRIX and ZEPPELIN, and I suppose it was a natural progression for us to get even heavier than they were. 17) "Marilyn Manson: The Music That Made Me". Rolling Stone. May 8, 2015. Archived from the original on May 7, 2016. Retrieved March 21, 2016 18) "Randy Hansen's Hendrix Revolution: The Rolling Stone Interview". Rolling Stone Australia. May 19, 2016. Archived from the original on October 27, 2021. Retrieved February 22, 2019 19) Prato, Greg (December 6, 2016). "Uli Jon Roth's 5 Essential Guitar Albums". Classic Rock. Archived from the original on February 22, 2020. Retrieved February 22, 2019. 20) Gilchrist, Tracy E. (January 21, 2020). "Halsey, the 'Poet' of Pop Music, Gender Bends Into Bowie and Bob Dylan". The Advocate. Retrieved August 11, 2020 21) Frehley, Ace (July 24, 2014). "Ace Frehley Discusses the Jimi Hendrix Experience's 'Are You Experienced?' – The Record That Changed My Life". Classic Rock. Archived from the original on February 22, 2020. Retrieved February 22, 2019.

References and Bibliography

22) Bosso, Joe (October 21, 2008). "Jimi Hendrix Week: Aerosmith's Brad Whitford on Experience Hendrix". Music Radar. Archived from the original on February 13, 2019. Retrieved February 12, 2019 23) "Richie Faulkner of Judas Priest: Why I Play Guitar". YouTube. September 19, 2018. Archived from the original on January 10, 2020. Retrieved April 25, 2019 24) "Dug Pinnick's Tribute to Jimi: Often Imitated But Never Duplicated". Rat Pak Records. Archived from the original on February 22, 2020. Retrieved February 22, 2019. 25) Moseley, Willie G. (June 2005). "Adrian Belew: Musical Modernist". Vintage Guitar. Archived from the original on January 9, 2017. Retrieved January 8, 2017 26) GP staff 2012, p. 54: Hendrix influenced Yngwie Malmsteen and Joe Satriani, "[Hendrix] created modern electric playing"; Gula 2008, p. 101: Hendrix influenced Kirk Hammett; Roby & Schreiber 2010, p. 72: Hendrix influenced Stevie Ray Vaughan 27) Caramnica, Jon (February 2002). "Electric Warriors". Vibe. p. 87. 28) Gonzales, Michael A. (March 19, 2015). "Love, Peace and Soulquarians". soulhead. Retrieved August 22, 2020 29) Moskowitz 2010, p. 130. 30) McDermott 2009, p. 90. 31) Moskowitz 2010, p. 130: the Rock Guitarist of the Year Shapiro & Glebbeek 1995, p. 722: World Top Musician of 1969.

• Cross, Charles R. (2005). Room Full of Mirrors: A Biography of Jimi Hendrix. Hyperion.
• Shadwick, Keith (2003). Jimi Hendrix: Musician. Backbeat Books.

• Heatley, Michael (2009). Jimi Hendrix Gear: The Guitars, Amps & Effects that
• Revolutionized Rock 'n' Roll. Voyageur Press

• Aledort, Andy (1995). Tolinski, Brad (ed.). "Jimi Hendrix Lesson: Message to Love". Guitar School. 7 (3).

• Whitehill, Dave (1989b). Hendrix: Axis: Bold As Love. Hal Leonard.

• Unterberger, Richie (2009). The Rough Guide to Jimi Hendrix. Rough Guides.
• Stix, John (1992). "Jimi Hendrix/Stevie Ray Vaughan (chapter: Eddie Kramer: Off the Record)". Guitar Presents (57).
• Moskowitz, David (2010). The Words and Music of Jimi Hendrix. Praeger.

• McDermott, John (2009). Ultimate Hendrix: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Live Concerts and Sessions. BackBeat Books.