James Marshall Hendrix was a guitarist, singer and songwriter who is widely considered to be one of the most influential rock guitarists in history. Through his innovative use of feedback, fuzz and distortion, he created his own style of rock music and became known as one of the most influential electric guitarists in the history of popular music. His performance of the Star Spangled Banner in the waning hours of the Woodstock music festival of 1969 is widely regarded as one of the seminal moments of the 1960’s and the anti-Vietnam war movement. Hendrix died prematurely in 1970 at the age of 27 from asphyxia due to aspiration and barbiturate intoxication. He is buried in Greenwood Memorial Park and Funeral Home in Renton, Washington, just outside of Seattle.
GRIM FACTS AND GRISLY DETAILS
- Jimi played his guitar upside-down because he was left-handed.
- Jimi’s second manager Michael Jeffrey once had Jimi kidnapped for two days and held by mobsters. He then initiated a “rescue” to try to bolster his reputation as a manager.
- Jimi died in 1970 after he choked on his own vomit. He had taken nine pills of the barbiturate vesperax.