Becoming Jimi Hendrix: From Southern Crossroads to Psychedelic London, the Untold Story of a Musical Genius

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Becoming Jimi Hendrix: From Southern Crossroads to Psychedelic London, the Untold Story of a Musical Genius Pub. Date: 8/31/2010 Publisher: Da Capo Press

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Overview

Becoming Jimi Hendrix traces “Jimmy’s” early musical roots, from a harrowing, hand-to-mouth upbringing in a poverty-stricken, broken Seattle home to his early discovery of the blues to his stint as a reluctant recruit of the 101st Airborne who was magnetically drawn to the rhythm and blues scene in Nashville. As a sideman, Hendrix played with the likes of Little Richard, Ike and Tina Turner, the Isley Brothers, and Sam & Dave—but none knew what to make of his spotlight-stealing rock guitar experimentation, the likes of which had never been heard before.

From 1962 to 1966, on the rough and tumble club circuit, Hendrix learned to please a crowd, deal with racism, and navigate shady music industry characters, all while evolving his own astonishing style. Finally, in New York’s Greenwich Village, two key women helped him survive, and his discovery in a tiny basement club in 1966 led to Hendrix instantly being heralded as a major act in Europe before he returned to America, appeared at the Monterey Pop Festival, and entered the pantheon of rock’s greatest musicians.

Becoming Jimi Hendrix is based on over one hundred interviews with those who knew Hendrix best during his lean years, more than half of whom have never spoken about him on the record. Utilizing court transcripts, FBI files, private letters, unpublished photos, and U.S. Army documents, this is the story of a young musician who overcame enormous odds, a past that drove him to outbursts of violence, and terrible professional and personal decisions that complicated his life before his untimely demise.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

Published on the 40th anniversary of Jimi Hendrix's death at the age of 27, this uninspired chronicle of the evolutionary guitarist's formative years relies on previously available information and new interviews with surviving band members, friends, and former lovers to provide a dense, detailed glimpse into what is perhaps the least-explored period of Hendrix's short, eventful life. Revelations of Hendrix being sexually molested as a teenager may be news to some, but bawdy tales of drug use and epic sexual encounters will not. After being discharged from the Army in 1962, Hendrix played the blues and R&B circuit in the South, making his way to New York and London as little more than a backing musician whose penchant for stealing the spotlight cost him gigs before it made him famous. Roby (Black Gold) and Schreiber (Stop the Show!) are clearly fans, but write pedantic, stilted prose and include few direct quotes from their sources, rendering dull an exciting subject and period of American culture. To their credit, though, they end with an interesting and exhaustive account of Hendrix's sessions, discs, tours, and events between 1962 and 1966.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

David Kirby

Steven Roby and Brad Schreiber…don't impose a view the way a master like Greil Marcus or Peter Guralnick might, but in a brick-on-brick manner they describe the run-up to Hendrix's electrifying appearance on a world stage. Hendrix's career as a superstar has been well chronicled; the more interesting details of how he became one are told here.
—The New York Times

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780306819100
Publisher: Da Capo Press
Publication date: 8/31/2010
Pages: 304
Sales rank: 483,711
Product dimensions: 6.36 (w) x 11.28 (h) x 0.79 (d)

Meet the Author

Steve Roby is the author of Black Gold: The Lost Archives of Jimi Hendrix, former editor of Experience Hendrix magazine, and teaches a course on Hendrix’s life and music.

Brad Schreiber is an award-winning journalist, screenwriter, and literary consultant. His books include Stop the Show!, What Are You Laughing At, and Death in Paradise.

Acknowledgments vii

Preface xiii

Introduction: Seattle-The Childhood That Never Was 1

Chapter 1 The Case Against Private Hendrix (January-June 1962) 13

Chapter 2 I Can Hear the Blues Callin' My Name (July-December 1962) 27

Chapter 3 I'd Rather Starve (January-June 1963) 41

Chapter 4 Nothing But Someone's Coat on His Back (July-December 1963) 53

Chapter 5 From One Family to the Next (January-June 1964) 71

Chapter 6 An All-Consuming Fire (July-December 1964) 85

Chapter 7 Life and Near Death on the Road (January-June 1965) 99

Chapter 8 How Would You Feel? (July-December 1965) 117

Chapter 9 Next Planet, Please (January-June 1966) 135

Chapter 10 Downtown and Underground (July-September 1966) 155

Epilogue 175

Bibliography 187

Recommended Listening 197

Sessionography/Discography and Television Appearances, 1962-1966 199

Chronology of Tours and Events, 1962-1966 217

Index 261

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