To achieve greatness, it is extremely important to watch out for opportunity. Like I always advise, it is like waiting for a bus on a rural road. If you let it pass, the next one might be a long time a-coming. When Jimi Hendrix set out on the road to become "The Greatest Guitarist Of All Time",his very first guitar was a severely battered acoustic with one string that he retrieved when another boy had thrown it away. But fate was calling; and he did not consider his disadvantage. He grabbed the opportunity with both hands and determined not to let go of it.Ironically, that same year his only failing grade in school was an F in music class. Ironically he enjoyed playing disadvantaged - a left-hander, playing right-hander guitars. But he knew what his aspirations were. His business plans were quite firmly in his head and hands. Jimi was not ashamed to start small.His first gig was with an unnamed band in the basement of a synagogue. However he soon stood out as very unconventional; and after too much showing off, he was asked to leave. He then went on to play with a band known as The Velvetones, without pay.He was just pleased to be allowed to play his guitar; he was obsessed with his dreams.And obsession is like a shiny suit, it has all eyes looking in your direction. It is the salesman's most potent weapon. His flashy style and left-handed playing of a right-handed guitar became a standout.His guitar even got stolen once when he left it backstage overnight.The thief probably thought some of the magic could rub off, or could conjure a genie. Hendrix was a principled person. He was forced by circumstances to enlist in the U.S. Army. After boot camp in Fort Ord, California, he was assigned to the 101st Airborne Division and stationed in Fort Campbell, Kentucky as a trainee paratrooper. After exactly one year of service however, Hendrix was recommended for discharge for "behavior problems" and "little regard for regulations". The truth however was that he cared little for violence and killings and considered the time spent in the army as a waste of his life. He therefore faked being gay to qualify for discharge, and therefore more time to spend playing his guitar. His military experiece however played an important part in the creation of his unique music. The controversial nature of his style is epitomized in the sentiments expressed about his renditions of the "Star Spangled Banner", a tune he played loudly and sharply accompanied by simulated sounds of war (machine guns, bombs and screams) from his guitar. His impressionistic renditions have been described by some as anti-American mockery and by others as a generation's statement on the unrest in U.S. society and in the world.His guitar cried for justice and peace. Life was hard, like it usually is for any endeavour that ever amounted to anything.During the early 1960s, Hendrix made a precarious living on the Chitlin Circuit. The "Chitlin' Circuit" was the general name given to the string of venues throughout the eastern and southern United States that catered primarily to African American audiences. The starting place of entertainers such as Cab Calloway, Duke Ellington, Ray Charles, The Supremes, Ike & Tina Turner, Patti LaBelle, Jimi Hendrix, Gladys Knight & the Pips, The Isley Brothers, and The Jackson 5, the "Chitlin' Circuit" (deriving its name from the soul food item chitterlings: fried pig intestines) was the main way of seeing many popular black acts before the days of integration. Jimi performed in backing bands for touring soul and blues musicians, including Curtis Knight, B. B. King, and Little Richard. His first notice came from appearances with The Isley Brothers, notably on the two-parter "Testify" in 1964. It was at the Cafe Wha? where the discovery took place. Chas Chandler, who was ending his tenure as bassist of The Animals and looking for talent to produce was there. When Hendrix launched into his own rendition of Hey Joe, Chandler became so excited that he spilled a drink on himself.Chandler brought Hendrix to London, signed him to a management and production contract with himself and Animals manager Michael Jeffery, and helped him form a new band, The Jimi Hendrix Experience. At last a star was born. Despite Hendrix's wild and seemingly undisciplined stage shows, he was in fact very meticulous with his music. For example Hendrix recorded "Gypsy Eyes", one of the tracks on Electric Ladyland, 43 times. This was also frustrating for bassist Noel Redding, who would often leave the studio to calm himself, only to return and find that Hendrix had recorded the bass parts himself during Redding's absence. He was a perfectionist, and that is why his music endured for a long time . In fact after Hendrix's death in London, on September 18, 1970, hundreds of unreleased recordings emerged. And despite his being idolized as a champion of the drug-mobilized hippie generation, he had little tolerance for drugs and recognised that they could severely devalue output. At the Winter Festival For Peace at the Madison Square Garden, on January 28, 1970 he was obviously high on drugs and in no shape to play. He belted out a dismal rendition of "Who Knows" before snapping a vulgar response at a female who shouted a request for "Foxey Lady". He lasted halfway through a second song, then simply stopped playing, telling the audience: "That's what happens when earth fucks with space - never forget that". In 2003, Rolling Stone magazine named Hendrix number one on their list of the "100 greatest guitarists of all time. SOME JIMI HENDRIX QUOTES Of Self : "Music is my religion." "Music is a safe type of high. It's more the way it was supposed to be. That's where highness came, I guess, from anyway. It's nothing but rhythm and motion." "The time I burned my guitar it was like a sacrifice. You sacrifice the things you love. I love my guitar." "We call it 'Electric Church Music' because to us music is a religion" "Technically, I am not a guitar player, All I play is truth and emotion" Of Love: "When the power of love overcomes the love of power... the world will know peace" "The story of life is quicker than the wink of an eye, the story of love is hello and goodbye, until we meet again." Of Life: "When I die, just keep playing the records." "I'm the one that has to die when it's time for me to die, so let me live my life, the way I want to" "It's funny how most people love the dead. Once you're dead you're made for life." "Knowledge speaks, but wisdom listens." "When you die you're just getting rid of that old body" "You can leave if you want, we're just jammin' that's all"
Please Rate this Article 5 out of 54 out of 53 out of 52 out of 51 out of 5
Not yet Rated
