Legendary guitarist Jimi Hendrix was born on this date in 1942. Among the most influential rock ‘n’ roll musicians of all time, Hendrix’s legacy places him at or near the top of the most talented guitarists to ever live.
His profound body of work, created over a period of just a few years, remains undeniably singular in its proficiency and innovation. Hendrix revolutionized the electric guitar, forever altering the way the instrument was played.
Hendrix’s life ended tragically at age 27 when he died of an accidental drug overdose in September 1970. A posthumous induction in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame occurred when the Jimi Hendrix Experience was part of the 1992 class of inductees.
Formed in 1966, the Jimi Hendrix Experience saw the guitarist backed by the rhythm section consisting of drummer Mitch Mitchell and bassist Noel Redding. The power trio released a powerful trio of albums beginning with their debut in 1967, Are You Experienced , its follow-up that same year, Axis: Bold as Love, and 1968’s Electric Ladyland.
In mid-1969, Redding decided to leave the Jimi Hendrix Experience, leading to Mitchell’s exit as well. Hendrix would go on to form the Band of Gypsys, with Mitchell, who died in 2008 at age 62, among the members of the group. Despite attempts at a reunion, Redding and Hendrix were unable to reconcile before the latter’s death in 1970. Redding passed away in 2003 at age 57.
In recognition of Jimi Hendrix on what would have been his birthday today, below is video of a Jimi Hendrix Experience concert held on January 9, 1969, in Stockholm, Sweden. Recorded for SVT Swedish Television, footage from the concert was almost destroyed prior to being rediscovered in 2004.
“The Jimi Hendrix concert was found on a shelf together with other two-inch tapes that were about to be erased,” the network’s spokeswoman Catarina Wilson told Rolling Stone. “The people working with the project looked at the tape before erasing it and found the original, unedited recording. Some of it had already been broadcast, but not the entire 56 minutes. The tape should have been erased in 1969, but there was probably a Jimi Hendrix fan in the archive who wanted to look at it again or who understood the great value of it.”
The cameras captured the early show performed at Konserthuset by Hendrix, Mitchell and Redding. The setlist featured an opening cover of Howlin’ Wolf’s “Killing Floor.” The trio then tore through “Spanish Castle Magic,” “Fire,” “Hey Joe,” “Voodoo Child (Slight Return)” and “Red House.” The set ended with an instrumental performance of Cream’s “Sunshine of Your Love.”
Watch the Jimi Hendrix Experience performing live in Sweden in 1969:
