Jimi Hendrix was one of the most musicians who had an interesting reputation along with this unique style. We’re still finding out wild stories about him to this day. Here are 6 facts about Jimi Hendrix.
He Allegedly Got Himself Kicked Out of the Airforce
After two occasions of joyriding in stolen cars, the judge said Hendrix had a choice of going to jail or enlisting in the army. He did for a short while and didn’t like the conditions there. He had a plan to get discharged from the army. He lied to the base psychiatrist saying he was in love with one of his army mates. However, the real reason is he broke his ankle during a parachute jump.
Defied His Father By Playing Left-Handed
His father Al saw his talent and that he played left-handed naturally. However, his father wanted him to play the guitar right-handed as he thought playing from a lefty perspective was a sign of the devil. Hendrix flipped the guitar to his personal style but to not upset his father, he also played right-handed as well.
He Got Fired From His First Band
In the 10th grade, he was invited to play with a group of guys in a band. When the spotlight got on him, he went for in his eccentric style of playing. During the set break, he was nowhere to be found. The band dropped him because of his stylistic playing. Even though his girlfriend suggested he tone it down, he refused.
He Clashed With Little Richard for Being “Too Pretty”
In the mid-1960s, Hendrix was a studio musician and happened to play for Little Richard. Of course, Little Richard was known for his flamboyant style as it was a part of his draw for the crowds. Jimi also had a bit of extravagance to him and Little Richard didn’t appreciate him for taking the spotlight. He had a talk with Hendrix saying that he’s just a background musician and Little Richard is the only one that gets to be “pretty.” Eventually, Hendrix was fired from the band.
He Angered a Swedish Promoter By Going Over His Performance Time
When Hendrix was getting back into the swing of things in 1970, manager Michael Jeffrey said they needed to go on tour to help fund Hendrix’s new Electric Lady Studios. Reluctantly, he went on tour dates in Denmark, Sweden, and Germany. He stopped at an amusement park in Stockholm where the promoted alleged instructed him to play for just an hour because he wanted patrons to spend money on the attraction. Hendrix didn’t like that and kept going for 110 minutes.
Other Famous Guitars Gave Him Major Props
He simply impressed the best guitar players at the time from Jeff Beck to Eric Clapton. He would give them a run for their money with all of the showmanship, wild playing, and still get to the nitty grit of his songs. In fact, Clapton said that seeing Hendrix play at the London Polytechnic in 1966 changed his life forever.
