November 27: Jimi Hendrix

This date in 1942 saw the birth of Jimi Hendrix. Here are 10 things you might not know about the legendary artist.

1. When he was born on November 27th 1942 in Seattle, his mother named him John Allen Hendrix. His father was away fighting in the second world war at the time. When he got back, the couple divorced and his father, James “Al” Hendrix took him from his mother and re-named him James Marshall. James got shortened to Jimi in 1966, at the suggestion of his manager, Chas Chandler.
2. At first, Jimi's father wasn't keen on the idea of his son having a Guitar, but when Jimi was 15 he gave in and bought him an acoustic guitar. Soon after that, Jimi joined a band called the Velvetones. He quickly realised that an acoustic guitar wouldn't be heard over the rest of the band, and he needed an electric one. A year later Al stumped up for his son's first electric guitar, a Supro Ozark 1560S.
3. He trained as a paratrooper. Strictly speaking, it wasn't a chosen career as he was caught with stolen cars twice in his teens and was given the choice – the army or prison. He was a member of ‘The Screaming Eagles’ 101st Airborne Division in Fort Campbell, Kentucky, but his conduct as a soldier didn't impress his superiors. His sergeant wrote, "He has no interest whatsoever in the Army ... It is my opinion that Private Hendrix will never come up to the standards required of a soldier. I feel that the military service will benefit if he is discharged as soon as possible." Jimi himself preferred the story that he was discharged after breaking his ankle on a jump.
4. He arrived in the UK in September 1966 with just a small case containing his guitar, a change of clothes, Pink plastic hair curlers and a jar of Valderma cream for his acne. He'd accepted Chas Chandler's invitation to move to the UK in the hope that he might meet his idol Eric Clapton.
5. Hendrix is known for unorthodox ways of playing the guitar – behind his back, with his teeth, without touching the strings, and upside down. While most of it was showmanship, playing the guitar upside down was for a much more mundane practical reason – he was left handed. His father believed being left handed was a sign of the devil.
6. He was self taught and never learned to read Music.
7. By 1969, Hendrix was the world's highest-paid rock musician. On his way there, he played backup for Sam Cooke, Little Richard, Wilson Pickett, Ike and Tina Turner, and The Isley Brothers.
8. He called his music “electric church” because he believed music was his religion.
9. He lived in a flat in Mayfair, in a building which had also been home to George Handel from 1723 until his death in 1759. The building now holds museums dedicated to both musicians.
10. Jimi Hendrix died aged 27 from an overdose of his girlfriend's sleeping tablets.

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