Jimi Hendrix
From Artistfacts:He played his guitar upside-down because he was left-handed.
Jimi died in 1970 after he choked on his own vomit. He had taken 9 pills of the barbiturate vesperax.
He was entirely self-taught on guitar. He could not read music, instead he communicated his musical visions through colors: "Some feelings make you think of different colors, jealousy is purple; I'm purple with rage or purple with anger, and green with envy..." (thanks, Jayson - Atlanta, GA)
His father Al controlled Jimi's estate and even ran a museum dedicated to Jimi out of his home in Seattle. When he died in 2002, he left the estate to his daughter Janie, who he adopted in 1966. His son (and Jimi's brother) Leon, has fought for control of the estate, but has been unsuccessful. Leon is also a musician, but he never did very well and was plagued by a drug problem.
His second manager, Michael Jeffrey, had Hendrix kidnapped once for 2 days by "New York Mobsters" and then "rescued" him to try to bolster his role as manager... not a very well known story but documented several times by Hendrix himself. (thanks, James - Los Angeles, IN)
At the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival, he came on after The Who. Pete Townshend smashed his guitar and threw it into the audience. Hendrix set his on fire.
He played what was known as the "Chitlin Circuit" from 1963-1966, which was a tour with black artists playing to mostly black audiences. This is where Hendrix learned tricks like playing the guitar with his teeth and playing behind his head (something he picked up from T-Bone Walker). (thanks, Bertrand - Paris, France)
From 1966-1970, he played over 600 shows, many of them festivals that he headlined.
He toured with The Monkees in 1967 because he needed the exposure in America. It was a disaster, as the young girls who came to see The Monkees shouted him down. At his 7th show opening for The Monkees, he flipped off the crowd and left the tour.
The Experience Music Project museum in Seattle has dedicated more space to Hendrix than any other artist. The museum was founded by Microsoft billionaire Paul Allen, who is a huge Hendrix fan.
He enlisted in the United States Paratrooper Division before the Vietnam War got into full swing. He was medically discharged after an accident during his training.
http://www.artistfacts.com/detail.php?id=17Please delete / lock if posted
