How a session musician became the architect of psychedelic rock
In short: Before his name became synonymous with guitar revolution, Jimi Hendrix was a prolific sideman. He spent years recording dozens of singles for R&B legends, honing a skill that would eventually transform the landscape of music history through his legendary trio, the Jimi Hendrix Experience.
The career of Jimi Hendrix, spanning from 1962 until his death in 1970, was defined by two distinct eras. Before his international breakthrough, he operated primarily as a backing guitarist for American R&B artists, including Little Richard and the Isley Brothers. During this period, he recorded 24 singles that served as the foundation for his technical mastery.
His rise to global fame was driven by the Jimi Hendrix Experience. Starting in late 1966, this trio released three best-selling studio albums and 13 singles. In the UK, Track Records distributed their recordings, while Reprise Records handled the US market. Before he died, a compilation and a live album from the Monterey Pop Festival were released.
As his musical influence expanded, so did the complexity of his discography. Following the dissolution of the Experience in mid-1969, Hendrix explored new sounds with the Band of Gypsys, releasing a studio single and an album that faced unique distribution challenges, including a US release via Capitol Records to resolve contract disputes. His final recorded contributions included live performances featured on the Woodstock soundtrack.
The legacy of his work has been complicated by posthumous releases. Hendrix himself publicly denounced two albums of demos and outtakes recorded with Curtis Knight, which featured misleading titles and cover art. While many such albums have appeared since his death, his official catalogue is now managed by the family-owned Experience Hendrix and distributed by Sony's Legacy Recordings.
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- Summary by Intellect · source: Jimi Hendrix discography
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