Editing Jimi Hendrix (section)

== Career ==

=== Early years ===
In September 1962, after Cox was discharged from the Army, he and Hendrix moved about {{convert|20|mi|km}} across the state line from Fort Campbell to [[Clarksville, Tennessee|Clarksville]], Tennessee, and formed a band, the King Kasuals.{{sfn|Cross|2005|pp=92–97}} In Seattle, Hendrix saw Butch Snipes play with his teeth and now the Kasuals' second guitarist, Alphonso "Baby Boo" Young, was performing this guitar gimmick.{{sfn|Cross|2005|p=97}} Not to be upstaged, Hendrix also learned to play in this way. He later explained: "The idea of doing that came to me{{nbsp}}... in Tennessee. Down there you have to play with your teeth or else you get shot. There's a trail of broken teeth all over the stage."{{sfn|Shapiro|Glebbeek|1995|p=66}}

Although they began playing low-paying gigs at obscure venues, the band eventually moved to [[Nashville, Tennessee|Nashville]]'s Jefferson Street, which was the traditional heart of the city's black community and home to a thriving [[rhythm and blues]] music scene.{{sfn|Shadwick|2003|pp=39–41}} They earned a brief residency playing at a popular venue in town, the Club del Morocco, and for the next two years Hendrix made a living performing at a circuit of venues throughout the South that were affiliated with the [[Theater Owners Booking Association]] (TOBA), widely known as the [[Chitlin' Circuit]].{{sfn|Shadwick|2003|pp=40–42}} In addition to playing in his own band, Hendrix performed as a [[Session musician|backing musician]] for various soul, R&B, and blues musicians, including [[Wilson Pickett]], [[Slim Harpo]], [[Sam Cooke]], [[Ike & Tina Turner]]{{sfn|Roby|2012|pp=20, 139}} and [[Jackie Wilson]].{{sfn|Roby|Schreiber|2010|pp=225–226}}

In January 1964, feeling he had outgrown the circuit artistically, and frustrated by having to follow the rules of bandleaders, Hendrix decided to venture out on his own. He moved into the [[Hotel Theresa]] in [[Harlem]], where he befriended Lithofayne Pridgon, known as "Faye", who became his girlfriend.{{sfn|Shadwick|2003|p=50}} A Harlem native with connections throughout the area's music scene, Pridgon provided him with shelter, support, and encouragement.{{sfn|Shadwick|2003|pp=59–61}} Hendrix also met the Allen twins, Arthur and Albert.{{sfn|Shapiro|Glebbeek|1995|pp=93–95}}{{refn|group=nb|The Allen twins performed as backup singers under the name Ghetto Fighters on Hendrix's song "[[Freedom (Jimi Hendrix song)|Freedom]]".<ref>{{harvnb|Shapiro|Glebbeek|1995|p=537}}; {{harvnb|Doggett|2004|pp=34–35}}.</ref>}} In February 1964, Hendrix won first prize in the [[Apollo Theater]] amateur contest.{{sfn|Hendrix|McDermott|2007|p=13}} Hoping to secure a career opportunity, he played the Harlem club circuit and sat in with various bands. At the recommendation of a former associate of [[Joe Tex]], [[Ronald Isley|Ronnie Isley]] granted Hendrix an audition that led to an offer to become the guitarist with [[the Isley Brothers]]' backing band, the I.B. Specials, which he readily accepted.{{sfn|McDermott|2009|p=10}}

=== First recordings ===
In March 1964, Hendrix recorded the two-part single "[[Testify (Isley Brothers song)|Testify]]" with the Isley Brothers. Released in June, it failed to chart.{{sfn|McDermott|2009|pp=10–11}} In May, he provided guitar instrumentation for the [[Don Covay]] song, "[[Mercy, Mercy (Don Covay song)|Mercy Mercy]]". Issued in August by Rosemart Records and distributed by [[Atlantic Records|Atlantic]], the track reached number 35 on the [[Billboard charts|''Billboard'' chart]].<ref>{{harvnb|George-Warren|2005|p=217}}: for the peak chart position of "Mercy Mercy"; {{harvnb|McDermott|2009|p=10}}: Hendrix played on "Mercy Mercy"; {{harvnb|Roby|2002|pp=32–35}}: Hendrix played on "Mercy Mercy"; {{harvnb|Shadwick|2003|p=53}}: "Mercy Mercy" was recorded on May 18, 1964.</ref>

Hendrix toured with the Isleys during much of 1964, but near the end of October, after growing tired of playing the same set every night, he left the band.<ref>{{harvnb|Heatley|2009|p=53}}; {{harvnb|Shadwick|2003|p=54}}.</ref>{{refn|group=nb|According to authors Steve Roby and Brad Schreiber, Hendrix was fired from the Isleys in August 1964.{{sfn|Roby|Schreiber|2010|p=85}}}} Soon afterward, Hendrix joined [[Little Richard]]'s touring band, [[The Upsetters (American band)|the Upsetters]].{{sfn|McDermott|2009|p=13}} During a stop in [[Los Angeles]] in February 1965, he recorded his first and only single with Richard, "I Don't Know What You Got (But It's Got Me)", written by Don Covay and released by [[Vee-Jay Records]].<ref>{{harvnb|McDermott|2009|p=12}}: recording with Richard; {{harvnb|Shadwick|2003|pp=56–57}}: "I Don't Know What You Got (But It's Got Me)" recorded in Los Angeles.</ref> Richard's popularity was waning at the time, and the single peaked at number 92, where it remained for one week before dropping off the chart.{{sfn|McDermott|1992|p=345}}{{refn|group=nb|Three other songs were recorded during the sessions—"Dancin' All Over the World", "You Better Stop", and "Every Time I Think About You"—but Vee Jay did not release them at the time due to their poor quality.{{sfn|Shadwick|2003|p=57}}}} Hendrix met singer Rosa Lee Brooks while staying at the Wilcox Hotel in Hollywood, and she invited him to participate in a recording session for her single, which included the [[Arthur Lee (musician)|Arthur Lee]] penned "My Diary" as the [[A-side and B-side|A-side]], and "Utee" as the B-side.{{sfn|Shadwick|2003|p=55}} Hendrix played guitar on both tracks, which also included background vocals by Lee. The single failed to chart, but Hendrix and Lee began a friendship that lasted several years; Hendrix later became an ardent supporter of Lee's band, [[Love (band)|Love]].{{sfn|Shadwick|2003|p=55}}

In July 1965, Hendrix made his first television appearance on ''Night Train'', a program produced and aired on Nashville TV station WLAC-TV (now [[WTVF]]). Performing in Little Richard's ensemble band, he backed up vocalists Buddy and Stacy on "[[Shotgun (Junior Walker & the All Stars song)|Shotgun]]". The video recording of the show marks the earliest known footage of Hendrix performing.{{sfn|McDermott|2009|p=13}} Richard and Hendrix often clashed over tardiness, wardrobe, and Hendrix's stage antics, and in late July, Richard's brother Robert fired him.{{sfn|Shadwick|2003|pp=56–60}}

On July 27, Hendrix signed his first recording contract with [[Juggy Murray]] at [[Sue Records]] and Copa Management.{{Sfn|Roby|2012|p=114}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://apnews.com/PR%20Newswire/5c47b20dce2113d894d29671695777ee|title=Jimi Hendrix's Landmark Final Album, 'Band Of Gypsys,' Celebrated With Remastered 50th Anniversary Vinyl Editions|date=February 6, 2020|website=AP NEWS|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200216022658/https://apnews.com/PR%20Newswire/5c47b20dce2113d894d29671695777ee|archive-date=February 16, 2020|access-date=February 16, 2020}}</ref> He then briefly rejoined the Isley Brothers, and recorded a second single with them, "Move Over and Let Me Dance" backed with "Have You Ever Been Disappointed".<ref>{{harvnb|Shapiro|Glebbeek|1995|p=571}}; {{harvnb|Shadwick|2003|pp=60–61}}.</ref> Later that year, he joined a New York-based R&B band, [[Curtis Knight]] and the Squires, after meeting Knight in the lobby of a hotel where both men were staying.{{sfn|Shapiro|Glebbeek|1995|p=95}} Hendrix performed with them for eight months.{{sfn|Cross|2005|p=120}}

In October 1965, he and Knight recorded the single, "How Would You Feel" backed with "Welcome Home". Despite his two-year contract with Sue,<ref>{{Cite book|ref=none|last=Lawrence|first=Sharon|title=Jimi Hendrix: The Man, the Magic, the Truth|publisher=Harper Collins|year=2005|isbn=978-0-06-056299-1|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=Tu7NZKL-2nQC&pg=PA33 33]}}</ref> Hendrix signed a three-year recording contract with entrepreneur [[Ed Chalpin]] on October 15.{{sfn|McDermott|2009|p=15}} While the relationship with Chalpin was short-lived, his contract remained in force, which later caused legal and career problems for Hendrix.<ref>{{harvnb|Brown|1997|p=100}}; {{harvnb|Cross|2005|pp=120–121}}.</ref>{{refn|group=nb|Several songs and demos from the Knight recording sessions were later marketed as "Jimi Hendrix" recordings after he had become famous.{{sfn|McDermott|2009|pp=14–15}}}} During his time with Knight, Hendrix briefly toured with [[Joey Dee and the Starliters]], and worked with [[King Curtis]] on several recordings including [[Ray Sharpe]]'s two-part single, "Help Me".<ref>{{harvnb|McDermott|2009|pp=14–15}}; {{harvnb|Roby|Schreiber|2010|pp=207–208}}; {{harvnb|Shadwick|2003|p=69}}.</ref> Hendrix earned his first composer credits for two instrumentals, "Hornets Nest" and "Knock Yourself Out", released as a [[Curtis Knight and the Squires]] single in 1966.{{sfn|Roby|Schreiber|2010|p=210}}{{refn|group=nb|In mid-1966, Hendrix recorded with [[Lonnie Youngblood]], a saxophone player who occasionally performed with Curtis Knight.{{sfn|Shadwick|2003|pp=66–71}} The sessions produced two singles for Youngblood: "Go Go Shoes"/"Go Go Place" and "Soul Food (That's What I Like)"/"Goodbye Bessie Mae".{{sfn|Shadwick|2003|p=71}} Singles for other artists also came out of the sessions, including the [[The Icemen (R&B duo)|Icemen]]'s "[[(My Girl) She's a Fox]]"/ "(I Wonder) What It Takes" and [[Jimmy Norman]]'s "That Little Old Groove Maker"/"You're Only Hurting Yourself".{{sfn|Shadwick|2003|p=70}} As with the King Curtis recordings, backing tracks and alternate takes for the Youngblood sessions would be overdubbed and otherwise manipulated to create many "new" tracks.{{sfn|McDermott|2009|pp=16–17}} Many Youngblood tracks without any Hendrix involvement would later be marketed as "Jimi Hendrix" recordings.{{sfn|Shadwick|2003|p=71}}}}

Feeling restricted by his experiences as an R&B sideman, Hendrix moved in 1966 to New York City's [[Greenwich Village]], which had a vibrant and diverse music scene.{{sfn|Roby|2002|pp=47–48}} There, he was offered a residency at the [[Cafe Wha?]] on MacDougal Street and formed his own band that June, [[Jimmy James and the Blue Flames]], which included future [[Spirit (band)|Spirit]] guitarist [[Randy California]].{{sfn|Shadwick|2003|pp=76–77}}{{refn|group=nb|So as to differentiate the two Randys in the band, Hendrix dubbed Randy Wolfe "Randy California" and Randy Palmer "Randy Texas".{{sfn|Shadwick|2003|pp=76–77}} [[Randy California]] later co-founded the band [[Spirit (band)|Spirit]] with his stepfather, drummer [[Ed Cassidy]].{{sfn|Shapiro|Glebbeek|1995|p=102}}}} The Blue Flames played at several clubs in New York and Hendrix began developing his guitar style and material that he would soon use with the Experience.{{sfn|Shadwick|2003|pp=76–79}}{{sfn|Roby|2002|pp=54–55}} In September, they gave some of their last concerts at the [[Cafe Au Go Go]] in [[Manhattan]], as the backing group for a singer and guitarist then billed as [[John P. Hammond|John Hammond]].{{sfn|Roby|2002|pp=53–56}}{{refn|group=nb|Most of Hammond's albums list him as "John Hammond", although he was often referred to as "John Hammond Jr." in biographies to distinguish him from his father, the record producer [[John Hammond (record producer)|John Hammond]]. Later, he has been referred to as "John P. Hammond" (father and son do not share the same middle name). Singer-guitarist [[Ellen McIlwaine]] and guitarist [[Jeff Baxter]] also briefly worked with Hendrix during this period.{{sfn|Roby|2002|pp=53–56}}}}

=== The Jimi Hendrix Experience ===
{{Redirect|The Jimi Hendrix Experience|the album|The Jimi Hendrix Experience (album)}}
[[File:Jimi Hendrix experience 1968.jpg|thumb|upright|left|alt=A black and white photograph of three men, one is sitting on the floor.|Hendrix with the Experience ([[Noel Redding]] and [[Mitch Mitchell]]) in 1968]]
By May 1966, Hendrix was struggling to earn a living wage playing the R&B circuit, so he briefly rejoined Curtis Knight and the Squires for an engagement at one of New York City's most popular nightspots, the [[Cheetah (nightclub)|Cheetah Club]].{{sfn|McDermott|2009|p=17}} During a performance, Linda Keith, the girlfriend of [[The Rolling Stones|Rolling Stones]] guitarist [[Keith Richards]], noticed Hendrix and was "mesmerised" by his playing.{{sfn|McDermott|2009|p=17}} She invited him to join her for a drink, and the two became friends.{{sfn|McDermott|2009|p=17}}

While Hendrix was playing as Jimmy James and the Blue Flames, Keith recommended him to Stones manager [[Andrew Loog Oldham]] and producer [[Seymour Stein]]. They failed to see Hendrix's musical potential and rejected him.{{sfn|McDermott|2009|pp=17–18}} Keith referred him to [[Chas Chandler]], who was leaving [[the Animals]] and was interested in managing and producing artists.<ref name=hendrix2017>{{cite news | url = http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/how-newcastles-chas-chandler-discovered-10386763 | title = How Newcastle's Chas Chandler discovered the best guitarist in the world | first= Barbara|last=Hodgson | date = November 4, 2015 | newspaper = [[Evening Chronicle]] | access-date = April 14, 2017 | quote = He was on his final tour with The Animals in the US when he heard about a talented young guitarist and went along to New York's Cafe Wha to see him in action. | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170414164302/http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/how-newcastles-chas-chandler-discovered-10386763 | archive-date = April 14, 2017 | url-status = live }}</ref> Chandler saw Hendrix play in [[Cafe Wha?]], a Greenwich Village, New York City nightclub.<ref name=hendrix2017/> Chandler liked the [[Billy Roberts]] song "[[Hey Joe]]", and was persuaded he could create a hit single with the right artist.{{sfn|McDermott|2009|pp=18–21}} Impressed with Hendrix's version of the song, he brought him to London on September 24, 1966,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01k8pf4|title=BBC One – imagine..., Winter 2013, Jimi Hendrix: Hear My Train A Comin', Hendrix in London|work=BBC|date=October 24, 2013 |access-date=December 21, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190329161248/https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01k8pf4|archive-date=March 29, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> and signed him to a management and production contract with himself and ex-Animals manager [[Michael Jeffery (manager)|Michael Jeffery]].{{sfn|McDermott|2009|pp=20–22}} That night, Hendrix gave an impromptu solo performance at [[The Scotch of St James]] and began a relationship with [[Kathy Etchingham]] that lasted for two and a half years.<ref>{{harvnb|Black|1999|pp=181–182}}; {{harvnb|Shadwick|2003|p=82}}.</ref>{{refn|group=nb|Etchingham later wrote an autobiographical book about their relationship and the London music scene during the 1960s.<ref>{{cite book|title=Through Gypsy Eyes|last1=Etchingham|first1=Kathy|last2=Crofts|first2=Andrew|publisher=Orion|year=1998|isbn=978-0-7528-2725-4}}</ref>}}

Following Hendrix's arrival in London, Chandler began recruiting members for a band designed to highlight his talents, the Jimi Hendrix Experience.{{sfn|Shadwick|2003|p=84}} Hendrix met guitarist [[Noel Redding]] at an audition for the New Animals, where Redding's knowledge of blues progressions impressed Hendrix.{{sfn|Shadwick|2003|p=83}} Another important criterion for Hendrix was fashion—according to author Keith Shadwick, "what he really liked was Redding's hairstyle."{{sfn|Shadwick|2003|p=83}} Chandler asked Redding if he wanted to play bass guitar in Hendrix's band; Redding agreed.{{sfn|Shadwick|2003|p=83}} Chandler began looking for a drummer and soon after contacted [[Mitch Mitchell]] through a mutual friend. Mitchell, who had recently been fired from [[Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames]], participated in a rehearsal with Redding and Hendrix where they found common ground in their shared interest in rhythm and blues. When Chandler phoned Mitchell later that day to offer him the position, he readily accepted.<ref>{{harvnb|McDermott|2009|pp=21–22}}; {{harvnb|Shadwick|2003|pp=83–85}}</ref> Chandler also persuaded Hendrix to change the spelling of his first name from ''Jimmy'' to the more exotic ''Jimi''.{{sfn|McDermott|2009|p=22}}

On October 1, 1966, Chandler brought Hendrix to the [[University of Westminster|London Polytechnic]] at Regent Street, where [[Cream (band)|Cream]] was scheduled to perform, and where Hendrix and guitarist [[Eric Clapton]] met.{{sfn|McDermott|1992|p=21}} Clapton later said: "He asked if he could play a couple of numbers. I said, 'Of course', but I had a funny feeling about him."{{sfn|Shadwick|2003|p=84}} Halfway through Cream's set, Hendrix took the stage and performed a frantic version of the Howlin' Wolf song "[[Killing Floor (Howlin' Wolf song)|Killing Floor]]".{{sfn|Shadwick|2003|p=84}} In 1989, Clapton described the performance: "He played just about every style you could think of, and not in a flashy way. I mean he did a few of his tricks, like playing with his teeth and behind his back, but it wasn't in an upstaging sense at all, and that was it&nbsp;... He walked off, and my life was never the same again".{{sfn|Shadwick|2003|p=84}}

{{clear|left}}

==== UK success ====
In mid-October 1966, Chandler arranged an engagement for the Experience as [[Johnny Hallyday]]'s supporting act during a brief tour of France.{{sfn|McDermott|2009|p=22}} Thus, the Jimi Hendrix Experience performed their first show on October 13, 1966, at the Novelty in [[Evreux]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://hendrix.free.fr/concerts/1966.htm |title=Concerts 1966 |date=2014 |website=hendrix.free.fr |access-date=December 20, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141220050450/http://hendrix.free.fr/concerts/1966.htm |archive-date=December 20, 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref> Their enthusiastically received 15-minute performance at the [[Olympia (Paris)|Olympia]] theatre in Paris on October 18 marks the earliest known recording of the band.{{sfn|McDermott|2009|p=22}} In late October, [[Kit Lambert]] and [[Chris Stamp]], managers of [[the Who]], signed the Experience to their newly formed label, [[Track Records]], and the group recorded their first song, "Hey Joe", on October 23.<ref>{{harvnb|Shadwick|2003|pp=89–90}}; {{harvnb|Shapiro|Glebbeek|1995|p=524}}.</ref> "[[Stone Free]]", which was Hendrix's first songwriting effort after arriving in England, was recorded on November 2.{{sfn|McDermott|2009|pp=22–24}}

From November 8 to 11, 1966, the Jimi Hendrix Experience had a short residency at the [[Big Apple (club)|Big Apple]] club in [[Munich]], their first gigs in Germany. At this occasion Hendrix had a show experience that would define him from then on: when trying to escape in panic from a frenetic audience that had pulled him off the stage, he smashed his guitar for the first time in a sound explosion on stage, which was perceived by the audience as part of the show.<ref name="redding">{{cite book |title=Are You Experienced? The Inside Story of the Jimi Hendrix Experience. |last1=Redding |first1=Noel |last2=Appleby |first2=Carol |publisher=[[Picador (imprint)|Picador]] |location=London |year=1990 |isbn=0-330-31923-X}}</ref> Observing the audience's reaction, Chandler decided that this show of violence had to become a permanent feature of the Experience's show.<ref name="adams">{{cite book |title=The Grail Guitar: The Search for Jimi Hendrix's Purple Haze Telecaster |last=Adams |first=Chris |publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield]] |year=2016 |isbn=978-1442246799}}</ref>

In mid-November, they performed at [[the Bag O'Nails]] nightclub in London, with Clapton, [[John Lennon]], [[Paul McCartney]], [[Jeff Beck]], [[Pete Townshend]], [[Brian Jones]], [[Mick Jagger]], and [[Kevin Ayers]] in attendance.{{sfn|Shadwick|2003|p=91}} Ayers described the crowd's reaction as stunned disbelief: "All the stars were there, and I heard serious comments, you know 'shit', 'Jesus', 'damn' and other words worse than that."{{sfn|Shadwick|2003|p=91}} The performance earned Hendrix his first interview, published in ''[[Record Mirror]]'' with the headline: "Mr. Phenomenon".{{sfn|Shadwick|2003|p=91}} "Now hear this&nbsp;... we predict that [Hendrix] is going to whirl around the business like a tornado", wrote [[Bill Harry]], who asked the rhetorical question: "Is that full, big, swinging sound really being created by only three people?"{{sfn|Shadwick|2003|pp=91–92}} Hendrix said: "We don't want to be classed in any category&nbsp;... If it must have a tag, I'd like it to be called, 'Free Feeling'. It's a mixture of rock, freak-out, rave and blues".{{sfn|Shadwick|2003|p=92}} Through a distribution deal with [[Polydor Records]], the Experience's first single, "Hey Joe", backed with "Stone Free", was released on December 16, 1966.{{sfn|McDermott|2009|p=28}} After appearances on the UK television shows ''[[Ready Steady Go!]]'' and ''[[Top of the Pops]]'', "Hey Joe" entered the UK charts on December 29 and peaked at number six.<ref>{{harvnb|Shadwick|2003|p=93}}; {{harvnb|Heatley|2009|p=59}}.</ref> Further success came in March 1967 with the UK number three hit "[[Purple Haze]]", and in May with "[[The Wind Cries Mary]]", which remained on the UK charts for eleven weeks, peaking at number six.{{sfn|Roberts|2005|p=232}} On March 12, 1967, he performed at the Troutbeck Hotel, Ilkley, West Yorkshire, where, after about 900 people turned up (the hotel was licensed for 250) the local police stopped the gig due to safety concerns.<ref>{{Cite web| url = http://www.bbc.co.uk/bradford/content/articles/2006/09/18/hendrix_ilkley_feature.shtml| title = Hendrix plays Ilkley!| website = [[BBC]] Bradford and West Yorkshire| access-date = April 21, 2018| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180509170014/http://www.bbc.co.uk/bradford/content/articles/2006/09/18/hendrix_ilkley_feature.shtml| archive-date = May 9, 2018| url-status = live}}</ref>

On March 31, 1967, while the Experience waited to perform at the [[London Astoria]], Hendrix and Chandler discussed ways in which they could increase the band's media exposure. When Chandler asked journalist Keith Altham for advice, Altham suggested that they needed to do something more dramatic than the stage show of the Who, which involved the smashing of instruments. Hendrix joked: "Maybe I can smash up an elephant", to which Altham replied: "Well, it's a pity you can't set fire to your guitar".{{sfn|McDermott|2009|p=41}} Chandler then asked road manager Gerry Stickells to procure some [[Naphtha|lighter fluid]]. During the show, Hendrix gave an especially dynamic performance before setting his guitar on fire at the end of a 45-minute set. In the wake of the stunt, members of London's press labeled Hendrix the "Black Elvis" and the "Wild Man of Borneo".{{sfn|McDermott|2009|pp=41–42}}{{refn|group=nb|This guitar has now been identified as the guitar acquired and later restored by [[Frank Zappa]]. He used it to record his album ''[[Zoot Allures]]'' (1971). When Zappa's son, [[Dweezil Zappa]], found the guitar some 20 years later, Zappa gave it to him.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/2219161.stm|title=Hendrix's burnt guitar for sale|work=BBC News|date=August 27, 2002|access-date=January 10, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121203102300/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/2219161.stm|archive-date=December 3, 2012|url-status=live}}</ref>}}

An enduring urban legend in the UK maintains that a possible explanation for the [[Feral parakeets in Great Britain|feral parakeets that have appeared in Great Britain]] since the mid-20th century may derive from a single pair of the birds that were released by Hendrix on [[Carnaby Street]] in the 1960s.<ref name="bbc-wild">{{cite news |title=Wild parrots settle in suburbs |date=July 6, 2004 |website=[[BBC News]] |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/3869815.stm |access-date=October 30, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171030111340/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/3869815.stm |archive-date=October 30, 2017}}</ref><ref name="telegraph-noisy">{{cite news |last=Copping |first=Jasper |date=April 20, 2014 |title=Noisy parakeets 'drive away' native birds |newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]] |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/wildlife/10776252/Noisy-parakeets-drive-away-native-birds.html |url-status=live |access-date=October 30, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171030101636/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/wildlife/10776252/Noisy-parakeets-drive-away-native-birds.html |archive-date=October 30, 2017}}</ref><ref name="guardian-exotic">{{cite news |last=Oliver |first=Brian |date=July 1, 2017 |title=Exotic and colourful – But should parakeets be culled? ask scientists |newspaper=[[The Observer]] |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jul/01/parakeet-cull-british-farms-birds-vineyards-research-uk |access-date=October 30, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170714175715/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jul/01/parakeet-cull-british-farms-birds-vineyards-research-uk |archive-date=July 14, 2017}}</ref><ref name = MCooper>{{Cite web|last=Cooper|first=Matthew|date=February 16, 2019|title=Why are there so many parakeets in south Manchester? These are the wild theories that might just be true|url=https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/many-parakeets-south-manchester-wild-15642144|access-date=August 1, 2023|website=[[Manchester Evening News]]|language=en}}</ref> According to a study, however, which mapped historical news reports of sightings of the birds, the myth is not true.<ref name = EDLH>{{Cite web|last1=Davies|first1=Ella|last2=Hendry|first2=Lisa| date=November 30, 2021|title=Wild parakeets in the UK: exotic delights or a potential problem?|url=https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/ring-necked-parakeets-in-london-and-uk.html|access-date=August 1, 2023|website=[[Natural History Museum, London|nhm.ac.uk]]|language=en}}</ref>

==== ''Are You Experienced'' ====
{{Main|Are You Experienced}}

After the UK chart success of their first two singles, "Hey Joe" and "Purple Haze", the Experience began assembling material for a full-length LP.{{sfn|Heatley|2009|p=64}} In London, recording began at [[De Lane Lea Studios]], and later moved to the prestigious [[Olympic Studios]].{{sfn|Heatley|2009|p=64}} The album, ''[[Are You Experienced]]'', features a diversity of musical styles, including blues tracks such as "[[Red House (song)|Red House]]" and the R&B song "Remember".{{sfn|Stubbs|2003|pp= 29, 31–32, 36–37}} It also included the experimental science fiction piece, "[[Third Stone from the Sun]]" and the post-modern soundscapes of [[Are You Experienced (song)|the title track]], with prominent [[Backmasking|backwards]] guitar and drums.<ref>{{harvnb|Heatley|2009|pp=64–65}}: post-modern soundscapes of "Are You Experienced?"; {{harvnb|Larkin|1998|p=45}}: a diversity of styles; {{harvnb|Unterberger|2009|p=45}}: "Third Stone from the Sun".</ref> "I Don't Live Today" served as a medium for Hendrix's [[guitar feedback]] improvisation and "[[Fire (The Jimi Hendrix Experience song)|Fire]]" was driven by Mitchell's drumming.{{sfn|Heatley|2009|p=64}}

Released in the UK on May 12, 1967, ''Are You Experienced'' spent 33 weeks on the charts, peaking at number two.<ref>{{harvnb|Roberts|2005|p=232}}: UK chart data for ''Are You Experienced''; {{harvnb|Shadwick|2003|p=111}}: UK release date.</ref>{{refn|group=nb|The original version of the LP contained none of the previously released singles or their [[A-side and B-side|B-sides]].{{sfn|Doggett|2004|p=8}}}} It was prevented from reaching the top spot by the Beatles' ''[[Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band]]''.{{sfn|Cross|2005|p=181}}{{refn|group=nb|As with ''Sgt. Pepper'', ''Are You Experienced'' was recorded using [[Multitrack recording|four-track]] technology.{{sfn|Heatley|2009|p=64}}}} On May 29 he performed at the [[Barbeque 67]] concert in [[Spalding, Lincolnshire]], considered by some to have been the first [[rock festival]]; tickets cost £1.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-lincolnshire-31557062|title=Spalding unveils Jimi Hendrix plaque|work=BBC News |date=20 February 2015}}</ref> On June 4, 1967, Hendrix opened a show at the [[Saville Theatre]] in London with his rendition of ''Sgt. Pepper''{{'s}} [[Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (song)|title track]], which was released just three days previous. Beatles manager [[Brian Epstein]] owned the Saville at the time, and both [[George Harrison]] and Paul McCartney attended the performance. McCartney described the moment: "The curtains flew back and he came walking forward playing 'Sgt. Pepper'. It's a pretty major compliment in anyone's book. I put that down as one of the great honors of my career."{{sfn|McDermott|2009|p=52}} Released in the US on August 23 by [[Reprise Records]], ''Are You Experienced'' reached number five on the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]].<ref>{{harvnb|McDermott|2009|p=61}}: Release dates for ''Are You Experienced''; {{harvnb|George-Warren|2005|p=429}}: Peak US chart position.</ref>{{refn|group=nb|The US and Canadian versions of ''Are You Experienced'' had a new cover by [[Karl Ferris]] and a new song list, with Reprise removing "[[Red House (song)|Red House]]", "Remember" and "Can You See Me" to make room for the first three single A-sides omitted from the UK release: "Hey Joe", "Purple Haze", and "The Wind Cries Mary".{{sfn|Aledort|1996|p=49}} "Red House" is the only original [[twelve-bar blues]] written by Hendrix.{{sfn|Aledort|1996|p=49}}}}

In 1989, Noe Goldwasser, the founding editor of ''[[Guitar World]]'', described ''Are You Experienced'' as "the album that shook the world&nbsp;... leaving it forever changed".{{sfn|Whitehill|1989a|p=5}}{{refn|group=nb|When Track records sent the master tapes for "Purple Haze" to Reprise for remastering, they wrote the following words on the tape box: "Deliberate distortion. Do not correct."{{sfn|Roby|Schreiber|2010|p=184}}}} In 2005, ''Rolling Stone'' called the double-platinum LP Hendrix's "epochal debut", and they ranked it the 15th greatest album of all time, noting his "exploitation of amp howl", and characterizing his guitar playing as "incendiary&nbsp;... historic in itself".<ref>{{harvnb|George-Warren|2005|p=429}}: ''Are You Experienced'' certified double-platinum; {{harvnb|Levy|2005|p=34}}: Hendrix's "epochal debut".</ref>

==== Monterey Pop Festival ====
{{Main|Monterey Pop Festival}}
[[File:Jimi Hendrix burning his guitar at the Monterey Pop Festival, June 18, 1967.jpg|right|thumb|upright|alt=A color photograph of a man kneeling over a guitar that is on fire|Author Michael Heatley wrote: "The iconic image by Ed Caraeff of Hendrix summoning the flames higher with his fingers will forever conjure up memories of Monterey for those who were there and the majority of us who weren't."{{sfn|Heatley|2009|p=80}}]]

Although popular in Europe at the time, the Experience's first US single, "Hey Joe", failed to reach the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] chart upon its release on May 1, 1967.{{sfn|Shadwick|2003|p=109}} Their fortunes improved when McCartney recommended them to the organizers of the [[Monterey Pop Festival]]. He insisted that the event would be incomplete without Hendrix, whom he called "an absolute ace on the guitar". McCartney agreed to join the board of organizers on the condition that the Experience perform at the festival in mid-June.<ref>{{harvnb|Cross|2005|p=184}}; "an absolute ace on the guitar"; {{harvnb|Shadwick|2003|pp=110–115}}: McCartney insisted that the festival would be incomplete without Hendrix.</ref>

On June 18, 1967,{{sfn|Gelfand|Piccoli|2009|p=1}} introduced by Brian Jones as "the most exciting performer [he had] ever heard", Hendrix opened with a fast arrangement of Howlin' Wolf's song "Killing Floor", wearing what Shadwick described as "clothes as exotic as any on display elsewhere".<ref>{{harvnb|Shapiro|Glebbeek|1995|p=190}}: "the most exciting performer [he had] ever heard"; {{harvnb|Shadwick|2003|p=115}}: "clothes as exotic as any on display elsewhere".</ref> Shadwick wrote: "[Hendrix] was not only something utterly new musically, but an entirely original vision of what a black American entertainer should and could look like."<ref>{{harvnb|Shapiro|Glebbeek|1995|p=190}}: "the most exciting performer [he had] ever heard"; {{harvnb|Shadwick|2003|p=115}}: "He was not only something utterly new musically".</ref> The Experience went on to perform renditions of "Hey Joe", B.B. King's "Rock Me Baby", [[Chip Taylor]]'s "[[Wild Thing (The Troggs song)|Wild Thing]]", and [[Bob Dylan]]'s "[[Like a Rolling Stone]]", and four original compositions: "[[Foxy Lady]]", "Can You See Me", "The Wind Cries Mary", and "Purple Haze".{{sfn|McDermott|2009|p=52}} The set ended with Hendrix [[Instrument destruction|destroying his guitar]] and tossing pieces of it out to the audience.{{sfn|Shadwick|2003|pp=110–115}} ''Rolling Stone''{{'s}} Alex Vadukul wrote:

{{Blockquote|When Jimi Hendrix set his guitar on fire at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival he created one of rock's most perfect moments. Standing in the front row of that concert was a 17-year-old boy named [[Ed Caraeff]]. Caraeff had never seen Hendrix before nor heard his music, but he had a camera with him and there was one shot left in his roll of film. As Hendrix lit his guitar, Caraeff took a final photo. It would become one of the most famous images in rock and roll.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Vadukul|first=Alex|title="Who Shot Rock and Roll" Celebrates the Photographers Behind the Iconic Images|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|date=November 13, 2009|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/who-shot-rock-and-roll-celebrates-the-photographers-behind-the-iconic-images-20091113|access-date=February 1, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140409143530/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/who-shot-rock-and-roll-celebrates-the-photographers-behind-the-iconic-images-20091113|archive-date=April 9, 2014|url-status=live}}</ref>{{refn|group=nb|According to author Bob Gula, "When Jimi torched his guitar onstage at the Monterey Pop Festival, it became one of, if not the single greatest iconic moment in the first half-century of rock; his image as the psychedelic voodoo child conjuring uncontrollable forces is a rock archetype."{{sfn|Gula|2008|p=121}} Musicologist David Moskowitz wrote: "The image of Jimi kneeling over his burning guitar at Monterey became one of the most iconic pictures of the era."{{sfn|Moskowitz|2010|p=22}}}}}}

Caraeff stood on a chair next to the edge of the stage and took four [[monochrome photography|monochrome pictures]] of Hendrix burning his guitar.<ref name="GB2009">{{cite book|last=Buckland|first=Gail|title=Who Shot Rock and Roll: A Photographic History, 1955–Present|year=2009|publisher= Knopf|isbn=978-0-307-27016-0|url=https://archive.org/details/whoshotrockrollp0000buck |url-access=registration|pages=[https://archive.org/details/whoshotrockrollp0000buck/page/62 62]–63}}</ref>{{refn|group=nb|Earlier in the festival, a German photographer advised Caraeff, who was taking pictures of performers, to save film for Hendrix.<ref name="GB2009" />}} Caraeff was close enough to the fire that he had to use his camera to protect his face from the heat. ''Rolling Stone'' later colorized the image, matching it with other pictures taken at the festival before using the shot for a 1987 magazine cover.<ref name="GB2009" /> According to author Gail Buckland, the final frame of "Hendrix kneeling in front of his burning guitar, hands raised, is one of the most famous images in rock".<ref name="GB2009" /> Author and historian Matthew C. Whitaker wrote that "Hendrix's burning of his guitar became an iconic image in rock history and brought him national attention".{{sfn|Whitaker|2011|p=382}} The ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' asserted that, upon leaving the stage, Hendrix "graduated from rumor to legend".{{sfn|Shapiro|Glebbeek|1995|p=194}} Author John McDermott wrote that "Hendrix left the Monterey audience stunned and in disbelief at what they'd just heard and seen".{{sfn|Guitar World|2011|p=62}} According to Hendrix: "I decided to destroy my guitar at the end of a song as a sacrifice. You sacrifice things you love. I love my guitar."{{sfn|Hendrix|McDermott|2007|p=28}} The performance was filmed by [[D.&nbsp;A. Pennebaker]] and included in the concert documentary ''[[Monterey Pop]]'', which helped Hendrix gain popularity with the US public.<ref>{{harvnb|Cross|2005|p=184}}; {{harvnb|Moskowitz|2010|p=22}}; {{harvnb|Shadwick|2003|pp=110–115}}.</ref>

After the festival, the Experience was booked for five concerts at [[Bill Graham (promoter)|Bill Graham's]] [[The Fillmore|Fillmore]], with [[Big Brother and the Holding Company]] and [[Jefferson Airplane]]. The Experience outperformed Jefferson Airplane during the first two nights and replaced them at the top of the bill on the fifth.{{sfn|Shadwick|2003|p=116}} Following their successful West Coast introduction, which included a free open-air concert at [[Golden Gate Park]] and a concert at the [[Whisky a Go Go]], the Experience was booked as the opening act for the first American tour of [[the Monkees]].{{sfn|McDermott|2009|pp=54–56}} The Monkees requested Hendrix as a supporting act because they were fans, but their young audience disliked the Experience, who left the tour after six shows.{{sfn|Shadwick|2003|pp=116–117}} Chandler later said he engineered the tour to gain publicity for Hendrix.<ref>{{harvnb|McDermott|1992|p=103}}: the Monkees tour as publicity for Hendrix; {{harvnb|Potash|1996|p=89}}: the Monkees asked for Hendrix.</ref>

==== ''Axis: Bold as Love'' ====
{{Main|Axis: Bold as Love}}
{{listen|filename="Bold as Love" by the Jimi Hendrix Experience.ogg|title="Bold as Love" |description=An excerpt from the outro guitar solo. The sample demonstrates the first recording of stereo [[Phaser (effect)|phasing]].}}

The second Experience album, ''[[Axis: Bold as Love]]'', opens with the track "EXP", which uses microphonic and harmonic [[Audio feedback|feedback]] in a new, creative fashion.{{sfn|Whitehill|1989b|p=6}} It also showcased an experimental stereo panning effect in which sounds emanating from Hendrix's guitar move through the stereo image, revolving around the listener.{{sfn|McDermott|2009|p=76}} The piece reflected his growing interest in science fiction and [[outer space]].{{sfn|Moskowitz|2010|p=28}} He composed the album's [[Bold as Love (song)|title track]] and finale around two verses and two choruses, during which he pairs emotions with [[persona]]s, comparing them to colors.{{sfn|Moskowitz|2010|p=33}} The song's [[coda (music)|coda]] features the first recording of stereo [[Phaser (effect)|phasing]].<ref>{{harvnb|Heatley|2009|p=87}}; {{harvnb|McDermott|2009|pp=74–75}}.</ref>{{refn|group=nb|As with their previous LP, the band had to schedule recording sessions in between performances.{{sfn|Mitchell|Platt|1990|p=76}}}} Shadwick described the composition as "possibly the most ambitious piece on ''Axis'', the extravagant metaphors of the lyrics suggesting a growing confidence" in Hendrix's songwriting.{{sfn|Shadwick|2003|p=125}} His guitar playing throughout the song is marked by chordal [[arpeggio]]s and [[contrapuntal motion]], with [[tremolo]]-picked partial chords providing the musical foundation for the chorus, which culminates in what [[musicology|musicologist]] Andy Aledort described as "simply one of the greatest electric guitar solos ever played".{{sfn|Aledort|1996|pp=68–76; 71: "one of the greatest electric guitar solos ever"}} The track fades out on tremolo-picked [[thirty-second note|32nd note]] [[double stop]]s.<ref>{{harvnb|Aledort|1996|pp=68–76}}; {{harvnb|Whitehill|1989b|p=124}}.</ref>

The scheduled release date for ''Axis'' was almost delayed when Hendrix lost the master tape of side one of the LP, leaving it in the back seat of a London taxi.{{sfn|Shadwick|2003|p=130}} With the deadline looming, Hendrix, Chandler, and engineer [[Eddie Kramer]] remixed most of side one in a single overnight session, but they could not match the quality of the lost mix of "[[If 6 Was 9]]". Redding had a tape recording of this mix, which had to be smoothed out with an iron as it had gotten wrinkled.<ref>{{harvnb|Heatley|2009|p=86}}; {{harvnb|McDermott|2009|p=76}}.</ref> During the verses, Hendrix doubled his singing with a guitar line which he played one octave lower than his vocals.{{sfn|Whitehill|1989b|p=52}} Hendrix voiced his disappointment about having re-mixed the album so quickly, and he felt that it could have been better had they been given more time.{{sfn|Shadwick|2003|p=130}}

''Axis'' featured psychedelic cover art that depicts Hendrix and the Experience as various [[Dashavatara|avatars]] of [[Vishnu]], incorporating a painting of them by [[Roger Law]], from a photo-portrait by [[Karl Ferris]].{{sfn|Unterberger|2009|pp=146–147}} The painting was then superimposed on a copy of a mass-produced religious poster.{{sfn|Heatley|2009|p=87}} Hendrix stated that the cover, which Track spent $5,000 producing, would have been more appropriate had it highlighted his American Indian heritage.{{sfn|Cross|2005|p=205}} He said: "You got it wrong&nbsp;... I'm not that kind of Indian."{{sfn|Cross|2005|p=205}} Track released the album in the UK on December 1, 1967, where it peaked at number five, spending 16 weeks on the charts.<ref>{{harvnb|McDermott|2009|p=79}}: UK release date for ''Axis: Bold As Love''; {{harvnb|Roberts|2005|p=232}}: peak UK chart position for ''Axis: Bold As Love''.</ref> In February 1968, ''Axis: Bold as Love'' reached number three in the US.{{sfn|Heatley|2009|p=99}}

While author and journalist [[Richie Unterberger]] described ''Axis'' as the least impressive Experience album, according to author Peter Doggett, the release "heralded a new subtlety in Hendrix's work".<ref>{{harvnb|Doggett|2004|p=15}}; {{harvnb|Unterberger|2009|p=68}}.</ref> Mitchell said: "''Axis'' was the first time that it became apparent that Jimi was pretty good working behind the mixing board, as well as playing, and had some positive ideas of how he wanted things recorded. It could have been the start of any potential conflict between him and Chas in the studio."<ref>{{harvnb|Mitchell|Platt|1990|p=76}}: (primary source); {{harvnb|Shadwick|2003|p=127}}: (secondary source).</ref>

==== ''Electric Ladyland'' ====
{{Main|Electric Ladyland}}

Recording for the Experience's third and final studio album, ''[[Electric Ladyland]]'', began as early as December 20, 1967, at Olympic Studios.{{sfn|McDermott|2009|p=81}} Several songs were attempted; however, in April 1968, the Experience, with Chandler as producer and engineers Eddie Kramer and [[Gary Kellgren]], moved the sessions to the newly opened [[Record Plant Studios]] in New York.<ref>{{harvnb|Heatley|2009|pp=102–103}}: Recording began with Chandler and Kramer; {{harvnb|McDermott|2009|pp=95–97}}: Kellgren.</ref> As the sessions progressed, Chandler became increasingly frustrated with Hendrix's perfectionism and his demands for repeated takes.{{sfn|Heatley|2009|p=102}} Hendrix also allowed numerous friends and guests to join them in the studio, which contributed to a chaotic and crowded environment in the control room and led Chandler to sever his professional relationship with Hendrix.{{sfn|Heatley|2009|p=102}} Redding later recalled: "There were tons of people in the studio; you couldn't move. It was a party, not a session."{{sfn|Shadwick|2003|p=157}} Redding, who had formed his own band in mid-1968, [[Fat Mattress]], found it increasingly difficult to fulfill his commitments with the Experience, so Hendrix played many of the bass parts on ''Electric Ladyland''.{{sfn|Heatley|2009|p=102}} The album's cover stated that it was "produced and directed by Jimi Hendrix".{{sfn|Heatley|2009|p=102}}{{refn|group=nb|The [[Double album|double LP]] was the only Experience album to be mixed entirely in stereo.{{sfn|Heatley|2009|p=103}}}}
During the ''Electric Ladyland'' recording sessions, Hendrix began experimenting with other combinations of musicians, including Jefferson Airplane's [[Jack Casady]] and [[Traffic (band)|Traffic's]] [[Steve Winwood]], who played bass and organ, respectively, on the 15-minute slow-blues jam, "[[Voodoo Chile]]".{{sfn|Heatley|2009|p=102}} During the album's production, Hendrix appeared at an impromptu jam with B.B. King, [[Al Kooper]], and [[Elvin Bishop]].{{sfn|Shadwick|2003|p=146}}{{refn|group=nb|In March 1968, [[Jim Morrison]] of [[the Doors]] joined Hendrix onstage at the Scene Club in New York.{{sfn|Black|1999|p=137}}}} ''Electric Ladyland'' was released on October 25, and by mid-November it had reached number one in the US, spending two weeks at the top spot.<ref>{{harvnb|McDermott|2009|pp=126–127}}: US release date; {{harvnb|Rosen|1996|p=108}}: peak chart position.</ref> The [[Double album|double LP]] was Hendrix's most commercially successful release and his only number one album.{{sfn|Murray|1989|p=51}} It peaked at number six in the UK, spending 12 weeks on the chart.{{sfn|Roberts|2005|p=232}} ''Electric Ladyland'' included Hendrix's cover of a Bob Dylan song, "[[All Along the Watchtower]]", which became Hendrix's highest-selling single and his only US top 40 hit, peaking at number 20; the single reached number five in the UK.<ref>{{harvnb|Heatley|2009|p=102}}: "All Along the Watchtower" was Hendrix's only US top 40 hit single; {{harvnb|Murray|1989|p=51}}: "All Along the Watchtower" was Hendrix's highest-selling single; {{harvnb|Roberts|2005|p=232}}: peak UK chart position for Hendrix's cover of "All Along the Watchtower"; {{harvnb|Whitburn|2010|p=294}}: peak US chart position for Hendrix's cover of "All Along the Watchtower".</ref> "[[Burning of the Midnight Lamp]]", his first recorded song to feature a [[wah-wah pedal]], was added to the album.<ref>{{harvnb|Shadwick|2003|p=118}}: "Burning of the Midnight Lamp" was Hendrix's first recorded song to feature the use of a wah-wah pedal.</ref> It was originally released as his fourth single in the UK in August 1967{{sfn|Shapiro|Glebbeek|1995|pp=526–527}} and reached number 18 on the charts.<ref>{{harvnb|Roberts|2005|p=232}}: peak UK chart position for "Burning of the Midnight Lamp".</ref>

In 1989, Noe Goldwasser, the founding editor of ''Guitar World'', described ''Electric Ladyland'' as "Hendrix's masterpiece".{{sfn|Whitehill|1989c|p=5}} According to author Michael Heatley, "most critics agree" that the album is "the fullest realization of Jimi's far-reaching ambitions."{{sfn|Heatley|2009|p=102}} In 2004, author Peter Doggett wrote: "For pure experimental genius, melodic flair, conceptual vision and instrumental brilliance, ''Electric Ladyland'' remains a prime contender for the status of rock's greatest album."{{sfn|Doggett|2004|p=19}} Doggett described the LP as "a display of musical virtuosity never surpassed by any rock musician."{{sfn|Doggett|2004|p=19}}

=== Break-up of the Experience ===
[[File:London 003 Hendrix and Handel houses.jpg|alt=A color photograph of two adjacent buildings, the one on the left is white and the on the right is dark brown.|The white building (left) is 23 [[Brook Street]] where Hendrix lived. The upper floors of 23 and 25 are currently open as a museum.|left|thumb|upright]]

In January 1969, after an absence of more than six months, Hendrix briefly moved back into his girlfriend Kathy Etchingham's apartment in [[Brook Street, London|Brook Street]], London, next door to the home of the composer [[George Frideric Handel|Handel]].<ref>{{harvnb|Black|1999|pp=181–182}}: Etchingham stated that she ended the relationship on March 19; {{harvnb|Shadwick|2003|pp=169–170}}: Etchingham's Brook Street apartment, which was next door to the [[Handel House Museum]].</ref>{{refn|group=nb|Hendrix and Etchingham ended their relationship in early 1969.{{sfn|Shadwick|2003|p=154}}}} After a performance of "[[Voodoo Child (Slight Return)|Voodoo Child]]", on BBC's ''[[Lulu (singer)#Television series|Happening for Lulu]]'' show in January 1969, the band stopped midway through an attempt at their first hit "Hey Joe" and then launched into an instrumental version of "[[Sunshine of Your Love]]", as a tribute to the recently disbanded band [[Cream (band)|Cream]],<ref>{{Cite web |date=September 18, 2015 |title=BBC Arts – BBC Arts, Jimi Hendrix is pulled off the air on Lulu's show in 1969 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p032vp1d |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190420214217/https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p032vp1d |archive-date=April 20, 2019 |access-date=July 20, 2019 |website=BBC}}</ref> until director and producer [[Stanley Dorfman]] was forced to bring the song to a premature end.<ref name="BBC-2019a">{{Cite web |title=Jimi Hendrix Wreaks Havoc on the Lulu Show, Gets Banned From the BBC (1969) |work=Open Culture |url=https://www.openculture.com/2019/09/jimi-hendrix-wreaks-havoc-on-the-lulu-show.html |access-date=June 11, 2023 |language=en-US}}</ref> The Experience bass player Noel Redding describes in his autobiography, "as the minutes ticked by on his live show, short of running onto the set to stop us or pulling the plug, there was nothing he could do. We played past the point where Lulu might have joined us, played through the time for talking at the end, played through Stanley tearing his hair, pointing to his watch and silently screaming at us. We played out the show{{nbsp}}... Afterwards, Dorfman refused to speak to us, but the result is one of the most widely used bits of film we ever did. Certainly, it’s the most relaxed."<ref name="BBC-2019a" /> Dorfman recalls at the BBC club after the show, he found Hendrix to be "a very sweet man, very quiet, he didn’t know he’d done anything wrong at all."<ref name="Budd-2018">{{Cite news |last=Budd |first=Christopher |date=August 2, 2018 |title=Stanley Dorfman |pages=Issue 82 |work=SHINDIG! Magazine |publisher=Sliverback Publishing |url=https://www.silverbackpublishing.rocks/product/shindig-issue-82-published-02082018/ |access-date=June 23, 2018}}</ref> However, according to rock and roll legend, Hendrix was banned from working at the BBC again.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Jimi Hendrix pulled off the air during Lulu's show |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/av/entertainment-arts-63707675 |access-date=June 13, 2023}}</ref>{{sfn|Cross|2005|pp=242–243}} During this time, the Experience toured Scandinavia, West Germany, and gave their final two performances in France.{{sfn|McDermott|2009|pp=134–140}} On February 18 and 24, they played sold-out concerts at London's [[Royal Albert Hall]], which were the last European appearances of this lineup.{{sfn|McDermott|2009|pp=142–144}}{{refn|group=nb|Gold and Goldstein filmed the Royal Albert Hall shows, but {{as of|2013|lc=y}} they have not been officially released.{{sfn|McDermott|2009|pp=142–144}}}}

By February 1969, Redding had grown weary of Hendrix's unpredictable work ethic and his creative control over the Experience's music.<ref>{{harvnb|McDermott|2009|p=140}}; Hendrix's unpredictable work ethic; {{harvnb|Moskowitz|2010|pp=39–40}}: Hendrix's creative control over the Experience's music.</ref> During the previous month's European tour, interpersonal relations within the group had deteriorated, particularly between Hendrix and Redding.{{sfn|McDermott|2009|p=140}} In his diary, Redding documented the building frustration during early 1969 recording sessions: "On the first day, as I nearly expected, there was nothing doing&nbsp;... On the second it was no show at all. I went to the pub for three hours, came back, and it was still ages before Jimi ambled in. Then we argued&nbsp;... On the last day, I just watched it happen for a while, and then went back to my flat."{{sfn|McDermott|2009|p=140}} The last Experience sessions that included Redding—a re-recording of "Stone Free" for use as a possible single release—took place on April 14 at Olmstead and the Record Plant in New York.<ref>{{harvnb|Shadwick|2003|pp=182–183}}: the last Experience session to include Redding; {{harvnb|McDermott|2009|pp=147–151}}: Recording sessions at Olmstead and the Record Plant.</ref> Hendrix then flew bassist Billy Cox to New York; they started recording and rehearsing together on April 21.{{sfn|McDermott|2009|p=151}}
[[File:Jimi Hendrix - The Commercial Appeal (1969).jpg|thumb|Hendrix performing in Memphis in April 1969]]

The last performance of the original Experience lineup took place on June 29, 1969, at Barry Fey's [[Denver Pop Festival]], a three-day event held at [[Denver]]'s [[Mile High Stadium]] that was marked by police using tear gas to control the audience.{{sfn|Roby|Schreiber|2010|p=180}} The band narrowly escaped from the venue in the back of a rental truck, which was partly crushed by fans who had climbed on top of the vehicle.{{sfn|McDermott|2009|pp=165–166}} Before the show, a journalist angered Redding by asking why he was there; the reporter then informed him that two weeks earlier Hendrix announced that he had been replaced with Billy Cox.{{sfn|Shadwick|2003|p=191}} The next day, Redding quit the Experience and returned to London.{{sfn|Roby|Schreiber|2010|p=180}} He announced that he had left the band and intended to pursue a solo career, blaming Hendrix's plans to expand the group without allowing for his input as a primary reason for leaving.<ref>{{harvnb|McDermott|2009|pp=165–166}}: Redding blamed Hendrix's plans to expand the group; {{harvnb|Shadwick|2003|p=191}}: Redding intended to pursue his solo career.</ref> Redding later said: "Mitch and I hung out a lot together, but we're English. If we'd go out, Jimi would stay in his room. But any bad feelings came from us being three guys who were traveling too hard, getting too tired, and taking too many drugs&nbsp;... I liked Hendrix. I don't like Mitchell."{{sfn|Fairchild|1991|p=92}}

Soon after Redding's departure, Hendrix began lodging at the eight-bedroom Ashokan House, in the hamlet of Boiceville near [[Woodstock]] in upstate New York, where he had spent some time vacationing in mid-1969.{{sfn|Shapiro|Glebbeek|1995|p=375}} Manager Michael Jeffery arranged the accommodations in the hope that the respite might encourage Hendrix to write material for a new album. During this time, Mitchell was unavailable for commitments made by Jeffery, which included Hendrix's first appearance on US TV—on ''[[The Dick Cavett Show]]''—where he was backed by the studio orchestra, and an appearance on ''[[The Tonight Show]]'' where he appeared with Cox and session drummer [[Ed Shaughnessy]].{{sfn|Shadwick|2003|p=191}}

=== Woodstock ===
{{Main|Woodstock}}
[[File:Jimi Hendrix performing "The Star Spangled Banner" at Woodstock, August 18, 1969.jpg|left|thumb|Hendrix flashed a [[Peace symbols|peace sign]] at the start of his performance of "The Star-Spangled Banner" at Woodstock, August 18, 1969.{{sfn|Moskowitz|2010|p=59}} |alt=A color image of three men standing on stage performing music]]

By 1969, Hendrix was the world's highest-paid rock musician.<ref name="Highest-paid">{{harvnb|Cross|2005|p=255|ps=: "Though Jimi was now the highest-paid rock musician in the world–he'd made fourteen thousand dollars a minute for his [May 18, 1969] Madison Square Garden concert"}}; {{harvnb|Shapiro|Glebbeek|1995|p=220|ps=: "Once in New York, at a time [during spring 1970 recording sessions] when he was the highest-paid rock artist in the world"}}.</ref> In August, he headlined the Woodstock Music and Art Fair that included many of the most popular bands of the time.<ref>{{harvnb|Cross|2005|p=255}}; {{harvnb|McDermott|2009|p=169}}: Hendrix headlined Woodstock; {{harvnb|Shapiro|Glebbeek|1995|p=220}}.</ref> For the concert, he added rhythm guitarist [[Larry Lee (musician)|Larry Lee]] and conga players [[Juma Sultan]] and [[Gerardo Velez|Jerry Velez]]. The band rehearsed for less than two weeks before the performance, and according to Mitchell, they never connected musically.<ref>{{harvnb|Cross|2005|pp=267–272}}; {{harvnb|Shadwick|2003|pp=193–196}}.</ref> Before arriving at the engagement, Hendrix heard reports that the size of the audience had grown enormously, which concerned him as he did not enjoy performing for large crowds.{{sfn|Shapiro|Glebbeek|1995|pp=384–385}} He was an important draw for the event, and although he accepted substantially less money for the appearance than his usual fee, he was the festival's highest-paid performer.{{sfn|Murray|1989|p=53}}{{refn|group=nb|Hendrix agreed to receive $18,000 in compensation for his set, but was eventually paid $32,000 for the performance and $12,000 for the rights to film him.{{sfn|Roby|2002|p=133}}}}

Hendrix decided to move his midnight Sunday slot to Monday morning, closing the show. The band took the stage around 8:00&nbsp;a.m,<ref>{{harvnb|McDermott|2009|pp=169–170}}: Hendrix requested to close the show in the morning; {{harvnb|Roby|2002|p=133}}: the band took the stage around 8:00&nbsp;am on Monday.</ref> by which time Hendrix had been awake for more than three days.{{sfn|Cross|2005|pp=267–272}} The audience, which peaked at an estimated 400,000 people, was reduced to 30,000.{{sfn|Shapiro|Glebbeek|1995|pp=384–385}} The festival MC, [[Chip Monck]], introduced the group as "the Jimi Hendrix Experience", but Hendrix clarified: "We decided to change the whole thing around and call it 'Gypsy Sun and Rainbows'. For short, it's nothin' but a 'Band of Gypsys'."{{sfn|Cross|2005|p=270}}

{{listen|filename=Jimi Hendrix performing "The Star Spangled Banner" at Woodstock, 18 August 1969.ogg|title="The Star-Spangled Banner"|description= An excerpt from the beginning of "The Star-Spangled Banner", at Woodstock, August 18, 1969. The sample demonstrates Hendrix's use of feedback.}}

Hendrix's performance included a rendition of the US national anthem, "[[The Star-Spangled Banner]]", with copious feedback, distortion, and sustain to imitate the sounds made by rockets and bombs.<ref>{{harvnb|Shadwick|2003|p=249}}: feedback, distortion, and sustain; {{harvnb|Unterberger|2009|pp=101–103}}: Hendrix replicated the sounds made by rockets and bombs; {{harvnb|Whitehill|1989a|p=86}} Hendrix's performance of "The Star-Spangled Banner" featured his "sonic portrayal of war".</ref> Contemporary political pundits described his interpretation as a statement against the [[Vietnam War]]. Three weeks later Hendrix said: "We're all Americans&nbsp;... it was like 'Go America!'...&nbsp;We play it the way the air is in America today. The air is slightly static, see."{{sfn|Cross|2005|p=271}} Immortalized in the 1970 documentary film, ''[[Woodstock (film)|Woodstock]]'', Hendrix's version became part of the sixties [[zeitgeist]].{{sfn|Cross|2005|p=272}} Pop critic [[Al Aronowitz]] of the ''New York Post'' wrote: "It was the most electrifying moment of Woodstock, and it was probably the single greatest moment of the sixties."{{sfn|Cross|2005|p=271}} Images of the performance showing Hendrix wearing a blue-beaded white leather jacket with fringe, a red head-scarf, and blue jeans are regarded as iconic pictures that capture a defining moment of the era.<ref>{{harvnb|Shapiro|Glebbeek|1995|pp=384–385}}: "One of the abiding images of the place and time of Woodstock is Jimi, in white-beaded leather jacket, blue jeans, gold chains and a red head-scarf standing center-stage sending out 'The Star-Spangled Banner{{'"}};{{harvnb|Inglis|2006|p=57}}: "Woodstock has come to represent a unique moment of community, and Hendrix's appearance in particular symbolizes the freewheeling spirit of the era as well as the troubled heart of the anti-war movement."</ref>{{refn|group=nb|In 2010, when a federal court of appeals decided on whether online sharing of a music recording constituted a performance, they cited Hendrix in their decision stating: "Hendrix memorably (or not, depending on one's sensibility) offered a 'rendition' of the Star-Spangled Banner at Woodstock when he performed it aloud in 1969".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=5598707241741576791|title=''United States v. ASCAP'' (In re Application of RealNetworks, Inc. and Yahoo! Inc.), 627 F.3d 64 (2d Cir. 2010)|publisher=Google Scholar|access-date=November 16, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151107030854/http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=5598707241741576791|archive-date=November 7, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>}} He played "Hey Joe" during the encore, concluding the 3{{frac|2}}-day festival. Upon leaving the stage, he collapsed from exhaustion.{{sfn|Cross|2005|p=272}}{{refn|group=nb|The Woodstock lineup appeared together on two subsequent occasions, and on September 16 they jammed for one last time; soon afterward, Lee and Velez left the band.{{sfn|McDermott|2009|pp=174–176}}}} In 2011, the editors of ''Guitar World'' named his performance of "The Star-Spangled Banner" the greatest performance of all time.{{sfn|Guitar World|2011|p=55}}

=== Band of Gypsys ===
{{Main|Band of Gypsys}}

A legal dispute arose in 1966 regarding a record contract that Hendrix had entered into the previous year with producer Ed Chalpin.{{sfn|Moskowitz|2010|pp=6, 37–38}} After two years of litigation, the parties agreed to a resolution that granted Chalpin the distribution rights to an album of original Hendrix material. Hendrix decided that they would record the LP, ''[[Band of Gypsys]]'', during two live appearances.{{sfn|Shadwick|2003|pp=156, 214}} In preparation for the shows he formed an all-black [[power trio]] with Cox and drummer [[Buddy Miles]], formerly with Wilson Pickett, [[the Electric Flag]], and the [[Buddy Miles Express]].{{sfn|Unterberger|2009|pp=106–112}} Critic [[John Rockwell]] described Hendrix and Miles as [[Jazz fusion|jazz-rock fusionists]], and their collaboration as pioneering.{{sfn|Murray|1989|p=202}} Others identified a [[funk]] and [[soul music|soul]] influence in their music.{{sfn|Heatley|2009|p=118}} [[Tour promoter|Concert promoter]] Bill Graham called the shows "the most brilliant, emotional display of virtuoso electric guitar" that he had ever heard.{{sfn|Shadwick|2003|p=214}} Biographers have speculated that Hendrix formed the band in an effort to appease members of the [[Black Power]] movement and others in the black communities who called for him to use his fame to speak up for civil rights.{{sfn|Unterberger|2009|p=95}}

{{listen|filename=Jimi Hendrix performing "Machine Gun", 1 January 1970.ogg|title="Machine Gun" |description=An excerpt from the first guitar solo that demonstrates Hendrix's innovative use of high gain and overdrive to achieve an aggressive, sustained tone.}}

Hendrix had been recording with Cox since April and jamming with Miles since September, and the trio wrote and rehearsed material which they performed at a series of four shows over two nights on December 31 and January 1, at the [[Fillmore East]]. They used recordings of these concerts to assemble the LP, which was produced by Hendrix.{{sfn|McDermott|2009|pp=189–193}} The album includes the track "[[Machine Gun (Jimi Hendrix song)|Machine Gun]]", which musicologist Andy Aledort described as the pinnacle of Hendrix's career, and "the premiere example of [his] unparalleled genius as a rock guitarist&nbsp;... In this performance, Jimi transcended the medium of rock music, and set an entirely new standard for the potential of electric guitar."{{sfn|Aledort|1998|p=40}} During the song's extended instrumental breaks, Hendrix created sounds with his guitar that sonically represented warfare, including rockets, bombs, and diving planes.{{sfn|Heatley|2009|pp=118–119}}

The ''Band of Gypsys'' album was the only official live Hendrix LP made commercially available during his lifetime; several tracks from the Woodstock and Monterey shows were released later that year.{{sfn|Unterberger|2009|p=156}} The album was released in April 1970 by [[Capitol Records]]; it reached the top ten in both the US and the UK.{{sfn|Shadwick|2003|p=214}} That same month a single was issued with "[[Stepping Stone (Jimi Hendrix song)|Stepping Stone]]" as the A-side and "Izabella" as the B-side, but Hendrix was dissatisfied with the quality of the mastering and he demanded that it be withdrawn and re-mixed, preventing the songs from charting and resulting in Hendrix's least successful single; it was also his last.{{sfn|Shadwick|2003|p=221}}

On January 28, 1970, a third and final Band of Gypsys appearance took place; they performed during a music festival at [[Madison Square Garden]] benefiting the anti-Vietnam War [[Moratorium to End the War in Vietnam|Moratorium Committee]] titled the "Winter Festival for Peace".<ref>{{harvnb|Roby|2002|p=159}}; {{harvnb|Unterberger|2009|p=112}}.</ref> American blues guitarist [[Johnny Winter]] was backstage before the concert; he recalled: "[Hendrix] came in with his head down, sat on the couch alone, and put his head in his hands&nbsp;... He didn't move until it was time for the show."{{sfn|Roby|2002|p=159}} Minutes after taking the stage he snapped a vulgar response at a woman who had shouted a request for "Foxy Lady". He then began playing "Earth Blues" before telling the audience: "That's what happens when earth fucks with space".{{sfn|Roby|2002|p=159}} Moments later, he briefly sat down on the drum riser before leaving the stage.{{sfn|Roby|2002|pp=159–160}} Both Miles and Redding later stated that Jeffery had given Hendrix LSD before the performance.<ref>{{harvnb|Redding|Appleby|1996|p=142}}: Redding saw Jeffery give Hendrix a tablet; {{harvnb|Roby|2002|pp=159–160}}: Miles saw Jeffery give Hendrix [[lysergic acid diethylamide|LSD]].</ref> Miles believed that Jeffery gave Hendrix the drugs in an effort to sabotage the current band and bring about the return of the original Experience lineup.{{sfn|Roby|2002|pp=159–160}} Jeffery fired Miles after the show and Cox quit, ending the Band of Gypsys.{{sfn|Moskowitz|2010|p=72}}

=== Cry of Love Tour ===
{{Main|The Cry of Love Tour}}
[[File:Hendrix performing 6-20-1970.jpg|thumb|Hendrix in June 1970]]
Soon after the abruptly ended Band of Gypsys performance and their subsequent dissolution, Jeffery made arrangements to reunite the original Experience lineup.{{sfn|Unterberger|2009|p=113}} Although Hendrix, Mitchell, and Redding were interviewed by ''Rolling Stone'' in February 1970 as a united group, Hendrix never intended to work with Redding.<ref>{{harvnb|Shadwick|2003|pp=217–218}}; {{harvnb|Unterberger|2009|p=113}}.</ref> When Redding returned to New York in anticipation of rehearsals with a re-formed Experience, he was told that he had been replaced with Cox.{{sfn|Moskowitz|2010|pp=73–74}} During an interview with ''Rolling Stone''{{'s}} Keith Altham, Hendrix defended the decision: "It's nothing personal against Noel, but we finished what we were doing with the Experience and Billy's style of playing suits the new group better."{{sfn|Unterberger|2009|p=113}} Although an official name was never adopted for the lineup of Hendrix, Mitchell, and Cox, promoters often billed them as the Jimi Hendrix Experience or just Jimi Hendrix.{{sfn|Shadwick|2003|p=223}}

During the first half of 1970, Hendrix sporadically worked on material for what would have been his next LP.{{sfn|Shadwick|2003|p=221}} Many of the tracks were posthumously released in 1971 as ''[[The Cry of Love]]''.{{sfn|Moskowitz|2010|pp=86–90}} He had started writing songs for the album in 1968, but in April 1970 he told Keith Altham that the project had been abandoned.{{sfn|Shadwick|2003|p=221}} Soon afterward, he and his band took a break from recording and began the Cry of Love tour at the [[L.A. Forum]], performing for 20,000 people.{{sfn|Moskowitz|2010|p=74}} Set-lists during the tour included numerous Experience tracks as well as a selection of newer material.{{sfn|Moskowitz|2010|p=74}} Several shows were recorded, and they produced some of Hendrix's most memorable live performances. At one of them, the second [[Atlanta International Pop Festival (1970)|Atlanta International Pop Festival]], on July 4, he played to the largest American audience of his career.{{sfn|Schinder|Schwartz|2007|p=250}} According to authors Scott Schinder and Andy Schwartz, as many as 500,000 people attended the concert.{{sfn|Schinder|Schwartz|2007|p=250}} On July 17, they appeared at the New York Pop Festival; Hendrix had again consumed too many drugs before the show, and the set was considered a disaster.{{sfn|Moskowitz|2010|p=77}} The American leg of the tour, which included 32 performances, ended in [[Honolulu]], Hawaii, on August 1, 1970.{{sfn|Moskowitz|2010|pp=152–153}} This would be Hendrix's final concert appearance in the US.{{sfn|Moskowitz|2010|p=78}}

=== Electric Lady Studios ===
{{Main|Electric Lady Studios}}

In 1968, Hendrix and Jeffery jointly invested in the purchase of the Generation Club in [[Greenwich Village]].{{sfn|Shadwick|2003|p=154}} They had initially planned to reopen the establishment, but when an audit of Hendrix's expenses revealed that he had incurred exorbitant fees by block-booking recording studios for lengthy sessions at peak rates they decided to convert the building{{Sfn|Shapiro|Glebbeek|1995|pp=390–391}} into a studio of his own. Hendrix could then work as much as he wanted while also reducing his recording expenditures, which had reached a reported $300,000 annually.{{sfn|Heatley|2009|pp=138–139}} Architect and [[acoustician]] [[John Storyk]] designed [[Electric Lady Studios]] for Hendrix, who requested that they avoid right angles where possible. With round windows, an ambient lighting machine, and a psychedelic mural, Storyk wanted the studio to have a relaxing environment that would encourage Hendrix's creativity.{{sfn|Heatley|2009|pp=138–139}} The project took twice as long as planned and cost twice as much as Hendrix and Jeffery had budgeted, with their total investment estimated at $1&nbsp;million.{{sfn|Heatley|2009|p=139}}{{refn|group=nb|In an effort to finance the studio, Hendrix and Jeffery secured a $300,000 loan from Warner Bros. As part of the agreement, Hendrix was required to provide Warner Bros. with another album, resulting in a soundtrack for the film ''[[Rainbow Bridge (film)|Rainbow Bridge]]''.{{sfn|Heatley|2009|p=139}}}}

Hendrix first used Electric Lady on June 15, 1970, when he jammed with Steve Winwood and [[Chris Wood (rock musician)|Chris Wood]] of Traffic; the next day, he recorded his first track there, "Night Bird Flying".{{sfn|Moskowitz|2010|pp=76–79}} The studio officially opened for business on August 25, and a grand opening party was held the following day.{{sfn|Moskowitz|2010|pp=76–79}} Immediately afterwards, Hendrix left for England; he never returned to the States.<ref>{{harvnb|McDermott|2009|p=215}}: Opening Electric Lady Studios for recording; {{harvnb|McDermott|2009|p=245}}: grand opening party.</ref> He boarded an Air India flight for London with Cox, joining Mitchell for a performance as the headlining act of the [[Isle of Wight Festival 1970|Isle of Wight Festival]] on August 31, 1970.{{sfn|McDermott|2009|pp=245–246}}

=== European tour ===
When the European leg of the Cry of Love tour began, Hendrix was longing for his new studio and creative outlet, and was not eager to fulfill the commitment. On September 2, 1970, he abandoned a performance in [[Aarhus]] after three songs, stating: "I've been dead a long time".{{sfn|Black|1999|p=241}} Four days later, he gave his final concert appearance, at the Isle of [[Fehmarn]] Festival in West Germany.{{sfn|Brown|1997|p=77}} He was met with booing and jeering from fans in response to his cancellation of a show slated for the end of the previous night's bill due to torrential rain and risk of electrocution.{{sfn|Brown|1997|pp=65–77}}{{refn|group=nb|A live recording of the concert was later released as ''[[Live at the Isle of Fehmarn]]''.{{sfn|Moskowitz|2010|p=176}}}} Immediately following the festival, Hendrix, Mitchell, and Cox traveled to London.{{sfn|McDermott|2009|p=248}}

Three days after the performance, Cox, who was suffering from severe [[paranoia]] after either taking LSD or being given it unknowingly, quit the tour and went to stay with his parents in Pennsylvania.<ref>{{harvnb|McDermott|2009|p=248}}; {{harvnb|Shadwick|2003|p=240}}.</ref> Within days of Hendrix's arrival in England, he had spoken with Chas Chandler, [[Alan Douglas (record producer)|Alan Douglas]], and others about leaving his manager, Michael Jeffery.{{sfn|Shadwick|2003|pp=242–243}} On September 16, Hendrix performed in public for the last time during an informal jam at [[Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club]] in [[Soho]] with [[Eric Burdon]] and his latest band, [[War (American band)|War]].{{sfn|Shadwick|2003|p=243}} They began by playing a few of their recent hits, and after a brief intermission Hendrix joined them during "[[Mother Earth (Memphis Slim song)|Mother Earth]]" and "[[Tobacco Road (song)|Tobacco Road]]".{{sfn|Brown|1997|p=107}} He died less than 48 hours later.{{sfn|Brown|1997|pp=103–107}}