What a total legend Jimi Hendrix is. Or was? No, is. Today marks a somber milestone in rock history as today is the 50th anniversary of his untimely death. Let’s take a look at just why Jimi Hendrix’s influence as a musician continues to carry his wild spirit onward and forward in the rock world 50 years later.

 

 

He made his own rules. Jimi played his guitar upside down because he was left handed and entirely self taught. He couldn’t read sheet music so he played and wrote songs by feeling, expressing his musical vision through colours. To Jimi, certain feelings would make you think of specific colours, like how he associated purple with anger. Jimi very much embodied the rock n’ roll rebel with ease as it was more than just a stage persona for him, it was a way of life.

 

 

His showmanship at the time was out of this world. From playing his guitar with his mouth to setting it on fire, Jimi wasn’t afraid to show off. I think B.B King put it best, “When you heard Jimi Hendrix, you knew it was Jimi Hendrix. He introduced himself with his instrument. His attack to a guitar man, was, oh, something else! You think of one of the great American ball players, or one of the great fighters of the world, you know, that’s the way he would attack any note on his guitar.”

 

 

Jimi always put the music first. He started out on a one string ukulele and became one of the most respected guitarists to this day because of his affection for his craft. His love for music was pure, down to the packaging of his records. He was surprised to learn that the U.K cover for his album Electric Ladyland featured 19 naked women. It took some time to warm up to it because he thought at first that it would distract from the music. He even got himself banned from the BBC because during a close out performance on a television show, he decided to do an impromptu tribute to the recently disbanded band Cream. You can watch the full story below.

 

 

Jimi Hendrix is truly a rock GOD. Never before and never again will there ever be someone like him. Imagine what other musical visions he would have created with all this lost time. That is partly why his legacy lives on so fiercely; Knowing that he was just getting started on the road to rock n’ roll domination, only to suddenly pass in 1970 at the age of 27, is what keeps us hanging on to every riff of The Jimi Hendrix Experience 50 years later.