Setting the Stage

This detailed account of James Marshall Hendrix’s life before he transformed into “Jimi” Hendrix covers his hardscrabble childhood in Seattle, his early musical inspirations, first instruments and bands, and stint in the U.S. Army. Following his discharge, Hendrix embarks on his professional career, playing the chitlin circuit and making his first recordings as a studio musician. He then lands in New York City, where he lives in abject poverty until his “discovery” by Linda Keith and Bryan “Chas” Chandler. Chandler sees him perform “Hey Joe” and Bob Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone” in a Greenwich Village club and arranges his passage to London. In a move that will come back to haunt him, Hendrix agrees to let Chandler and Michael Jeffery manage his career.