10 Things You Didn’t Know About Jimi Hendrix

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1

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Jimi liked driving fast, flashy cars. At one point, he owned six Corvette Stingrays. And he enjoyed driving them, of course, even though he didn’t have a driver’s license! 

2

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Hendrix’s bandmates called him “The Bat,” because he would darken or block his windows and sleep during the day. 

3

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While living in London in the early days, Jimi rented Ringo Starr’s apartment at 34 Montagu Square, along with manager Chad Chandler. Eventually, Ringo threw them both out.

4

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Jimi was once refused service in a Liverpool, England bar because the bartender thought he was a clown. The circus was in town and the bar had the rule: No Clowns Allowed.

5

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Mick Jagger’s brother, Chris Jagger, designed the hand-painted silk jacket Jimi wore when he burned his guitar at the Monterey International Pop Music Festival in June 1967.

6

elmoremagazine.com

While a teenager, Hendrix sketched car designs and sent them to the Ford Motor Company. Whether Ford responded in any way is unknown. 

7

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During Jimi’s childhood, his father Al and Jimi’s mother Lucille, who often got drunk and frequently ended up fighting, at which point young Jimi would hide in the closet.

8

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In 1961, Jimi was forced to join the Army because he had twice been caught by the police while riding in stolen cars.

9

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In December 2011, Guitar World selected Jimi’s playing of the “Star Spangled Banner” at Woodstock as number one on his list of 100 Greatest Performances.

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10

Because Jimi’s family was poor when he was a kid, when he wanted to see Elvis Presley perform at Sick’s Stadium in Seattle on September 1, 1957, he could only watch Elvis from atop a nearby hill.