On this day in 1970, guitarist Jimi Hendrix died after collapsing at a party in London. Police confirmed there was no question of foul play. A number of sleeping pills were found at the house in Notting Hill Gate and were taken away for analysis. Hendrix, 27, was born in Seattle, Washington, but rose to fame in Britain, with his band Jimi Hendrix Experience. He will be remembered as a key figure in the music world who transformed electric guitar-playing using distortion, feedback and sheer volume to create a revolutionary new sound.
Hendrix had been staying in London since cutting short a European tour with his band after bass player Billy Cox fell ill with stress and exhaustion. They were among the headline acts at the three-day Love and Peace Festival at Insel Fehrmarn in Germany. The concert was not an entire success. A torrential downpour meant Hendrix postponed his performance by a day and the audience was disrupted by fighting and gunfire between rival German motorcycle gangs who eventually burned the stage to the ground. It was after this performance the group returned to London and Hendrix sent Cox back to the United States to convalesce.
James Hendrix was part black, part Cherokee Indian and part Mexican. He left school early, having developed a keen interest in music but was unable to read it.
He joined the army as a paratrooper but was discharged due to injury and took up work as a session musician. The bands first single 'Hey Joe' spent ten weeks in the UK charts, reaching number six in early 1967. His final performance in Britain was with American band War at Ronnie Scott's club in London the previous week.
In 2003 a survey by the Rolling Stone magazine named Jimi Hendrix the greatest guitarist in rock history.
The inquest heard he had taken nine sleeping pills but there was no evidence of drug addiction. The coroner recorded an open verdict on the death of Jimi Hendrix.
