Anthology should help keep the experience of Hendrix alive
Sunday, November 7, 2010 | By Anonymous
But just how long can the guitarist expect to engage pop culture before time tarnishes his luster? After all, even Elvis and Frank Sinatra find it increasingly tough to win over new fans in 2010.
Hendrix, however, may have a musical legacy that sets endurance records. One singularly simple reason? Guitar lessons, says Brian Hiatt, senior writer at Rolling Stone, which has named Hendrix the greatest guitarist of all time in a critics' poll.
"Think about it — every new kid who starts up with guitar is going to at some point be introduced to Hendrix's music," Hiatt says.
With guitar remaining one of the most popular instruments for kids (not to mention its video-game alter ego, Guitar Hero), that guarantees Hendrix a steady flow of potential new fans for years.
Helping fan those Hendrix flames is Experience Hendrix, gatekeepers of the musician's legacy after decades of legal wrangling. Run by Janie Hendrix, an adopted daughter of Jimi's father, Al, the company has plans to release music from its vaults for the next 10 years.
This most recent box set includes a DVD that features funk bass icon Bootsy Collins reading Hendrix's letters. The point is clear: Hendrix may have been a guitar deity, but he was also a dutiful son who wrote home often.
By demystifying the man, he becomes even more accessible, says Steven Roby, co-author with Brad Schreiber of the new book Becoming Jimi Hendrix: From Southern Crossroads to Psychedelic London, The Untold Story of a Musical Genius.
"The obstacles he overcame are impressive: He was poor, couldn't read music and was left-handed in a right-handed guitar world," Roby says. "When people understand what Jimi dealt with, they get an even better appreciation for his accomplishments. His legacy will last another 40 years. Just look at his last album (the March release Valleys of Neptune). It debuted at No. 4 (on Billboard's album chart), amazing for a guy who's been gone 40 years."
Much of what keeps Hendrix viable is his chosen musical genre, the blues, a cornerstone of ever-popular rock.
"Jimi is still revered because he was so creatively free," says John McDermott, who is in charge of the Experience Hendrix catalog. "He was not part of some movement that can feel dated. He was just being him, and that sound still works."
And Hendrix, a studio hound, made a lot of it.
"All you need to do is look at my dad to understand that driven side of Jimi," says Janie Hendrix, 49. "Dad was a gardener, and he would work tirelessly. That really made an impact on my brother."
In fact, Hendrix's all too brief musical career was filled with discipline, says Eddie Kramer, Hendrix's engineer.
"First it was his father, but after that it was the Army (Hendrix was in the 101st Airborne Rangers), then it was the strict R&B bandleaders (such as Little Richard). Later it was (producer) Chas (Chandler), who had a great pop sensibility, pushing Jimi to hone his work down to the perfect three-minute song.
"So when it came time for Jimi to go off on his own, all he knew was hard work."
And Experience Hendrix has it all. Finished songs. Outtakes. False starts. Fuzzy ideas. Goofy banter. Though not all of that will serve Jimi's legacy, Hiatt says.
"They just need to be judicious," he says. "If the music is treated with great respect and care, there's no telling how long Hendrix can last."