On this day in 1967, future guitar god Jimi Hendrix signed his first American record contract with Reprise Records to release his seminal debut Are You Experienced. At the time he was virtually unknown in his native U.S. Yet overseas and particularly the U.K., the rock visionary was already a budding superstar. Starting in the fall of ’66, Hendrix, backed by his band The Experience (Mitch Mitchell on drums and Noel Redding on bass), performed a series of memorable shows—featuring blistering solos and, at times, Hendrix playing the guitar with his teeth—that became the stuff of legend. Even such established rock icons as the Beatles, Eric Clapton, and the Who’s Pete Townsend hailed Hendrix as powerful talent who would soon change the course of popular music.
Following the UK chart-topping success of his first single “Hey Joe” and the follow-up releases “Purple Haze” and “The Wind Cries Mary,” Hendrix conquered America in June of ’67 after his now landmark performance at the Monterey International Pop Festival. From there, Hendrix released two more studio works that would take guitar virtuoso to genius levels—Axis: Bold As Love (Reprise, 1968) and Electric Ladyland (Reprise, 1968). Tragically, Hendrix died on September 18, 1970 at the age of 27 from an apparent accidental drug overdose. But his memory lives on through a series of posthumous albums and concert bootlegs as well as a still-unmatched artistic legacy. To this day, any guitarist who dares to aim to be the greatest must measure himself by the Jimi Hendrix standard.
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