The 30 seconds that changed Jimi Hendrix’s life forever: “I never heard anything like it”
Although he is celebrated as one of the definitive masters of rock music, the route Jimi Hendrix took to the top was less than straightforward. It was a journey filled with ups and downs, brushes with the law, and the presence of several established musicians.
After he was discharged from the Army in 1962, Hendrix delved into the world of music, something he had been itching to do during his military tenure. Before too long, he would be playing on the famed chitlin’ circuit with his band, The King Kasuals, and as a backing musician to the likes of Wilson Pickett, Slim Harpo, Sam Cooke, Ike and Tina Turner and Jackie Wilson.
However, by January 1964, Hendrix knew he had outgrown not just his band but the circuit itself and was becoming increasingly discouraged by following the artistic direction of various band leaders. Fuelled by self-belief, he moved into the Hotel Theresa in Harlem, New York City. While there, he met Lithofayne Pridgon, commonly known as ‘Faye’, who would quickly become his girlfriend. A native of the neighbourhood and plugged into its music scene, Pridgon would support Hendrix and encourage him to keep going.
Due to his industry and talent, things would pick up quickly for Hendrix in Harlem. In February of that year, he won the first prize in the amateur contest at the Apollo Theatre, a sign of his outstanding aptitude. Continuing his journey, he played in the local club circuit, sitting in for various bands at the drop of a hat, desperate to demonstrate his chops.
Those years as a sideman proved invaluable to Hendrix’s development. Night after night, he absorbed lessons from soul, blues and R&B performers, quietly refining the style that would later revolutionise rock music when he finally stepped into the spotlight as a bandleader.
As with every elemental talent, the musical powers of the era would start to take notice. At the recommendation of a former associate of the southern soul legend Joe Tex, Ronald Isley, the frontman and leader of The Isley Brothers, allowed Hendrix to audition as the lead guitarist of their backing band, The IB Specials.
The youngest brother, Ernie Isley, who was 11 at the time and not old enough to be in the band yet, once recalled Hendrix’s audition. “When he arrived, he said he couldn’t audition because his guitar was in the pawnshop,” he says in Philip Norman’s Wild Thing: The Short, Spellbinding Life of Jimi Hendrix. “We got it out for him, but he said he couldn’t play it because it had no strings, so we got him the strings.”
Once Hendrix was set up, he told the group he enjoyed their cover of ‘Twist and Shout’. “Even then, it seems, he knew how to pull off a dazzling cover version,” Ronald Isley later said. “Man, I never heard anything like it. We hired him after about thirty seconds.”
It’s no real surprise that Hendrix passed the audition with ease. However, the somewhat itinerant future star also told the band that he couldn’t make it to rehearsals in New Jersey because he had nowhere to stay. “He had all his worldly goods with him, so we said, ‘OK, there’s a spare room at our mother’s house that you can have,'” Ernie Isley added. Of course, Hendrix willfully accepted.
This wasn’t the only thing Hendrix needed a leg up with. Hendrix’s axe also needed upgrading, and the band were proactive in gifting him the guitar that he would become synonymous with. “We told him, ‘We gotta get you a new axe, man, what do you want?’ He said, ‘Can I have a white Stratocaster?’ We said, ‘Sure’ and he was like ‘Oh, my GOD!'” Ronald concluded. “With that, he was the star of the band before the first rehearsal was over.”
The Isley Brothers’ faith in Hendrix extended well beyond giving him a job. By providing him with both a place to live and the instrument he dreamed of owning, they offered the stability and confidence he needed at a pivotal moment, allowing his remarkable talent to flourish.
Hendrix was now ready. He kickstarted his recording career with The Isley Brothers and took his craft up a few gears. In just two years’ time, he would be whisked to London by Chas Chandler, and The Jimi Hendrix Experience was formed.
Hendrix’s time with The Isley Brothers is often overshadowed by the explosive success of The Jimi Hendrix Experience, but it was a crucial chapter in his rise. Before becoming one of rock’s most transformative guitarists, he relied on the generosity of fellow musicians who recognised his extraordinary ability long before the rest of the world caught up.
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