What did Jimi Hendrix mean when he asked ‘Are You Experienced?’
Chas Chandler first made a name for himself as the bassist of The Animals, the British invasion band that brought us the finest version of ‘The House of the Rising Sun’. This was no small feat, but the most important moment of his life was yet to come, even when he left The Animals in 1966. He was, of course, the man responsible for bringing Jimi Hendrix to the UK.
Following a stint in the army, Hendrix began to put his guitar skills to good use, playing as a backing musician for several soul, R&B and blues artists in the mid-1960s. His adaptive virtuosity earned him formative experiences backing the likes of Slim Harpo, Wilson Pickett, Sam Cooke, Ike & Tina Turner, and Jackie Wilson. These were great gigs, but Hendrix knew he deserved a centre-stage position.
After leaving The Animals, Chandler pursued a career as a talent scout, hopeful of management work. During his final tour with The Animals in the US, he saw Hendrix perform in Greenwich Village, New York. At this point, he was an unknown artist who went by the name Jimmy James. Impressed, Chandler opened correspondence with the guitarist and managed to convince him to visit London.
As a devoted follower of many British invasion artists, including The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, Hendrix felt a profound connection with the scene in the UK capital. Chandler felt the guitarist would have a much greater chance of personal eminence here, and Hendrix seemed to agree. With a management contract signed, Chandler set about finding Hendrix a supporting rhythm section.
After a couple of auditions, Hendrix seemed happy to proceed with a rhythm section consisting of the colossal talent of drummer Mitch Mitchell and bassist Noel Redding. With Hendrix front and centre, this promising new three-piece was called the Jimi Hendrix Experience, and their first album was titled Are You Experienced.
When the band stepped into the studio to record the debut single, ‘Hey Joe’, in October 1966, very few had had the pleasure of experiencing Hendrix’s live show. However, over the ensuing months, word spread, and he began to rub shoulders with Eric Clapton, Paul McCartney and Brian Jones, dropping jaws wherever he played.
Undoubtedly, Jimi Hendrix’s “Experience” refers partly to the unique experience offered during a gig. This was certainly the intention when Chandler and Hendrix came up with the name. However, the question posed in the debut album’s title and the song of the same name suggests an ulterior meaning.
By 1967, rock ‘n’ roll had well and truly entered its psychedelic wave. The Beatles had released Revolver and had Sgt Pepper in the oven. Meanwhile, Cream duelled with The Jimi Hendrix Experience as a rival psychedelic three-piece. Hendrix and Clapton are often regarded as the finest guitarists of this period, while Ginger Baker and Mitchell were among the finest percussionists.
Besides all the instrumental virtuosity the psychedelic rock wave seemed to incite, a key ingredient was the distortion of sound and vision. Amplifier technology had come on in leaps and bounds, but for visual distortion, these artists liked to use LSD. This, incidentally, was the second meaning of Hendrix’s question regarding Experience.
In ‘Are you Experienced?’, Hendrix appears to address a romantic partner. If she can just get her “mind together” they could “hold hands and then” they’ll “watch the sun rise”. Before the pair indulge in something, he asks, “But first… Are you experienced? / Have you ever been experienced? / Well, I have”.
This could be Hendrix’s strange way of asking if his partner is a virgin before engaging in sexual congress. However, most people interpret the song as pertaining to the psychedelic experience attained by using drugs like LSD and mescaline. Hendrix wasn’t a voracious user of acid, but such were the times.
As the early single ‘Purple Haze’ suggests, Hendrix had a soft spot for cannabis. The concluding lines of the song read, “Have you ever been experienced? / Not necessarily stoned, but beautiful,” suggesting that Hendrix may have referred to his herb of choice.
According to music historians Harry Shapiro and Caesar Glebbeek, Hendrix felt the song wasn’t so much about drugs as it was about “finding peace within yourself”. So, when the narrator asks his partner if she’s experienced, he may simply have been inquiring about whether she has found peace to feel “beautiful” inside, “not necessarily stoned”.
