Lost Gypsy
Jimi Hendrix died 50 years ago yesterday. Only 27 years old he died on September 18, 1970. A tragic loss, especially for one so talented.
I have two small connections to Jimi, first a friend of mine went to Garfield High School with him and showed me his year book with both of their photos in it. He said Jimi was nice, but not a particularly motivated student. Since Jimi never graduated, I suppose he was right.
The other is I worked at Temple De Hirsch Sinai in Seattle, where Jimi played his first gig for an unknown band in the large auditorium known as the Jaffe Auditorium. The people at Temple told me the story and how he was fired after one set from the band because he was showing off his skills. Every time after that when I went to the Jaffe Auditorium I used to think what that night must have been like, and how no one that night in 1959 knew that a legend was in the making.
If only we had more of his music, but it wasn’t to be. So travel on lost gypsy.
Here’s a great performance Red House of one of my favorite songs of his, the final track on the legendary the Are you Experienced Album.
