Death of Jimi Hendrix

Death of Jimi Hendrix

Jimi Hendrix was one of the most influential guitarists of the 1960s. On September 18, 1970, Hendrix died in London at the age of 27. The details of his final hours and death are disputed. His boundless drive, technical ability and creative application of such effects as wah-wah and distortion forever transformed the sound of rock and roll.

About Death of Jimi Hendrix in brief

Summary Death of Jimi HendrixJimi Hendrix was one of the most influential guitarists of the 1960s. On September 18, 1970, Hendrix died in London at the age of 27. The details of his final hours and death are disputed. In 1992, his former girlfriend, Kathy Etchingham, asked British authorities to reopen the investigation into Hendrix’s death. A subsequent inquiry by Scotland Yard proved inconclusive, and, in 1993, they decided against proceeding with an investigation. The post-mortem examination concluded that Hendrix aspirated on his own vomit and died of asphyxia while intoxicated with barbiturates. His boundless drive, technical ability and creative application of such effects as wah-wah and distortion forever transformed the sound of rock and roll. His Rock and Roll Hall of Fame biography says he was arguably the greatest instrumentalist in the history of rock music. Insecurities about the future and disillusionment with the music industry contributed to his frustration. He was dealing with two pending lawsuits, one a paternity case and the other a recording contract dispute that was due to be heard by a UK High Court the following week. Hendrix had been in poor health, due in part to severe exhaustion caused by overworking, a chronic lack of sleep, and a persistent illness assumed to be influenza-related. He spent much of his last day alive with Monika Dannemann. During the interview, he confirmed reports that Billy Cox, the bass player in his band, the Jimihendrix Experience, was leaving.

The following day, he received a phone call from one of his girlfriends, Devon Wilson, who had become jealous after hearing rumors that he was dating another woman, Kirsten Nefer. During evening of September 13, Nefer visited Hendrix at the Cumberland Hotel in London. She told him that she would have to go back to work that evening due to her boss, George Rotterdam, convinced to her phone that he would be performing that night. After hearing that she was incapacitated, Jimi said ‘Devon, get off my back’ and called her a mad scientist. He died on October 1, 1970 at Greenwood Cemetery in Renton, Washington. The coroner, finding no evidence of suicide, and lacking sufficient evidence of the circumstances, recorded an open verdict in the inquest into his death. He had taken nine of her prescribed Vesparax sleeping tablets, 18 times the recommended dosage, and was pronounced dead at 12: 45 p. m. He was buried on October 2, 1970 in Greenwood Cemetery, Washington, with a stone in his parents’ grave. In his final interview in his suite in September 1970, he told a journalist that he did not feel compelled to prove himself as King Guitar. When asked if he had invented psychedelic music, he laughed and replied: “I don’t consider the invention of psychedelic music to be a lot of psychedelic, it’s just a lot of a lot of questions”