Jimi Hendrix Extracts
Jimi Hendrix Extracts: taken from Derek Shelmerdine’s book RocknRoll Unravelled. This only represents a small number of the Hendrix entries.
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The following extracts are taken from the pages of Rock’n’Roll Unravelled and build up to tell the story of Jimi Hendrix. There are only a few extracts here, to give a flavour of his story. The book has a far more comprehensive coverage.
(An * with a date indicates an associated story in Rock’n’Roll Unravelled. That story might not appear here.)
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Jimi Hendrix Extracts Taken from Rock’n’Roll Unravelled
- 15 October 1965: Signed a management contract with Ed Chalpin
- 25 February 1968: Jimi Hendrix met the Plaster Casters of Chicago
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15 October 1965: Signed a management contract with Ed Chalpin
After leaving the Army in mid-1962 Jimi Hendrix played with a number of bands, including the King Casuals with Billy Cox, and Bobby Taylor and the Vancouvers, in a lineup with guitarist Tommy Chong of hippie duo Cheech and Chong fame. He also joined touring bands for various artists, including Sam Cooke, Jackie Wilson and Little Richard. All this, plus work as a session guitarist, including the Isley Brothers’ Testify.
Band of Gypsies
Hendrix met R&B bandleader Curtis Knight in New York and was invited to become the new lead guitarist with his group the Squires. Knight also introduced him to his manager Ed Chalpin, who signed Hendrix to a three-year exclusive recording agreement. Knight had just written How Would You Feel, a seminal black rock protest song. On the single Hendrix is accredited as arranger, Jimmy Hendrix.
That contract with Chalpin, signed on 15 October 1965, came back to haunt Hendrix. After he parted company with Knight and Chalpin, Hendrix met Chas Chandler, became the Jimi Hendrix Experience and found international fame. When Chalpin noticed Hendrix’s new-found success he invoked the contract and claimed his share of the royalties. The initial settlement included 100% of the royalties from Hendrix’s fourth album, Band of Gypsys. The legal wrangling continued long after Hendrix’s death.
25 February 1968: Met the Plaster Casters of Chicago
The Plaster Casters of Chicago had a stimulating meeting with Jimi Hendrix in his hotel room at the Chicago Hilton and added #00004 to their collection of rock stars’ appendages. At the time of writing, this particular piece of art was on sale, in an edition of 30, for $2,000.
Hendrix’s encounter was one of the early outings for Cynthia Plaster Caster. Similar plaster casts were obtained for a host of rock stars, including the Young Rascals’ Eddie Brigati, Canned Heat’s Harvey Mandel and the Lovin’ Spoonful’s Zal Yanovsky.
More Jimi Hendrix items to be added…
