To begin with, James Marshall “Jimi” Hendrix was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career endured only four years, he is widely proclaimed as one of the most dominant electric guitarists in the history of popular music and one of the most celebrated musicians of the 20th century. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame describes him as “arguably the most influential instrumentalist in the history of rock and roll music”.
Moreover, Hendrix was inspired by American rock and roll and electric blues. He favored overdriven amps with high volume and gain, and was instrumental in popularizing the previously undesirable sounds caused by guitar amp feedback. He was also one of the first guitarists to make extensive use of tone-changing effect units in mainstream rock, such as fuzz distortion, Octavia, wah-wah and Uni-Vibe. He was the first musician to use stereophonic phasing effects in recordings. Holly George-Warren of Rolling Stone commented: “Hendrix introduced the use of the instrument as a genesis of electronic sound. Players before him had experimented with feedback and distortion, but Hendrix translated these effects and others into a controlled, fluid vocabulary that was every bit as personal.” like the blues he started with.”
Hendrix was recipient of several music awards
Meanwhile, Hendrix was the recipient of several music awards during his lifetime and posthumously. In 1967 Melody Maker readers voted him Pop Musician of the Year and in 1968 Billboard named him Artist of the Year and Rolling Stone named him Performer of the Year. Disc and Music Echo awarded him World Top Musician of the Year in 1969 and Guitar Player named him Rock Guitarist of the Year in 1970.
Hendrix ranked as the 6th greatest artist
Subsequently, the Jimi Hendrix Experience was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992 and the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2005. Rolling Stone listed the band’s three studio albums, Are You Experienced, Axis: Bold as Love and Electric Ladyland, among the 100 of the greatest albums of all time and ranked Hendrix as the greatest guitarist and sixth greatest artist of all time.
