Are You Experienced?
“Vintage Rock Posters offers a $20,000 reward for original Kieser Jimi Hendrix 1969 German tour blank with venue information printed on the layout. They are offering other rewards, so please go to the home page for more details.”
In 1966, it was a chance meeting with Linda Keith in New York, the girlfriend of Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards, that started Jimmy Hendrix's journey to becoming a superstar. Keith introduced him to Chas Chandler, who was leaving the Animals to become a promoter and manager. Hendrix hired Chandler and his partner Michael Jeffery to become his managers. They traveled together to London, and Chandler started recruiting members for the Jimi Hendrix Experience.
Hendrix met guitarist Noel Redding at an audition, and Chandler asked Redding if he wanted to play bass guitar in Hendrix's band. Later, Chandler contacted drummer Mitch Mitchell to participate in a rehearsal for Hendrix. Chandler also convinced Hendrix to change his first name from "Jimmy" to "Jimi" and launched the band.
It is hard to believe that three musicians could produce so much sound, but Jimi Hendrix was a generational talent who needed a decent rhythm section. Mitchell was a fantastic drummer whose jazz flair and flourishes worked well with Jimi's playing. Redding's job was to hold the bottom down. Being a guitarist, Redding's palm muting and picking worked well with Jimi's songs.
By 1969, Jimi Hendrix was the highest-paid rock musician. LIPPMANN + RAU signed him to tour Germany in January. They hired Gunther Kieser to create a tour blank to advertise the show in Germany, Austria, and France. His “Medusa Head” image became iconic and probably the best rock concert poster ever produced. Vintage Rock Posters offers a $20,000 reward for original Kieser posters with venue information printed on the layout. They are offering other rewards, so please go to the home page for more details.
By mid year, Hendrix, Redding, and Mitchell were exhausted by extensive travel and partying. Redding had grown weary of Hendrix's unpredictable work ethic and their interpersonal relations deteriorated. The last performance of the original Experience lineup took place on June 29, 1969, at Barry Fey's Denver Pop Festival, a three-day event held at Denver's Mile High Stadium. A journalist wise of the band's discord asked Redding why he was in Denver. Redding quit the next day and traveled back to London.
Redding played guitar for Fat Mattress in the late 1960s, and he later retired to Clonakilty, County Cork, Ireland. For almost 20 years, he played at the De Barras pub every Friday night. He passed in 2003. In the nearby village of Ardfield, local people erected a plaque to Redding's memory. Mitchell celebrated his days with Jimi Hendrix by playing the Experience Hendrix Tour with many prominent 1960s rock artists in 2008. He passed away in Portland, Oregon, from natural causes while on tour with the show.
Did you find this article helpful? Feel free to share it on Facebook by using the buttons below.