Jimi Hendrix

The rise

Born Johnny Allen Hendrix on 27 November 1942 in Seattle, Washington, he taught himself guitar as a teenager. After years as a sideman on the chitlin' circuit, he was discovered in a New York club in 1966 and brought to London, where his debut 'Are You Experienced' rewrote the possibilities of the electric guitar.

What they did

The full picture

Why it matters