Musicians the world over agree on one thing; Jimi Hendrix was arguably the greatest instrumentalist in the history of rock music.   He was born 1942 in Seattle, Washington as Johnny Allen Hendrix, but would at the age of 4, by his father’s desire, become James Marshall Hendrix.  As an adult, his name would change one final time to Jimi Hendrix.  His father, Al, was stationed in Alabama when Jimi was born, and wouldn’t see his son until he was 3 years of age.  While Al was away, Jimi was cared for by different family members and friends, as his mother preferred the nightlife to staying home with her baby.  When his father was discharged from the Army, it took him two months to find his son.  Jimi was living in California with a family friend, and his mother was nowhere to be found.   Eventually Jimi’s parents did reunite, but with alcohol abuse, poverty, and intense violence, it wasn’t a nurturing environment.  All total they had five children—three were sent to foster care and eventually surrendered for adoption.  Jimi and his younger brother, Leon, were remanded to the care of their father when their parents ultimately divorced.  In a 1967 interview, Hendrix explained that the inspiration behind the song Angel was his mother.  He had a dream that she was being carried away on a camel amongst a big caravan and she was saying “Well, I won’t be seein’ you too much anymore, you know.” And he said, “Yeah, but where are you goin’?”   “I will always remember that...I never did forget...there are some dreams you never forget.”  Jimi’s mother died at 33 from cirrhosis of the liver, but his father refused to take the boys to the funeral.  Instead, he gave them shots of whiskey and instructed them that this was how men were suppose to deal with loss. 

Read the article in its entirety in the April 2015 

Bevil newsletter, which accompanies the cover.