Jimi Hendrix: Performer of the Year 1969
The Rolling Stones Magazine named Jimi Hendrix, the Performer of the Year in 1969. To put in mildly, Hendrix was on a roll that year. In January of 1969, he did an 11 city tour of Germany with stops in Vienna and Strasbourg. Gunther Kieser, a famous German graphic artist, produced a tour blank for the Hendrix Germany tour. His "medusa head" image of Hendrix is probably the most enduring in rock concert poster history. The Experience was well received by European audiences making a profound impression on them.
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His album "Electric Ladyland" released in late 1968, went platinum and is Hendrix's only number one album. Many think the album captured Hendrix's mind-blowing musical talents and considered his masterpiece. During the Electric Ladyland recording sessions, Hendrix invited outside musicians to get a particular desired sound. Jack Casady, the bassist from Jefferson Airplane, and Traffic's organist Steve Winwood recorded the slow blues jam "Voodoo Chile," which is sensational. The album includes Hendrix's cover of a Bob Dylan song, "All Along the Watchtower" which is Hendrix's highest-selling single. Today, "Electric Ladyland" still makes most greatest album lists published by various publications.
The Experience was touring extensively in 1969, playing 45 concerts and festivals across the U.S., England, Germany, France, Austria, Denmark, and Sweden. The band broke up from exhaustion and interpersonal disputes. 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. The festival was broken up with the police using tear gas to control the audience. The band escaped from the venue in the back of a rental truck. A journalist angered Redding by asking why he was there. The reporter informed him that Hendrix had announced two weeks earlier his replacement by Billy Cox. The next day, Redding quit the Experience and returned to London. Mitch Mitchell continued to play drums for Hendrix.
By the summer of 1969, Hendrix was the highest-paid rock musician in the U.S. He and Mitchell headed to Woodstock in August with a new band. He did not want to play on Sunday night when the crowd had reached 400,000. He opted to cap the event in front of a smaller audience on Monday morning and made rock history with his rendition of the U.S. national anthem, "The Star-Spangled Banner." He played the song with copious feedback and distortion and created the most electrifying moment of the festival. Pictures of Hendrix wearing a blue-beaded white leather jacket with fringe, a red head-scarf, and blue jeans are iconic and capture a defining moment of the 1960s.
Later that year, Hendrix formed the Band of Gypsys with drummer Buddy Miles and bassist Billy Cox. The band plays a mix of funk and rhythm and blues elements folded into hard rock with jamming. They ended the year recording a live album at the Fillmore East. Concert promoter Bill Graham called the shows "the most brilliant, emotional display of virtuoso electric guitar" that he had ever heard. A compliment like that is a great way to end the year.