Jimi Hendrix discography

Infobox Artist Discography
Artist = Jimi Hendrix


Image size =
Caption =
Studio = 3
Live = 2
Compilation = 2
Singles = 11
References = YesThe following is a comprehensive discography of Jimi Hendrix, a deceased American guitarist, singer and songwriter. During his short professional career, Hendrix released a total of three studio albums, two live albums (one joint with Otis Redding), two compilation albums and eleven singles.

In September 1966, ex-Animals bassist Chas Chandler brought Hendrix from the United States to the United Kingdom, where an eponymous band, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, was formed around him. Noel Redding joined as the band's bassist on September 29 and drummer Mitch Mitchell finalised the lineup on October 6. The Experience's first record was a cover of Billy Roberts' famous "Hey Joe", released in the UK on December 16, where it peaked at #6 and also internationally outside of North America. "Purple Haze" and "The Wind Cries Mary", original Hendrix compositions, were subsequently released on March 17 and May 5, 1967 and reached #3 and #6 in the UK respectively, and were also released internationally outside of North America, before the band's debut LP, "Are You Experienced", was released on Track Records on May 12 and internationally outside of North America on Polydor Records. The album reached #2 in the UK and a version with a different track listing reached #5 in the US in the wake of the success of Hendrix's performance at the Monterey Pop Festival when released on Reprise Records in USA & Canada on August 23. "Are You Experienced" (Reprise version) was certified 4× Platinum by the RIAA over thirty years after its release, in 1998.

The fourth single released by Hendrix was "Burning of the Midnight Lamp", which was - as his other singles - not yet to appear on an original album. The record, an international release, not released in North America, became the band's least successful single so far, reaching #18 in the UK. A Reprise single from "Are You Experienced" was released on November 27; exclusive to North America "Foxey Lady" managed only to reach #67, despite the success of the LP. The Experience were bound by their contract with Track to release at least two albums in 1967, and so "" was released on December 1. The follow-up to the band's extremely successful debut was well-received, internationally in 1967, peaking at #5 in the UK and #3 in the US upon its later release there on January 15, 1968. The only single released from "Axis" was a North America (and France also)-only release; "Up from the Skies" reached #82 in the Billboard Hot 100. The Experience's first compilation "Smash Hits", featuring UK hit singles of the Experience, was released in the UK & internationally outside of North America in April 1968, and reached #4 in the UK.

On September 9 the band released the first single from their upcoming third album in the US; their now famous cover of Bob Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower" became their highest-charting single in the States when it reached #20. The song was released in the UK after the album's North America release and peaked at #5. Contrary to "Are You Experienced", "Axis: Bold as Love" and "Smash Hits", "Electric Ladyland" was released first in Hendrix's native country on October 16. Just over a week later, on October 25, it was released in the UK with a different cover. The first album produced by Hendrix himself, "Electric Ladyland" became the band's first #1 album when it reached the top spot in the Hot 100. Despite this, the album was actually the least successful in Britain, where a version sporting a controversial alternate cover reached #6. A mail order only compilation of two sides of the album, "Electric Jimi Hendrix", was released in Britain after "Electric Ladyland", but was immediately withdrawn from sale. After the UK & international release of "All Along the Watchtower", "Crosstown Traffic" b/w "Gypsy Eyes" was released in the US on November 18, where it flopped at #52. The Experience began touring again in support of the new album, and a very different compilation of "Smash Hits" was later issued in North America on July 30, 1969, where it peaked at #6.

Due to long-standing personal and musical differences, Redding left the band after they performed at the Denver Pop Festival on June 29, 1969. Jimi's old army friend Billy Cox was brought in as Redding's replacement, and with the addition of rhythm guitarist Larry Lee and percussionists Juma Sultan and Jerry Velez, Gypsy Sun and Rainbows was formed. The unfamiliar large unit played at the famous Woodstock Festival on August 18, but after a few studio sessions, the band split. During this transitional phase, two more singles were released. First "Stone Free" was released in North America on September 15, followed by "Fire" (under the title "Let Me Light Your Fire") internationally, outside of North America on November 14, neither of which charted. In order to fulfill his legal duty to furnish Ed Chalpin with an LP, Jimi & Billy Cox enlisted the help of another old friend of Jimi's, drummer and singer Buddy Miles. Dubbing themselves the Band of Gypsys, the all-black trio performed together at only two venues. One of these venues was the Fillmore East, where the band's performances on December 31, 1969 and January 1, 1970 were recorded and later released as "Band of Gypsys" on March 25 and June 12 in the North America and internationally respectively. This live album reached #6 in the States and #5 in Britain, but by this time the Band of Gypsys had already split up. The Band of Gypsys also released one single; "Stepping Stone" b/w "Izabella" was issued by Reprise in the States on April 13.

Mitch Mitchell returned to Hendrix and Cox and the 'new Jimi Hendrix Experience' was formed, now known unofficially after the name of their one tour as 'The Cry of Love'. This lineup remained until the guitarist's death, a run which resulted in many hours of studio recordings and a tour which ran for over three months. The last record issued before Hendrix's death was "Historic Performances Recorded at the Monterey International Pop Festival" on August 26 in the US, which partly documented The Experience's performance at the Monterey Pop Festival on June 18, 1967. Jimi Hendrix passed away on September 18, 1970.

After the guitarist's untimely death, work began to compile new material for release. Jimi had left behind hundreds of complete and incomplete takes of songs, and it was left to Eddie Kramer and Mitch Mitchell to estimate his intentions for his next project. The first album released was "The Cry of Love", named after the 1970 tour. This, along with "Rainbow Bridge", comprised the majority of what Kramer and Mitchell believed to be Hendrix's next studio album, though many more official releases followed, including controversially produced "Crash Landing" and "Midnight Lightning". As well as the many licensed studio, live and compilation albums released after 1970, hundreds of unauthorised bootlegs consisting of amateur recorded live footage and unfinished demos and outtakes have been released, the number of which is likely over one thousand. Despite this mass of material released, there are still items in various places, many of which is now owned by Experience Hendrix, as yet unseen and unheard. Some of the tie-ups involve legal disputes or lost tapes, while others are simply being held by the company for release at intervals that they deem worthy according to their long-term plans.

Career releases

tudio albums

;Notes
*A ^ Mail order only. Released in the United Kingdom only and soon withdrawn.

ingles

Posthumous compilation albums and box sets

Dagger Records bootlegs

As well as publishing their own free bootlegs, Experience Hendrix also set up a company called Dagger Records to publish and sell officially recorded high-quality bootlegs and rare recordings. [cite web |url=http://www.daggerrecords.com/story.html |title=The Dagger Records Story |accessdate=2008-07-28 |publisher=Experience Hendrix, L.L.C. ]

References

;General
*cite book
last=Shapiro
first=Harry
authorlink=Harry Shapiro (author)
coauthors=Caesar Glebbeek
title=Jimi Hendrix: Electric Gypsy
origdate=1990-09-17
date=1995-08-15
publisher=St. Martin's Griffin
location=New York
isbn=978-0312130626
pages=pp. 521-665
chapter=Appendix 1: Music, Sweet Music: The Discography
*cite web
url=http://jimihendrix.com/encyclopedia/
title=The Jimi Hendrix Encyclopedia
publisher=Experience Hendrix, L.L.C.
accessdate=2008-08-24;Specific

External links

* [http://www.jimihendrix.com/ Official website]