The Life and Influence of Jimi Hendrix Research Paper

The Life and Influence of Jimi Hendrix - Research Paper Example Hendrix was primarily a self-taught musician. He was also left-handed which created a problem with his father because he wanted him to play right handed for superstitious reasons. Hendrix was also an introvert and he was very shy. At one point in his life, his mother died and this sent him into more seclusion and a more focused concentration on his music. Hendrix had many challenges in school and eventually dropped out. He wanted to focus more on his music than on his school work and all he wanted to do was play music (Willett, 23). In 1956, he received his first real guitar from his father; it was an electric guitar without an amplifier. From that point on, Hendrix played music with any musician he could find to play with and listened very carefully to the music. The first time he played professional was with an amateur band of older boys. They were auditioning him to see if he could be a part of the group. The challenge was that Hendrix wanted to be a star even then and he played o ut. Hendrix first played with a group called "The Velvetones" where he played backup and he learned to play a mixture of blues, rhythm and blues, jazz and R&B; they also did a lot of dancing on the stage (Willett, 26). Later he played with a group called "The Rocking Kings." After they broke up Jimi next played with a group called "The Tomcats". After a short time working for his father in a landscaping business, Jimi went into the Army to escape his father and to get out of some legal problems.