Hendrix "Seattle Boy" Due Out

In November, on the 40th anniversary of his death, audiences will have an opportunity to understand the evolution of Jimi Hendrix.  The new set of four CDs and a single DVD is titled West Coast Seattle Boy: The Jimi Hendrix Anthology . It looks at his journey from a rhythm-and-blues sideman to international acclaim. The extensive collection features four hours of previously unreleased and commercially unavailable studio and live recordings.

Hendrix's sister Janie Hendrix, president and CEO of Experience Hendrix L.L.C., told CNN, "It's a must-have for any collector, but for someone wanting to know Jimi's life span in music, it's a great reflection of that."

I thought this is an appropriate time to try some Jimi Trivia. Of course, the answers are provided after the quiz of 20 Hendrix-related questions. Don't cheat - see how many answers you know off the top of your head.

Jimi Hendrix Quiz

1. ___ What was the birth name of guitarist, singer, and songwriter Jimi Hendrix born on November 27, 1942, in Seattle, Washington.
 a. Johnny Allen Hendrix,  b. James Benjamin Hendrix,  c. Richard Lee Hendrix,  d. Tom David Allen.

2.___ At the age of 14, (Seattle 1957) Hendrix saw a performance that helped inspire his desire to play guitar. Who was the featured act?

 a. Les Paul and Mary Ford,  b. Buddy Holly and the Crickets,  c. B.B. King,  d. Elvis Presley.

3.___ In 1959, Jimi's father bought Jimi his first electric guitar, but there was no available amplifier.What model was Jimi's first electric guitar?
 a. red Silvertone Flash,  b. blue Harmony Rocker,  c. white Supro Ozark,  d. black Epiphone Corsair.

4.___ As Jimi got older, he played a club south of Seattle, which he later reminisced about in a song he titled:
a. "Voodoo Child,"  b.  "Spanish Castle Magic,"   c. "Crosstown Traffic,"  d. "The Wind Cries Mary."

5.___ The "dragonfly" in the song above was a metaphor for
a. the bitchy club manager,  b. an old, green Plymouth Fury,  c. illicit drugs,  d. a ferry that crossed a bay.

6.___ After playing with several local Seattle bands and getting into trouble with the law via a stolen car, Hendrix enlisted in the Army, joining the 101st Airborne Division as a trainee paratrooper stationed in
a. Charleston, South Carolina,  b. Fort Hood, Texas,  c. Fort Campbell, Kentucky,  d. Norfolk, Virginia.


7.___ Jimi did work as a session musician and played backup for many different performers. Name one artist for whom Jimi did NOT play backup.
a. Little Richard,  b. Sam Cooke,  c. the Isley Brothers, d. Fats Domino.

8.___ In mid-1966, Hendrix met Chas Chandler, who became his manager. Chandler convinced Hendrix to go to London where he joined forces with musicians Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell to create The Jimi Hendrix Experience. Chandler had once played with the famous rock group called
a. the Animals,  b. the Searchers,  c. Manfred Mann,  d. the Dave Clark Five.

9.___ In 1966, Hendrix was quoted as saying, "I want to do with my guitar what _____ does with his voice."
a. Elvis Presley,  b. Little Richard,  c. Frank Sinatra,  d. Paul McCartney. 

10.___ In June 1967, the Experience appeared at the Monterey Pop Festival. The performance, which Hendrix climaxed by burning his guitar, was filmed by D.A. Pennebaker for the documentary Monterey Pop. Who insisted that Jimi perform at Monterey Pop?
a. Brian Jones,  b. John Phillips,  c. Pete Townsend,  d. Paul McCartney.

11.___Hendrix also met iconoclast Frank Zappa during this time. Zappa introduced Hendrix to a newly-invented tool,  which Hendrix soon mastered and made an integral part of his sound. The tool was
a. the Fender Stratocaster,  b. back tracking,  c. the wah-wah pedal,  d. playing guitar behind his back.

12.___ Jimi's first single was a cover of  a stylised blues song written by Billy Roberts that was virtually a standard for rock bands at the time. Jimi's first single was
a. "Red House,"  b. "Foxy Lady,"  c. "Hey Joe,"  d. "Purple Haze."

13.___ While Hendrix was capable of playing with the strings upside down per se, he restrung his guitars so that the heavier strings were in their standard position at the top of the neck. He preferred this layout because 
a. the tuning keys were constantly being used to keep the instrument in key,
b. the tremolo arm and volume/tone controls were more easily accessible,
c. the heavy pressure he applied to the instrument's body wore better like this.
d. the guitar wasn't as cumbersome when played this way. 
 
14.___ The original sunburst Stratocaster that Hendrix burnt at the Astoria in 1967, and that he kept as a souvenir, was given to _______  by a Hendrix roadie at the 1968 Miami Pop Festival.March 31, 1967, when, booked to appear as one of the opening acts on the Walker Brothers farewell tour, he set his guitar on fire at the end of his first performance, as a publicity stunt.
a. John Lennon,  b. Bill Graham,  c. Eric Burdon,  d. Frank Zappa.

15.___ Buddy Miles who introduced Hendrix to Devon Wilson. She had a turbulent on/off relationship with him, right up to the night of his death, and was the only one of his women to record with him. She died only six months after Hendrix under mysterious circumstances, apparently
a. falling from an upper window in the Chelsea Hotel,  b. taking an overdose of sleeping pills in London,
c. drowning while swimming in Los Angeles,  d. shot in a bar in Dublin.

16.___ Chas Chandler also expressed exasperation at the number of times Hendrix would insist on re-recording particular tracks; the song "Gypsy Eyes" was reportedly recorded ___  times. This was also frustrating for bassist Noel Redding, who would often leave the studio to calm himself, only to return and find that Hendrix had recorded the bass parts himself during Redding's absence.
a. 43,  b. 30,  c. 22,  d. 15.  

17.___ Hendrix strived to combine what he called a blues, jazz, or funk driven rhythm accompaniment, with  the high-pitched psychedelic sounds created by his guitar improvisations. He called this combination a mixture of elements of
a. "sound and rhythm,"  b. "art and nature,"  c. "earth and space,"  d. "bread and butter."  

18.___ Jimi Hendrix's last public performance was an informal jam at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club in Soho with
a. Miles Davis,  b. Eric Burdon and War,  c. Band of Gypsies,  d. Paul Butterfield. 

19.___ How many studio albums did Jimi Hendrix release before his death at age 27?

a. 6,  b. 5,  c. 4,  d. 3.

20.___ A month after Jimi died, he posthumously scored his only UK number one single with
a. "Voodoo Child,"  b. "Freedom,"  c. "Machine Gun,"  d. "Drifting."

Answers:   1. a   2. d   3. c   4. b   5. b    6. c   7. d   8. a   9. b   10.d   11.c   12. c  13. b   14. d   15. a   16. a   17. c   18. b   19. d    20. a