Jimi Hendrix - US ARMY 19 Years Old

[Backstrap]

Incredible that he only used three fingers to create that music and never had a single guitar lesson in his life.

He also played guitar left handed, but used right handed guitars strung for lefties - which changed the natural sound of the guitar.

 

[Fyrtwuck]

HONORABLY discharged due to discipline issues? How does that work?

Copy/Paste from Wikipedia.


Military service

Hendrix in the US Army, 1961
Before Hendrix was 19 years old, law authorities had twice caught him riding in stolen cars. Given a choice between prison or joining the Army, he chose the latter and enlisted on May 31, 1961.[49] After completing eight weeks of basic training at Fort Ord, California, he was assigned to the 101st Airborne Division and stationed at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.[50] He arrived on November 8, and soon afterward he wrote to his father: "There's nothing but physical training and harassment here for two weeks, then when you go to jump school ... you get hell. They work you to death, fussing and fighting."[51] In his next letter home, Hendrix, who had left his guitar at his girlfriend Betty Jean Morgan's house in Seattle, asked his father to send it to him as soon as possible, stating: "I really need it now."[51] His father obliged and sent the red Silvertone Danelectro on which Hendrix had hand-painted the words "Betty Jean" to Fort Campbell.[52] His apparent obsession with the instrument contributed to his neglect of his duties, which led to taunting and physical abuse from his peers, who at least once hid the guitar from him until he had begged for its return.[53] In November 1961, fellow serviceman Billy Cox walked past an army club and heard Hendrix playing.[54] Impressed by Hendrix's technique, which Cox described as a combination of "John Lee Hooker and Beethoven", Cox borrowed a bass guitar and the two jammed.[55] Within weeks, they began performing at base clubs on the weekends with other musicians in a loosely organized band, the Casuals.[56]

Hendrix completed his paratrooper training in just over eight months, and Major General C. W. G. Rich awarded him the prestigious Screaming Eagles patch on January 11, 1962.[51] By February, his personal conduct had begun to draw criticism from his superiors. They labeled him an unqualified marksman and often caught him napping while on duty and failing to report for bed checks.[57] On May 24, Hendrix's platoon sergeant, James C. Spears, filed a report in which he stated: "He has no interest whatsoever in the Army ... It is my opinion that Private Hendrix will never come up to the standards required of a soldier. I feel that the military service will benefit if he is discharged as soon as possible."[58] On June 29, 1962, Hendrix was granted a discharge under honorable conditions.[59] Hendrix later spoke of his dislike of the army and lied that he had received a medical discharge after breaking his ankle during his 26th parachute jump.[60][nb 9]

 

[TeleStratMan]

HONORABLY discharged due to discipline issues? How does that work?

Like most other places: "Not what you know but who you know".

 

[rlongnt]

He may have been less than an optimal soldier but he did join which is more than 90% of the rest of the country can say. I really don't care if it was to stay out of jail for joyriding. That was clearly not his purpose in this life.

 

[SoonerP226]

HONORABLY discharged due to discipline issues? How does that work?

Someone explained one possibility to me as being discharged OTH (Other Than Honorable), but that gets converted to Honorable after some time elapses. I think there are other cases where the separation is simply because the person is not compatible with military service (I forget the correct term); it sounded like a "we tried, didn't work, no harm, no foul" sort of thing--essentially, they don't want someone saddled with the equivalent of a felony conviction because they tried but couldn't make it.

Of course, that was from an all-volunteer military; I have no idea how different it would've been back then.

 

[dennishoddy]

I never knew Hendrix was in the Army. Hard to believe.

Janis Joplin was hard to listen to. When I hear her, I imagine dragging a screaming cat by the tail across a chalk board with its claws out.

Elvis was in the Army too.

 

[ignerntbend]

Someone explained one possibility to me as being discharged OTH (Other Than Honorable), but that gets converted to Honorable after some time elapses. I think there are other cases where the separation is simply because the person is not compatible with military service (I forget the correct term); it sounded like a "we tried, didn't work, no harm, no foul" sort of thing--essentially, they don't want someone saddled with the equivalent of a felony conviction because they tried but couldn't make it.

Of course, that was from an all-volunteer military; I have no idea how different it would've been back then.

Failure to Adapt.

 

[Glock 'em down]

I never was a Hendrix fan neither. There are other guitarists that are/were better IMO.

But I appreciate his military service.

 

[Snattlerake]

Someone explained one possibility to me as being discharged OTH (Other Than Honorable), but that gets converted to Honorable after some time elapses. I think there are other cases where the separation is simply because the person is not compatible with military service (I forget the correct term); it sounded like a "we tried, didn't work, no harm, no foul" sort of thing--essentially, they don't want someone saddled with the equivalent of a felony conviction because they tried but couldn't make it.

Of course, that was from an all-volunteer military; I have no idea how different it would've been back then.

"For the good of the army"

 

[dennishoddy]

I never was a Hendrix fan neither. There are other guitarists that are/were better IMO.

But I appreciate his military service.

Since Jimi has been rated #1 by several websites that follow that stuff, who is your favorite guitar player?