^^Supposedly Mike was killed in a plane crash,but it's also widely believed that he was never on that plane and he faked his own death and has been laying low ever since...

Mindbells9 said:

im talking about Jimi

Yeah, it was NO secret that Jimi wanted to get away from Mike Jeffery starting in 1969. He was seeking legal help to end his contract with him. It was rumored that Jimi was kidnapped and that Jeffery had set it up. No harm physical harm came to Jimi but it was done to scare Jimi so he wouldn't Jeffery. Jeffery was known as a shady person and had known ties to the Mob. Anyone interested in Jimi's death should DEFINATELY read the book "Hendrix The Final Days" by author Tony Brown. It is well researched and brings a new perspective on what could have possibly happened to Jimi. personally, I never truly believed the story of Jimi commiting suicide or him having an overdose of his own doing. And after reading this book, I went away believing that Jimi was tragically murdered. And that if anyone had their hand in it, it was Mike Jeffery. All of that is written about in this book I mentioned.

It was said that Jimi couldn't say no to anyone, and would let people take advantage of him.

Rinluv said:

Yeah I heard that too.

Timmy84 said:

From what I've read he was very trusting and quite naive about people.

babynoz said:

Yeah, I think sometimes the people you hang with can be bad on you especially if you die the way he did. He felt no one loved him. He didn't commit suicide tho but I think near the very end, he did begin to see that people were using him.

Timmy84 said:

Co-sign, I don't believe for a second that it was a suicide. None of those people were true friends to him, not one. The same ones who used him in life tried to cash in on his death as well...it's sickening.

Reading his bio was emotionally draining. My heart went out to the guy.

babynoz said:

Yeah he was definitely troubled. It's sad he died, I think he could've taken his career to new heights, he might've indeed been part of the funk-rock movement, his music would've finally reached the black community (while still maintaining the white base) and he'd been respected. It's glad he's revered as he is now but it could've been better if he lived. I wonder if he knew what exactly what he was creating would change music history.

Timmy84 said:

I really believe in my heart that he wanted to expand his creative reach and was being hemmed in by his handlers who only cared about cashing in.

The thing that bothered me most is that he was never able to have any peace and stability in his life.

babynoz said:

That's how I feel about most of the rock legends (Jimi, Janis, Jimmy M., Marvin, John L. didn't get that until the end of his life and then THAT was taken away from him, etc.).

From what I've read he was very trusting and quite naive about people.

Timmy84 said:

Yep, and with Jimi it was from his earliest childhood. No stability or peace anywhere.

In a way I'm glad Prince is such a scrappy 'lil cuss because those leeches will suck your life out if you let them. He makes sure that he takes care of his damn self and will get a mofo up outta his isht with a quickness,

Could be a big reason why he's still alive and in decent health.

babynoz said:

That's how I feel about most of the rock legends (Jimi, Janis, Jimmy M., Marvin, John L. didn't get that until the end of his life and then THAT was taken away from him, etc.).

Yeah he was definitely troubled. It's sad he died, I think he could've taken his career to new heights, he might've indeed been part of the funk-rock movement, his music would've finally reached the black community (while still maintaining the white base) and he'd been respected. It's glad he's revered as he is now but it could've been better if he lived. I wonder if he knew what exactly what he was creating would change music history.

babynoz said:

Did you ever see the film done about him around 1973 or so? It had the Allen twins, Pete Townshend, a very zoiked out EC, etc...? They all said this about him. David Bowie's wife Angie, OTOH, claimed that Jimi would pretend to be stoned in order to listen when folks thought he couldn't. I never knew which version to believe or whether both were true.

Timmy84 said:

Based on "Band Of Gypsies" and other odds and sods from late in his life, I thought he was going in a more jazz-rock fusion direction and not funk. Most Black folks I come across who get turned on to Hendrix cite BoG as their intro as opposed to his JHE stuff. IOW, they start at the end and work backwards. I don't thik Jimi would have gone the funk route a la Sly or anything because that was already being done. I think he was going off in a whole new direction.

I think Jimi was quite well aware of his changing the direction of the music and his part in it. When he was offered the chance, he jumped in w/ both feet. He knew fully well what was going on in both the US and UK scenes before he ever left NYC w/ Chas Chandler. He was in it to win it. Too bad he didn't live to see the bread like his more uptight counterpart EC!

I don't think Jimi would have ever had mainstream success w/ Black Americans even if he'd lived longer. Far too "bohemian" for comfort for most, methinks. Like Bob Marley (who Blackwell launched from the UK via the previous Hendrix blueprint), neither conformed to the mainstream Black tastes of that era...and even now, to tell the truth. Unlike Marley, I'm not so sure Hendrix craved acceptance from Black folks either.
[Edited 6/2/09 17:07pm]

brooksie said:

Band of Gypsies was indeed my intro to Jimi and still my preference even now.

As far as Bob Marley goes, I'll never forget his appearance on soul train where the kids literally laughed at him because they didn't get him or his music.

I remember because my mom was mad as hell and called 'em all sorts of ignorant fools.

Bless her soul, she's the reason I learned to appreciate all sorts of music.

babynoz said:

Both of y'all right. Maybe Jimi wouldn't have been accepted at all... but you're right about Bob, Both of them were just too wild for "the black community's" taste.

I come from a music family, so they listened to everything. My uncle, a Hendrix fanatic if ever (he actually burned a guitar according to family legend), gave me my 1st Hendrix mixtape off vinyl in 1986 when I was 12! Back then, that just wasn't done. I'd heard of him and heard some of his music before, but this is where my love affair starts for real. I started out w/ cuts off "Experienced" and "Ladyland"...I found Axis and BoG on my own!

I'm glad nobody took offense to what I said about Black folks' conservative tastes and these two specific artists, but I really think it's true going by my experiences. As has been said, Marley's been big upped a bit w/ the help of a growing WI population after his death, but Jimi is still largely igged. Too bad cuz he opened up so many doors for Black artists who were NOT the Smokey era Temptations to experiment w/ their sounds and even their whole image. Could you imagine a Prince or even a Marley w/o a Jimi to blaze the trail?

Band of Gypsies was indeed my intro to Jimi and still my preference even now.

As far as Bob Marley goes, I'll never forget his appearance on soul train where the kids literally laughed at him because they didn't get him or his music.

I remember because my mom was mad as hell and called 'em all sorts of ignorant fools.

Bless her soul, she's the reason I learned to appreciate all sorts of music.