Becoming Jimi Hendrix: From Southern Crossroads to Psychedelic London, the Untold Story of a Musical Genius »

Steve Roby is the author of Black Gold: The Lost Archives of Jimi Hendrix, former editor of Experience Hendrix magazine, and teaches a course on Hendrix’s life and music.

Brad Schreiber is an award-winning journalist, screenwriter, and literary consultant. His books include Stop the Show!, What Are You Laughing At, and Death in Paradise.

The first in-depth biography of the formative years of the greatest electric guitarist of all time, with 25 rare photos, complete sessionography, and tour itinerary

The New York Times - David Kirby

Steven Roby and Brad Schreiber…don't impose a view the way a master like Greil Marcus or Peter Guralnick might, but in a brick-on-brick manner they describe the run-up to Hendrix's electrifying appearance on a world stage. Hendrix's career as a superstar has been well chronicled; the more interesting details of how he became one are told here.

Acknowledgments vii

Preface xiii

Introduction: Seattle-The Childhood That Never Was 1

Chapter 1 The Case Against Private Hendrix (January-June 1962) 13

Chapter 2 I Can Hear the Blues Callin' My Name (July-December 1962) 27

Chapter 3 I'd Rather Starve (January-June 1963) 41

Chapter 4 Nothing But Someone's Coat on His Back (July-December 1963) 53

Chapter 5 From One Family to the Next (January-June 1964) 71

Chapter 6 An All-Consuming Fire (July-December 1964) 85

Chapter 7 Life and Near Death on the Road (January-June 1965) 99

Chapter 8 How Would You Feel? (July-December 1965) 117

Chapter 9 Next Planet, Please (January-June 1966) 135

Chapter 10 Downtown and Underground (July-September 1966) 155

Epilogue 175

Bibliography 187

Recommended Listening 197

Sessionography/Discography and Television Appearances, 1962-1966 199

Chronology of Tours and Events, 1962-1966 217

Index 261