‘Scuse me while I kiss the sky: The life of Jimi Hendrix

Jimi Hendrix’s explosion onto the rock and roll scene is one of the most remarkable legends in music history. Fusing blues, jazz, and outrageous psychdelia, Hendrix scored multitudes of devoted fans with his frenzied, irreverent guitar playing, singing, and song-writing. And at the age of twenty-seven, when his private nightmares caught up with his dreams, he died in a torrent of drugs and alcohol. More than a decade after his death, Hendrix is still considered by millions to be the greatest guitarist in rock and roll history. Now, David Henderson has captured the essence of Hendrix’s intense, apocalyptic, and ultimately tragic life in this brilliantly researched, deeply honest and totally moving biography. Here is Hendrix, the REAL Hendrix—his boyhood in Seattle, his years in a crack U.S. paratroop regiment, his growing reputation as the best sideman in the business, his manic trip through superstardom, the songs, the concerts, the flaming guitars, the acid, the booze, and, most important, the incomparable legacy he left behind. “The strongest and most ambitious biography yet written about any rock and roll performer.” — Rolling Stone “No one who wants to assemble a coherent version of Jimi’s story can afford to be without this book—it is not only the best version, it is the only complete one.” — Dave Marsh, author of Born To Run