He rocked with the famous soul group for a few months, recording and performing on stages around the U.S.
Most groups I was with didn’t let me do my own thing,” Hendrix wrote. So I played with the Isley Brothers for a while, and they used to make me do my thing (play with my teeth, etc.), because it made them more bucks or something. “Then one of the Isley Brothers heard me playing in a club and said he had a job open. Then his musical life changed one day in Harlem. He worked non-music odd jobs to survive, sometimes sleeping outside. Hendrix wrote about winning first place at the Apollo’s amateur contest and his decision to stick around the city. After heading to New York City, he bumped into The Isley Brothers.
In those early years, he did not have a stable place to live, rest, or eat. Hendrix admitted to joining and quitting groups with frequency, and he eventually found himself in Buffalo, New York. He also said he started playing the guitar with his teeth while doing gigs in Tennessee because “down there you have to play with your teeth or else you get shot!” Hendrix recalled linking up with the musician Gorgeous George and going on tour with him throughout the country. I earned some money, but I didn’t like it at all,” he wrote. I slept where I could, and when I needed to eat I had to steal it. It was pretty tough at first period I lived in very miserable circumstances. I played cafes, clubs and on the streets. “It took me some time to get better from the injuries I had, and then I went down South. In Hendrix’s book, Starting at Zero: His Own Story, he talked about playing his guitar to earn money. He put himself in a rut and couldn’t get home, but he honed his guitar skills while in the army and decided to put them to use. After getting discharged for a medical injury, he found himself in Tennessee with a few bucks in his pocket. Jimi Hendrix headed South in his early careerĪ native of Seattle, Washington, Jimi Hendrix enlisted in the military at 18. And The Isley Brothers were a big part of his history and musical family. Hendrix’s memorable journey to stardom included stints with some of the world’s most beloved stars such as Little Richard. He started playing the guitar as a teenager, and when he was old enough and ready to kickstart his dream, he moved across the country to officially begin his career. Long revered as one of music’s most gifted and influential geniuses, Jimi Hendrix had a natural talent.