The Artists Jimi Hendrix Played Backup Guitar for Before He Made It Big
Jimi Hendrix was a rock legend known for his guitar-playing skills and unmistakable voice. But before he became a solo star, he played backup guitar for some of the biggest names in music during his day, helping launch his own career as a musician.
Jimi Hendrix started out playing guitar for major artists
Jimi Hendrix’s professional music career kicked off in the early 1960s. In the early days of his career, he played backup guitar for artists under the name Jimmy James. These acts included Sam Cooke, Little Richard, Wilson Pickett, Ike and Tina Turner, and The Isley Brothers.
Sam Cooke is highly regarded today as one of the pioneers of soul music. He’s known for songs like “A Change is Gonna Come” and “Everybody Loves to Cha Cha.” In the mid-2010s, late actor Chadwick Boseman was tapped to play Sam Cooke in a biopic, but ultimately declined. He was later portrayed on screen by Leslie Odom Jr. in the 2020 film One Night in Miami….
Ike and Tina Turner first became known as a duo before Tina launched her solo career in the 1970s. The two performed around the country with their band, which Hendrix supported.
Hendrix even helped Hollywood actor Jayne Mansfield in her musical career. He played lead and bass guitar on her 1965 song “Suey.”
Little Richard kicked him out of his band
Little Richard, meanwhile, proudly declared himself the “architect” of rock ‘n’ roll. Known for hit songs like “Tutti Frutti” and “Good Golly Miss Molly,” Richard became a beloved performer around the south, and eventually around the world. Jimi Hendrix, then under the name Maurice James, toured with Little Richard as part of his backing band.
According to Charles White’s 1984 book The Life and Times of Little Richard: The Authorized Biography, Hendrix soon became a problem for the band, as he started showing up late. Richard’s brother and tour manager, Robert Penniman, ended up letting Hendrix go from the band on Richard’s behalf.
“I fired Hendrix, who was using the name Maurice James all the time I knew him. He was a damn good guitar player, but the guy was never on time. He was always late for the bus and flirting with the girls and stuff like that,” Penniman said. “It came to a head in New York, where we had been playing the Apollo and Hendrix missed the bus for Washington, DC. I finally got Richard to cut him loose.”
He died in 1970 at age 27
Eventually, Hendrix created his own band, The Himi Hendrix Experience, in the late 1960s. They released three albums in succession in the late ’60s: Are You Experienced, Axis: Bold as Love, and Electric Ladyland. He was known not only for his guitar skills, but just how he would play it: he often played the guitar behind his back or with his teeth, and even played the instrument upside down.
In September 1970, Hendrix died at age 27, joining the infamous “27 Club” of musicians who died at the pivotal age. Rock icon Janis Joplin died at age 27 just a few weeks later in October 1970.
