Fact #186076
When:
Short story:
James Marshall Hendrix [Jimi Hendrix] plays a gig in Columbia, South Carolina, USA, with The King Kasuals.Full article:
Al Hendrix (father of Jimi Hendrix] : After he came out of the armed services, he was playing in a lot of clubs in the South. And he wrote me, saying that the bosses at the clubs where his band was playing would have to get them out of jail every once in a while on account that they would go down to the theatre and sit in the white section at the show. Then the police would come in and put them in jail and the boss would have to get them out of jail. And he'd say he'd have to take that out of their wages.
Jimi Hendrix : You really had to play 'cos these people were hard to please. It was one of the hardest audiences in the south. Everybody knows how to play guitar. You walk down the street and people are sittin' on the porch playing more guitar. That's where I learned to play really - Nashville.
Larry Lee (rhythm guitarist) : I was about the worst guitar player in Nashville and I was searching for somebody in my category, somebody to talk to. I saw the King Casuals (in the Del Morocco) and they had these two guitars. Jimmy was on the far right… Jimmy caught my eye 'cause he looked like the cat I was looking for. So I sat down and watched him the whole set. He was just doing nothin' with the guitar, man. His guitar was an old Kay with strings about that high, and I was sure that Jimmy was somebody in my calibre that I could talk to. I needed a friend who couldn't play and I thought it was Jimmy.
So I left the club, I stayed about two blocks away.
Jimi Hendrix : Then we got on with a club owner who seemed to like us a lot. He bought us some new gear. I had a Silvertone amp and the others got Fender Bandmasters. But this guy took our money and he was sort of holding us back.
Larry Lee : When I came back to the club after a few days, I introduced myself to him, and I saw that he needed a string. I ran home and got him an E-string. He had another guitar, a new Epiphone and a Silvertone amp, and I couldn't believe this was the same cat that I'd seen. I said 'Wow, he's tricked me!' That's when I found out he really could play.
What really got me was that Jimmy would see a girl dancing and he would drop his guitar and take her to a room and he would always ask me to come and sit in and that kinda got my nerves up. I wasn't a lead guitar player when I met Jimmy. This is how I got my chance to express myself.
Jimmy Church (singer, King Kasuals) : One time we played in Clarksville and the speaker busted and it started to make a major change and Jimmy said 'Listen to the sound man, it is different. Don't change it man. Listen to the sound.'
He wasn't really a band player. He would take a solo and forget he was in band. It looked like he wasn't gonna quit.
Johnny Jones (guitarist, The Imperials, Clarksville): He wanted freedom in his playing. He wanted to be able to express himself and not by anybody's format or roots. He could play … but he was seeking a direction. He was just like a little bird trying to fly. You fly a little piece, until you get it down and make it connect.
Jimi Hendrix : I travelled all the states and played in different groups … Top 40 R'n'B bands, Jackie Wilson, Wilson Pickett, Isley Brothers gigs. I got tired of feeding back in the Midnight Hour.
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Jimi Hendrix : You really had to play 'cos these people were hard to please. It was one of the hardest audiences in the south. Everybody knows how to play guitar. You walk down the street and people are sittin' on the porch playing more guitar. That's where I learned to play really - Nashville.
Larry Lee (rhythm guitarist) : I was about the worst guitar player in Nashville and I was searching for somebody in my category, somebody to talk to. I saw the King Casuals (in the Del Morocco) and they had these two guitars. Jimmy was on the far right… Jimmy caught my eye 'cause he looked like the cat I was looking for. So I sat down and watched him the whole set. He was just doing nothin' with the guitar, man. His guitar was an old Kay with strings about that high, and I was sure that Jimmy was somebody in my calibre that I could talk to. I needed a friend who couldn't play and I thought it was Jimmy.
So I left the club, I stayed about two blocks away.
Jimi Hendrix : Then we got on with a club owner who seemed to like us a lot. He bought us some new gear. I had a Silvertone amp and the others got Fender Bandmasters. But this guy took our money and he was sort of holding us back.
Larry Lee : When I came back to the club after a few days, I introduced myself to him, and I saw that he needed a string. I ran home and got him an E-string. He had another guitar, a new Epiphone and a Silvertone amp, and I couldn't believe this was the same cat that I'd seen. I said 'Wow, he's tricked me!' That's when I found out he really could play.
What really got me was that Jimmy would see a girl dancing and he would drop his guitar and take her to a room and he would always ask me to come and sit in and that kinda got my nerves up. I wasn't a lead guitar player when I met Jimmy. This is how I got my chance to express myself.
Jimmy Church (singer, King Kasuals) : One time we played in Clarksville and the speaker busted and it started to make a major change and Jimmy said 'Listen to the sound man, it is different. Don't change it man. Listen to the sound.'
He wasn't really a band player. He would take a solo and forget he was in band. It looked like he wasn't gonna quit.
Johnny Jones (guitarist, The Imperials, Clarksville): He wanted freedom in his playing. He wanted to be able to express himself and not by anybody's format or roots. He could play … but he was seeking a direction. He was just like a little bird trying to fly. You fly a little piece, until you get it down and make it connect.
Jimi Hendrix : I travelled all the states and played in different groups … Top 40 R'n'B bands, Jackie Wilson, Wilson Pickett, Isley Brothers gigs. I got tired of feeding back in the Midnight Hour.