Happy 74th Birthday Jimi Hendrix!
November 27 is the birthday of one of rock’s most iconic figures – the legendary Jimi Hendrix!
There is a new documentary out that shows you, in a rarely seen live performance – just how incredible Jimi Hendrix was!
Playing Guitar – With His Teeth!
Yes, Jimi plays the guitar with his teeth during the performance – but what is so incredible about this documentary is that it was shot just a few months before Hendrix died…and includes material that has never been seen before!
Key Art for the SHOWTIME documentary Jimi Hendrix: Electric Church. PHOTO: Courtesy of SHOWTIME
Jimi Hendrix: Electric Church!
Showtime premiered this incredible documentary, that captured Jimi’s performance at the Atlanta International Pop Festival in 1970, where hundreds of thousands of people gathered to hear him play at the so-called “southern Woodstock.”
Here is the trailer:
What’s amazing is that the festival footage was shot by “Can’t Buy Me Love” director Steve Rash, and it went unreleased after a deal to turn it into a documentary back in the ’70s fell through – so it sat undeveloped in his garage for decades!
The film is also a fascinating historical document, as it shows the racial unrest in the south leading up to the show – and how the “hippies” took over a small southern town with only one police officer!
An Iconic Jimi Hendrix Performance!
Jimi Hendrix performs for a half hour, and it’s a “greatest hits” of all of his best songs, performed with effortless brilliance by Jimi…this is a great historical record of an amazing performer at the prime of his career…
And yes, HE PLAYS WITH HIS TEETH!
Since this show was on July 4th, Hendrix does his electric version of “The Star Spangled Banner”, but he also performed that at another big show:
Woodstock was the “Godfather” of festival shows, but Atlanta’s was just as big!
If you want to see more about Woodstock, you can read by story here:
There are a ton of great stories about the Artists who performed at Woodstock, especially about this incredibly talented singer, shown here reclining for Photographer Jim Hendrix:
That’s legendary singer Janis Joplin posing for Hendrix – she was another legend who died way too early….
Janis Joplin at Woodstock
no publication after December 31, 2009
Janis Joplin died the same year as Hendrix, and if you want to find out more about her, there is an incredible new documentary out right now as well!
You can read all about it by clicking on my story here:
https://johnrieber.com/2015/11/16/janis-joplin-little-girl-blue-documentary-rocks-greatest-voice/
For those who don’t know her, Laura Nyro was also an amazingly talented singer/songwriter, who has a fascinating story that involves Joplin:
According to Music Mogul Clive Davis, shown here with his client Janis Joplin, Janis was jealous of the attention that David gave to Nyro….you can read all about it here:
Happy birthday to Jimi Hendrix, and as you can see, there are so many ties between Artist. November 27th is also the birthday of the legendary Bruce Lee, who also died far too early:
He had an incredible movie career, and was an amazing Athlete as well – here is a look at him playing a Ping Pong game against two of the best players in the world – and Lee is only using his nunchucks!
Happy Birthday Jimi and Bruce!
Categories: 70's Cinema, 70's Music, Action Films, Art, Awards, Books / Media, Classic Rock, Cult Movies, documentary films, Great Films, Hollywood, Independent Cinema, Los Angeles, Memoirs, Movies, Music, Politics, Talent/Celebrities, TV Show
johnrieber 
Love Jimi Hendrix!! Love Janis Joplin!!! Like Bruce Lee too!!! A pity all of these celebs back then died way too young.
Both these documentaries, sound really worth checking out. Thanks for letting us know.
Most of my favourite pieces of Music and Cinema, happen to be from the 60’s & 70’s!!!
Wish I existed in 69′, to witness Woodstock!!! Just love the 60’s & 70’s!!!!
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Thanks for your comment, those were very unique times in music and pop culture!
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I loved to listen to Hendrix, and he was great to watch on TV too. (I never saw him live)
When I joined the Ambulance Service in London in 1979, I worked at the same place (Kensington) as the guys who went to the address when he was found dead, in 1970. They were pretty old men at the time, and didn’t have a clue who he was. They told the police that there was a ‘dead spade (slang for a black man) junkie’ in the room, and it might have to be treated as a crime scene. That was so they didn’t have to bother to attempt resuscitation, apparently.
I told them what a great musician he was, and they just shrugged.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Pete, thanks for sharing that…this new documentary, with unearthed live concert footage, just shows how effortless and iconic he was…such a sad way to end up…
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